ANDREW J . MARTIN; DANNY ROSS; LON FIELDS ; AND ROBERT WINSTEAD V. FRANKLIN CIRCUIT COURT COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY
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*uVrtme Tourt of WenturkLi
2000-SC-1101-DG
AND
2001-SC-0675-DG
ANDREW J . MARTIN DANNY ROSS
LON FIELDS ; AND ROBERT WINSTEAD
V.
[PO MQd
D
APPELLANTS/CROSS-APPELANTS
ON REVIEW AND CROSS-REVIEW FROM COURT OF APPEALS
1999-CA-1367
FRANKLIN CIRCUIT COURT
98-CR-136-1, 98-CR-136-2, 98-CR-136-3 & 98-CR-136-4
COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY
APPELLEE/CROSS-APPELLANT
OPINION OF THE COURT BY JUSTICE COOPER
AFFIRMING
This concludes the second chapter of this protracted investigation and
prosecution of alleged election campaign finance law violations during the 1995
Kentucky gubernatorial election campaign . In chapter one, we upheld the authority of
the grand jury to investigate and return indictments for such violations . Democratic
Party of Kentucky v. Graham , Ky., 976 S .W.2d 423 (1998). Today, we hold that the
statutes under which Appellants now stand indicted are neither unconstitutional as
applied nor unconstitutionally vague or overbroad . Whether the alleged conduct of
Appellants falls within the coverage of those provisions must await chapter three, for
there is no summary judgment procedure in a criminal case in Kentucky.
Commonwealth v. Hayden , Ky., 489 S.W.2d 513, 516 (1972); Commonwealth v. Hav,
Ky. App ., 987 S .W .2d 792, 794-95 (1998) ; Commonwealth v. Hamilton , Ky. App., 905
S .W .2d 83, 84 (1995).
I . THE STATUTES.
In 1995, the relevant provisions of KRS chapters 121 and 121A provided in
pertinent part as follows (words, phrases and provisions deemed by Appellants to
render the statutes unconstitutional are designated in boldface print) :
KRS 121 .015n:
"Contribution" means any:
(a) Payment, distribution, loan, deposit, or gift of money or other
thing of value, to a candidate, his agent, a slate of candidates, its
authorized agent, a committee, or contributing organization . . . ;
(b) Payment by any person other than the candidate, his
authorized treasurer, a slate of candidates, a committee, or a contributing
organization, of compensation for the personal services of another person
which are rendered to a candidate, slate of candidates, committee, or
contributing organization . . . ;
(c) Goods, advertising, or services with a value of more than one
hundred dollars ($100) in the aggregate in any one (1) election which are
furnished to a candidate, slate of candidates, committee, or contributing
organization . . . without charge, or at a rate which is less than the rate
normally charged for the goods or services ;
(e) Expenditure in connection with any other activity
undertaken independently of the activities of a candidate, slate of
candidates, committee, or contributing organization made or
furnished for the purpose of influencing the results of an election ;'
' This subsection was deleted by the 1996 General Assembly. 1996 Ky. Acts,
ch . 153, § 4.
KRS 121 .015(7):
Notwithstanding the foregoing meanings of "contribution," the word
shall not be construed to include :
(a) Services provided without compensation by individuals
volunteering a portion or all of their time on behalf of a candidate,
committee, or contributing organization ;
KRS 121 .150(1) :2
(a) No contribution of money or other thing of value, nor obligation
therefor, shall be made or received, and no expenditure of money or other
thing of value shall be made or incurred, directly or indirectly, other than
an "independent expenditure," . . . to support or defeat a candidate [or]
slate of candidates . . , except through the duly appointed campaign
manager, or campaign treasurer of the candidate [or] slate of candidates
(b) As used in this section, "independent expenditure" means one
made for a communication which expressly advocates the election or
defeat of a clearly identified candidate or slate of candidates . . . and
which is not made with any direct or indirect cooperation, consent,
request, suggestion, or consultation involving a candidate, slate of
candidates, . . or agent .
