This is an on going educational effort to explain the super PAC lawsuit.
If you missed a section please use links below. If you think you might be a party to this suit please start with Notice and Introduction to the super PAC lawsuit. You can also check out Facebook site SuperPacFederalLawsuit
Syllabus
101 What is a defendant class action lawsuit
102 The citizen/private attorney general
103 Common law
104 Reasonable person test
105 EMILY's List ruling
201 Standing and jurisdiction
202 What is an excessive contribution?
203 What is a prohibited contribution
301 Pre-trial motions
302 Summary judgment
303 Trial
304 Civil Court rulings
305 Settlement offers
Graduate level:
401 Civil fines and payment
402 Criminal court
403 Criminal court trial
404 Criminal court rulings
405 Settlement offers
Post-graduate level:
501 U.S. Supreme Court appeals.
102 The citizen/private attorney general
Introduction
Most of you know doubt have heard of something called a citizen arrest. In common law countries like the US, citizens are empowered to act to help enforce the law of the land.
A citizen/private attorney goes one step farther along the trail of the justice system by allowing a private individual to press charges in Court against someone that has broken the law.
Federal attorney general
The Federal Attorney General and the Federal Election Commission are both organizations in the Executive branch of the U.S. government.
Together, it is their duty to uphold Federal laws.
In some cases the ability to enforce Federal law rests both firstly and solely with the Executive branch of government.
When the Executive branch fails to uphold the law
In many cases the citizens of the United States can do nothing. The only body with the power to uphold the law might be the Executive branch. Therefore, all a citizen can do is complain that the law is not being upheld.
In certain cases citizens have the power to uphold the law. This power is granted to them by the U.S. Congress. This empowerment is granted to citizens by Congress in the form of a rule or statute that is usually contained with an Act of Congress.
The Act of Congress of importance to this lawsuit is the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA).
Empowerment by FECA
According to FECA if the Executive branch of government fails to enforce election laws in the U.S., then a private citizen has a right to step forward and force compliance.
This means he acts and has the power as if he is the attorney general of the United States. The plaintiff acts like a prosecutor to convict based upon a violation of the law. A defendant need not hurt the plaintiff directly.
This is called being sued according to a statutory right. Congress gave the right for a private citizen such as myself to step forward and file suit.
Power of the citizen attorney
The extent and reach of the power given to the citizen attorney is based upon several factors. The first factor is to examine the Chapter of the laws that are not being upheld. This is a large document that contains many provisions by which the FEC is supposed to operate.
Since the citizen attorney general has stepped in to act on the behalf of a broken system, the Court can be expected to look firstly at the laws in the Chapter to evaluate if defendants committed an infraction of the law. The penalties in the Chapter apply and ability of the citizen attorney to negotiate settlements also applies.
Duty of the citizen attorney
Since the citizen attorney is using the Act of congress and enforcing that Act. It his duty to adhere as much as possible to the intent of Congress when it created the Act. For example it requires him to be non-partisan with enforcement.
Therefore, while the plaintiff may have political leanings in one direction, it is mandatory that he enforce the law equally. Justice must be fair to all sides that committed an infraction.
Naming of Defendants
According to FECA, the FEC is prohibited from disclosing the names of those under investigation unless the party provides written permission. The Plaintiff has attempted to adhere to that as much as possible and has only directed people to view the website Open Secrets.org.
Data on that website can be compared to federal election laws that limit individual campaign contributions. No courts have removed these individual contribution limits.
The Plaintiff's position is a large group has exceeded these limits and this warrants a defendant class action.
Immunity of a citizen attorney general
The plaintiff has anticipated direct and counter lawsuits against his person as a result of this action. The plaintiff has claimed the same immunity from prosecution as if he was a direct officer of the FEC and prosecuting on their behalf. Anyone considering a challenge should first review the Complaint for references. The Courts have requested that any challenge to immunity be performed early in the process.
Why doesn't the FEC uphold election law
Consult the Complaint for a more detailed answer to that question. Also see regulatory capture.
Is this a qui tam?
No. A qui tam is a suit to recover money owing to a fraud against the government. It is done according to the False Claims Act (FCA). Under that type of action a private citizen is called a relator. They get a percentage of money recovered owing to the fraud. In this case there really is no fraud against the government itself, rather there is an alleged violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act. Okay got that. Just remember E is important. This is a suit according Chapter as provided by FECA not FCA.
Philip B. Maise
Plaintiff