The amicus briefs are coming fast and furious in response to the proposed consent judgment in National Religious Broadcasters v. Werfel (E.D. Tex.). See the Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse docket for the case. While the proposed order would legally only prohibit the IRS from enforcing the Johnson Amendment’s prohibition on political campaign intervention with respect to the church plaintiffs in the case, the statement in both the joint motion by the plaintiffs and the IRS and the proposed order that the Johnson Amendment does not apply to ““speech by a [tax-exempt] house of worship to its congregation, in connection with religious services through its customary channels of communication on matters of faith, concerning electoral politics viewed through the lens of religious faith” has attracted widespread attention. Amici include not only groups long-interested in the Johnson Amendment’s application to churches, such as Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the First Liberty Institute, but also groups concerned about election laws and First Amendment principles more generally, such as the Campaign Legal Center and the Institute for Free Speech.
The court has not given any indication of when it will decide on the joint motion, although presumably it will first need to resolves a dispute over whether Americans United for Church and State will be allowed to intervene in the case in addition to filing an amicus brief. (Only one motion to file an amicus brief (by the Campaign Legal Center, Public Citizen, and Common Cause) was opposed, and the court has already granted that motion along with several unopposed such motions.)
Coverage: N.Y. TimesThe Conversation (by yours truly).
Lloyd Mayer