(c) No candidate, slate of candidates, campaign committee,
political issues committee, nor anyone acting on their behalf shall have
any communication with another person nor anyone on his behalf
regarding that person's making of an independent expenditure on behalf
2 This provision contained four separate and distinct sub-provisions that were
not separately enumerated. We have taken the liberty of dissecting the provision and
designating those sub-provisions as (a), (b), (c) and (d) for purposes of clarity and
analysis .
s
In 1996, this definition was deleted from KRS 121 .150(1), recompiled as KRS
121 .015(12), and amended to read as follows : "'Independent expenditure' means the
expenditure of money or other things of value for a communication which expressly
advocates the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate or slate of candidates,
and which is made without any coordination, consultation or cooperation with any
candidate, slate of candidates, campaign committee, or any authorized person acting
on behalf of any of them, and which is not made in concert with, or at the request or
suggestion of any candidate, slate of candidates, campaign committee, or any
authorized person acting on behalf of any of them ." 1996 Ky. Acts, ch . 153 §§ 3, 4
(emphasis added) .
of the candidate [or] slate . . . prior to the time the independent
expenditure is made .
(d) Any person making an "independent expenditure," as defined
in this subsection, shall report these expenditures when the expenditures
exceed five hundred dollars ($500) in the aggregate in any one (1)
election on a form provided by the registry and shall sign a statement on
the form, under penalty of perjury, that the expenditure was an actual
independent expenditure and that there was no prior communication with
the campaign on whose behalf it was made .
KRS 121 .150(12 ):
No person shall make a payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit, or
gift of money to another person to contribute to a candidate, committee,
contributing organization, or anyone on their behalf. No candidate, committee,
contributing organization, nor anyone on their behalf shall accept a contribution
made by one (1) person who has received a payment, distribution, loan,
advance, deposit or gift of money from another person to contribute to a
candidate, committee, contributing organization, or anyone on their behalf .
KRS 121 .056(1) :
No person who contributes more than the maximum legal
contribution established by KRS 121A.050 in any one (1) election to a
slate of candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor that is elected
to office shall hold any appointive state office or position, which shall be
made by gubernatorial appointment, during the term of office following the
campaign in which the contribution shall be made .
KRS 121A
.050U:
. . . Except for independent expenditures, as defined in KRS
121 .150(1), no natural person . . . shall knowingly make a contribution of
more than five hundred dollars ($500) in any one (1) election to a slate of
candidates that has filed a statement of intent to accept transfers from the
fund and abide by the maximum expenditure limit . . . .
4 This provision was added to KRS 121 .150(1) by the 1994 General Assembly
and deleted therefrom by the 1996 General Assembly. 1994 Ky. Acts, ch . 458, § 8;
1996 Ky. Acts, ch . 153, § 3 .
KRS 121 .990(3):
Any person who knowingly violates any of the provisions of
. . .[KRS] 121 .150 to 121 .230 . . . or KRS Chapter 121 A, shall, for each
offense, be guilty of a Class D felony .
KRS 121 .015(10) :
"Knowingly" means, with respect to conduct or to a circumstance
described by a statute defining an offense, that a person is aware or
should have been aware that his conduct is of that nature or that the
circumstance exists .
II. THE INDICTMENT.
In 1995, Lieutenant Governor Paul Patton and Dr. Stephen Henry were,
respectively, the Democratic candidates for governor and lieutenant governor of
Kentucky. Because the slate filed a statement of intent to accept partial public
financing of its campaign, it was required to limit its campaign expenditures to a total of
$1,800,000, of which $600,000 would be raised by campaign contributions to the slate
and $1,200,000 would be paid to the slate by the publicly financed election campaign
fund . KRS 121A.030(1); KRS 121A .080(1) . Appellant Andrew Martin was the slate's
campaign manager . Appellant Danny Ross was a full-time state employee working as
a "labor liaison" in Lieutenant Governor Patton's office . Appellant Lon Fields was the
president of Local 89 of the General Drivers, Warehousemen and Helpers Union
("Teamsters") and secretary-treasurer of Joint Council 94, the local Teamsters political
action committee (PAC). Appellant Robert Winstead was secretary/treasurer of Local
89 and recording secretary of Joint Council 94.
On July 18, 1995, Ross resigned his position as the lieutenant governor's "labor
liaison" and commenced employment with Joint Council 94 as a "labor coordinator ." He
was hired to work through December 12, 1995, at a total salary of $20,000, to be paid
one-half by Joint Council 94 and one-half by the International Brotherhood of
Teamsters' Democratic Republican Independent Voter Education Committee (IBT
DRIVE), the Teamsters' national PAC. On August 1, 1995, IBT DRIVE forwarded its
check for $10,000 to Joint Council 94 as "reimbursement for 1/2 of Danny Ross salary."
