WASHINGTON
The Supreme Court in 1958 shielded the NAACP from being forced to disclose its membership list to Alabama state authorities, ruling the Constitution protects privacy of civil rights advocates and the “freedom of association, particularly when a group espouses dissident beliefs.”
On Monday, the high court appeared ready to apply that landmark precedent to shield a libertarian group sponsored by the Koch family and a conservative religious group based in Chicago, both of which object to disclosing their major donors to the California attorney general.
The IRS requires tax-exempt organizations to report information on their major donors. And since at least 2014, the California attorney general has required groups that raise funds in the state to file a confidential copy of that report. The donor names are not made public, but state lawyers say they are useful if they need to investigate possible frauds involving charities.
Editorial: Protect free association, but don t hamper oversight of charities
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Editorial: Protect free association, but don t hamper oversight of charities
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Editorial: Protect free association, but don t hamper oversight of charities
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Supreme Court Wary of Donor Disclosure Requirement for Charities
The case, from California, could affect the regulation of “dark money” in political contests.
The Supreme Court will rule on whether donor disclosures required by California would be in violation of the First Amendment’s protection of the freedom of association.Credit.Stefani Reynolds for The New York Times
April 26, 2021, 3:57 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON The Supreme Court on Monday seemed skeptical of California’s demand that charities soliciting contributions in the state report the identities of their major donors.
A majority of the justices appeared to agree that at least the two groups challenging the requirement Americans for Prosperity, a foundation affiliated with the Koch family, and the Thomas More Law Center, a conservative Christian public-interest law firm should prevail in the case.