Mobile Republican Assembly v. United States

Public Citizen filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, supporting the Justice Department’s appeal from an Alabama district court decision striking down reporting requirements the Internal Revenue Code imposes on nonprofit groups engaged in “electioneering.” These groups, known as “527 groups” because they claim tax-exemption under Section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code, are also called “stealth PACs” because they are permitted to raise unlimited amounts of funds for so-called “issue ads” with little disclosure. The district court’s decision unnecessarily threatened even the limited disclosure required by the Internal Revenue Code.

On December 24, 2003, the court of appeals ruled in our favor, holding that the 527 groups’ lawsuit lacked merit.