Joint Council 94 subsequently assigned Ross to work as a "political liaison" for AFL-CIO
locals in Kentucky. Joint Council 94, however, continued to pay Ross's salary. On
November 9, 1995, two days after the general election (won by the Patton/Henry slate),
Ross resigned his employment with Joint Council 94 and returned to his former position
in Lieutenant Governor Patton's office . Shortly after taking office as governor, Patton
appointed Fields to the Kentucky Racing Commission, a position that gives him access
to such perquisites as box seats at the Kentucky Derby, and appointed Winstead to the
Kentucky Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, a position that pays him
$19,400 per year (in addition to the pay he receives from his regular employment).
The Commonwealth alleges that Ross's real job from July 18 to November 9,
1995, was that of full-time labor coordinator for the Patton/Henry campaign and that
Fields and Winstead, at the instigation of Martin and Ross, induced the Teamsters
PACs to pay Ross's salary so that the slate would not have to deduct it from the
$1,800,000 maximum expenditure limit permitted by KRS 121 A.030(1), i .e . , money not
paid to Ross was money that could be used for, e.g_, television advertisements . In
essence, the theory of the indictment is that the payment of Ross's $20,000 salary
and/or the in-kind loan of Ross's services to the campaigns (either alone or in complicity
Federal Election Comm'n v. National Rifle Ass'n of America, 254 F.3d 173,
183-87 (D .C . Cir. 2001) (use of employees of not-for-profit association in candidate's
campaign was a "contribution") ; California Med . Ass'n v. Federal Election Comm'n, 641
F .2d 619, 630 (9th Cir. 1980)(value of administrative services donated to campaign was
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with others) was but a disguised contribution to the slate made in violation of KRS
121 .150(1) (Count I -- a contribution not paid to the campaign manager or treasurer),
KRS 121 .150(12) (Count II -- a payment made to another to contribute to the
campaign), and KRS 121A.050(1) (Count V -- a contribution in excess of $500). Count
III of the indictment charges that Appellants solicited and obtained the gubernatorial
appointments for Fields and Winstead as rewards for their successful efforts to induce
the Teamsters PACs to pay the salary of a campaign employee and/or to arrange for
the in-kind loan of Ross's services, and that their appointments were, therefore,
obtained in violation of KRS 121 .056(1).
According to the bill of particulars, Count IV of the indictment pertains to three
separate incidents involving only Martin and/or Ross that are alleged to constitute
violations of KRS 121 .150(1) . The first incident occurred in early November 1995 and
involved an expenditure by the National Council for Senior Citizens PAC, a political
action committee affiliated with the AFL-CIO . The Commonwealth alleges that the PAC
contacted Clarence Frost, a PAC director for the national AFL-CIO, and advised him
that it wanted to spend $10,000 on Patton/Henry radio advertisements . Frost is alleged
to have called Martin to obtain assistance in writing the advertisements, and Martin is
alleged to have directed Frost to the Patton/Henry slate's advertising firm . Frost called
the advertising firm and requested that two advertisements be drafted . The firm drafted
the advertisements and allegedly forwarded them to Patton/Henry campaign
headquarters in Louisville which then faxed the advertisements to Frost who delivered
a "contribution"), affd 453 U.S . 182, 101 S.Ct . 2712, 69 L .Ed.2d 567 (1981) ; Federal
Election Comm'n v. Friends of Jane Harman , 59 F.Supp.2d 1046, 1057 (C .D. Cal .
1999) (services provided by corporate employees at campaign's fundraiser constituted
a "contribution") .
them to the PAC . The PAC expended a total of $8,197 .34 on the advertisements which
it reported as an "independent expenditure ." The Commonwealth claims the
expenditure was an illegal "contribution" because the expenditure was made with "direct
or indirect cooperation . . . or consultation" with Martin and was not paid through the
slate's campaign manager or treasurer .
The second incident occurred on November 4, 1995, when a Mr. and Mrs . Boyer
allegedly informed Patton/Henry campaign workers of their desire to contribute $5,000
to the campaign . The Commonwealth claims the Boyers, at Martin's direction,
delivered to Martin two checks for $2,500 each payable to the Kentucky Democratic
Party. Martin caused the checks to be delivered to Democratic Headquarters which
reported them as contributions to the Democratic Party. The Commonwealth alleges
that, in reality, the Boyer money was spent that same day on Patton/Henry
advertisements at the request or suggestion of, or in consultation with, Martin ; thus, the
Commonwealth asserts, the purchases of the advertisements were not independent
expenditures by the Democratic Party but were illegal contributions made to the
Patton/Henry slate at Martin's instigation.
