ALEXANDRIA, Va. — CCP Legal Director Allen Dickerson will argue Monday morning, 9:30 am, in the case of Libertarian National Committee (LNC) v. FEC. The hearing will be before Judge Robert L. Wilkins of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The case argues that bequests should not be subject to the same restrictions as contributions from living individuals.
The case was filed in 2011 and concerned the estate of Raymond Groves Burrington of Knox County, Tennessee, who left the Libertarian Party $217,734 in his will. Because that amount exceeded the annual limit on contributions to national party committees, the LNC was forced to place funds in escrow, withdrawing only the amount permitted by the FEC. The LNC seeks the full amount of the bequest, as well as the ability to implement a planned giving program that would solicit bequests exceeding the annual contribution limit.
Dickerson will be arguing three points Monday: whether to certify the case to the en banc D.C. Circuit; whether to grant summary judgment to the FEC; and the relevance of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to hear arguments in McCutcheon v. FEC, a case challenging the limits on aggregate contributions to various groups, including party committees.
CCP is co-counsel with Alan Gura of Gura & Possessky, P.L.L.C. The joint status report on the case can be found here.
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