The third incident pertains to the so-called "Trumka fly-around" on November 5,
1995 . The Commonwealth alleges that Martin and Ross arranged for Richard Trumka,
former president of the United Mine Workers of America and recently elected secretary
treasurer of the AFL-CIO, to accompany Patton and labor union dignitaries on a
chartered flight to various political rallies attended primarily by union members .
Although Patton was the only Democratic candidate to participate in the fly-around, its
cost, $3,878 .62, was paid by the Kentucky Democratic Party Executive Committee .
The Commonwealth contends this was not an independent expenditure by the
Democratic Party but an illegal contribution made at the request or suggestion of, or in
consultation with, Martin and Ross on behalf of the Patton/Henry slate.
The trial judge dismissed the indictment because he believed that the definitions
of "contribution" and "independent expenditure" in the 1995 versions of KRS 121 .015(6)
and KRS 121 .150(1) were unconstitutionally overbroad in that those provisions "do not
permit political activity protected by the First Amendment ;" and that the definition of
"knowingly" in KRS 121 .015(10) was unconstitutionally vague because "no specific
intent by the Defendants is required by the statute to prove any criminal conduct on
behalf of the Defendants ." A split panel of the Court of Appeals disagreed and
reversed and remanded for further proceedings . We granted discretionary review and
now affirm the Court of Appeals.
III. BUCKLEY V. VALEO.
Any First Amendment analysis of Kentucky's Campaign Finance Regulation Act,
KRS chapter 121, and Public Financing Campaign Act, KRS chapter 121 A, necessarily
begins with Bucklev v. Valeo, 424 U .S . 1, 96 S.Ct. 612, 46 L.Ed .2d 659 (1976) (per
curiam), the United States Supreme Court's seminal opinion construing similar
provisions in the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA), 6 as amended in
1974 .' See Nixon v . Shrink Missouri Government PAC, 528 U .S . 377, 382, 120 S .Ct.
897, 901, 145 L .Ed .2d 886 (2000) ("We hold Buckle to be authority for comparable
state regulation, which need not be pegged to Bucklev's dollars .") . The 1974 FECA
amendments provided for partial public financing of federal elections and limitations on
6 Pub. L . No. 92-225, 86 Stat. 3 .
Pub . L. No. 93-443, 88 Stat. 1263; 1 U .S .C. § 431, et sea .
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campaign contributions and expenditures . They also established the Federal Election
Commission to enforce compliance with those provisions . These amendments were
enacted largely in reaction to the "Watergate" scandal and the large sums of money
raised and spent by President Nixon's 1972 re-election campaign . See Jennifer A.
Moore, Note, Campaign Finance Reform in Kentucky: The Race for Governor , 85 Ky.
L .J . 723, 728 (1996-97), citing Robert E. Mutch, Campaigns. Congress, and Courts:
The Making of Federal Campaign Finance Law 47-49 (1988) and Herbert E . Alexander,
Financing Politics: Money. Elections, and Political Reform 1, 20 (4th ed. 1992) .
Similarly, the 1992 amendments of KRS chapter 121 and enactment of KRS chapter
121A, adopting similar reforms, were largely in reaction to the so-called "BOPTROT"
scandal and the large sums of money spent during the 1987 and 1991 gubernatorial
campaigns . Moore, supra , at 723-25.
Although the United States Supreme Court has addressed campaign finance
issues in a number of cases since Bucklev , those decisions have mostly involved
applications of Bucklev to variations on facts and issues. E Federal Election
.,
.g
Comm'n v. Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Comm . ("Colorado II"), 533 U.S .
431, 121 S.Ct. 2351, 150 L.Ed .2d 461 (2001) (applying Bucklev to expenditures by
political parties) ; Federal Election Comm'n v. Massachusetts Citizens for Life Inc., 479
U .S . 238, 107 S .Ct . 616, 93 L.Ed .2d 539 (1986) (applying Bucklev to expenditures by
non-profit corporations); Federal Election Comm'n v. National Conservative Political
Action Comm . , 470 U.S . 480, 105 S.Ct . 1459, 84 L.Ed.2d 455 (1985) (applying Bucklev
to expenditures by political action committees); California Med . Ass'n v. Federal
Election Comm'n , 453 U .S . 182, 101 S .Ct. 2712, 69 L.Ed .2d 567 (1981) (applying
Bucklev to expenditures by individuals and associations) . Accordingly, our task is to
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apply Buckle to the facts and issues giving rise to these indictments . Those aspects of
Buckle dealing with campaign finance matters not at issue in this case, e .g_, limitations
on total campaign expenditures, limitations on expenditures by a candidate from
personal funds, reporting and disclosure requirements, etc., need not be addressed .
At the outset, Buckle held that restrictions on contributions and expenditures
implicate the First Amendment freedoms of speech and association, 424 U .S . at 16-25,
96 S.Ct. at 633-37, and rejected an argument that such limitations were merely
expressive conduct akin to burning a draft card and, therefore, subject to "O'Brien
intermediate scrutiny for communicative action ." Shrink Missouri , supra , at 386, 120
S .Ct. at 903, citin United States v. O'Brien , 391 U .S. 367, 88 S.Ct. 1673, 20 L.Ed .2d
672 (1968) . Similarly, Buckle confirmed that FECA's ceilings on expenditures and
contributions could not be sustained merely as reasonable "time, place, and manner"
restrictions. Buckle , supra, at 17-18, 96 S.Ct. at 634 .
FECA's ceilings, it held,
"impose[d] direct quantity restrictions on political communication and association . . . in
addition to any reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions otherwise imposed ." Id .
However, though holding that limitations on both expenditures and contributions
implicate First Amendment interests, Buckle found that the levels of constitutional
infringement accompanying each subject of regulation differed . Limitations on
"expenditures," or the amount one may independently spend in favor of a political
position or candidate, constitute a direct and substantial limitation on political speech.
Buckle , supra , at 19, 96 S .Ct. at 634-35 .
A restriction on the amount of money a person or group can spend
on political communication during a campaign necessarily reduces the
quantity of expression by restricting the number of issues discussed, the
depth of their exploration, and the size of the audience reached. This is
because virtually every means of communicating ideas in today's mass
society requires the expenditure of money .
Limitations on "contributions," or the amount that one may contribute to a
candidate or political committee, however, were found to create only a "marginal
restriction" on the contributor's First Amendment rights, id . at 20-21, 96 S.Ct. at 635,
because a contribution does little more than communicate "a general expression of
support for a candidate and his views," through "the symbolic act of contributing." Id . at
21, 96 S .Ct. at 635. The First Amendment interest primarily implicated by a contribution
is the right of political association . Id . at 24-25, 96 S.Ct. at 637. This expression of
association is not affected by the amount or size of the contribution which, at best,
conveys "a very rough index of the intensity of the contributor's support for the
candidate ." Id . at 21, 96 S .Ct. at 635-636 . As a matter of necessity, "the
transformation of contributions into political debate involves speech by someone other
than the contributor ." Id . at 21, 96 S.Ct . at 636. Thus, limitations on contributions (not
amounting to a ban) do not pose a great threat to political speech.
Importantly, Bucks also noted that contributions may come clothed as
expenditures . "The expenditure of resources at the candidate's direction," Buckle
found, was for First Amendment purposes no different than a direct monetary
contribution . Id . at 36-37, 96 S .Ct. 612 . Therefore, Buckle approved FECA's
treatment of prearranged or coordinated expenditures as "contributions ." Id . a t 46-47
and n.53, 96 S .Ct. at 647-48 and n . 53 . See also Colorado II , supra , at 440-42, 121
S .Ct. at 2358-59. Only truly "independent expenditures" differ functionally from cash
gifts for purposes of the First Amendment . Id. Buckley also upheld the inclusion of "in-
kind assistance" within the definition of a "contribution" because it "provides material
financial assistance to a candidate ." Id . at 36, 96 S .Ct . at 643 .
The ultimate effect is the same as if the person had contributed the dollar
amount to the candidate and the candidate had then used the contribution
to pay for [e .g_] the fundraising event or the food . . . . Treating these
expenses as contributions when made to the candidate's campaign or at
the direction of the candidate or his staff forecloses an avenue of abuse
without limiting actions voluntarily undertaken by citizens independently of
a candidate's campaign.
Id . at 36-37, 96 S .Ct. at 643. Thus, whether a contributor offers a cash gift or supplies
in-kind assistance or advertisements in coordination with the candidate, governmental
limitations on such contributions impact the First Amendment in only a "marginal" way.
Id . at 20-21, 96 S.Ct. at 635 .
Accordingly, Buckle and its progeny have established that limitations on truly
independent expenditures must be "narrowly tailored" to serve a "compelling"
governmental interest, while limitations on contributions need only be "closely drawn" to
match a "sufficiently important" governmental interest. Buckle , supra , at 24-25, 44-45,
96 S.Ct. at 637-38, 647; Shrink Missouri , supra , at 386-88 and n .3, 120 S.Ct. at 903-05
and n .3 . See also Beaumont v. Federal Election Comm'n , 278 F.3d 261, 271 (4th Cir.
2002); Dagaett v. Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices , 205
F .3d 445, 454, 464 (1 st Cir. 2000) ; Service Employees Int'I Union v. Fair Political
Practices Comm'n , 955 F .2d 1312, 1322 (9th Cir. 1992) ; Opinion of the Justices to the
House of Representatives , 637 N .E.2d 213, 216 (Mass. 1994) .
Buckle concluded that there was a compelling and sufficiently important
governmental interest in preventing corruption and the appearance of corruption arising
from the real or imagined coercive influence of large financial contributions on
candidates' positions and on their conduct if elected to office, especially quid pro quo
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arrangements between contributors and potential office holders that undermine the
integrity of representative democracy. Id . at 25-29, 96 S.Ct . at 638-39 . Thus, the only
question was whether FECA's limitations were sufficiently tailored for purposes of the
First Amendment to meet that interest .
The $1,000 limitation on contributions in former 18 U .S .C. § 618(b)8 easily met
this test . The Court found that it was closely drawn because it focused precisely on the
problem to be solved -- potential corruption related to large campaign contributions -but otherwise did not substantially affect opportunities to engage in independent
political expression and association or undermine to any material degree "the potential
for robust and effective discussion of candidates and campaign issues by individual
citizens, associations, the institutional press, candidates, and political parties ." Id . at
28-29, 96 S.Ct . at 639-40.
However, a different result was required with respect to the $1,000 limitation on
"independent expenditures" in former 18 U.S .C . § 608(e)(1).9 As noted, this restriction
required subjection to the highest scrutiny . The Court's analysis proceeded in two main
steps . First, former § 608(e)(1) was subject to a vagueness analysis pursuant to
NAACP v. Button , 371 U .S . 415, 83 S .Ct. 328, 9 L .Ed .2d 405 (1963), which requires
that Congress regulate in the area of the First Amendment "only with narrow
specificity." Id . at 418, 83 S.Ct . at 338 . As written, former § 608(e)(1) literally
prohibited all individuals from making expenditures in excess of $1,000 "relative to a
clearly identified candidate." Buckle, supra, at 39-40, 96 S .Ct. at 644-45 . The phrase
8 Repealed, Pub. L . No . 94-283, Title II, § 201(b), 90 Stat . 496 (1976) . Now see
2 U.S .C . § 441 a .
9
Repealed, Pub . L. No. 94-283, Title II, § 201(a), 90 Stat. 496 (1976).
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"relative to" was held too indefinite in that it "fail[ed] to clearly mark the boundary
between permissible and impermissible speech . . . ." Id . at 41, 96 S .Ct. at 645 .
Therefore, Buckle construed that language as applying "only to expenditures for
communications that in express terms advocate the election or defeat of a clearly
identified candidate," id . at 44, 96 S .Ct. at 646-47, otherwise referred to as "express
advocacy." Massachusetts Citizens for Life, supra, 479 U .S. at 249, 107 S.Ct. at 623.
In addition to avoiding the vagueness challenge, this interpretation attempted to make
former § 608(e)(1) as constitutionally palatable as possible by leaving unregulated
"funds spent [independently] to propagate one's views on issues without expressly
calling for a candidate's election or defeat," Buckle , supra, at 44, 96 S-Ct . at 646
(quotation omitted), otherwise referred to as "issue advocacy." Massachusetts Citizens
for Life, supra at 252 n .6, 107 S .Ct. at 625 n .6.
Nevertheless, even narrowed to cover only express advocacy, former 18 U .S .C.
§ 608(e)(1) was held to be unconstitutionally overbroad . Most importantly, Buckle
found that independent expenditures for express advocacy posed little danger of real or
apparent corruption. 424 U.S . at 46, 96 S.Ct. at 648.
The fact that coordinated
expenditures were treated as "contributions" by FECA alleviated much of the concern
that corrupt donors would mask their contributions as expenditures . Id . at 47, 96 S .Ct.
at 648 .
The absence of prearrangement and coordination of an expenditure with
the candidate or his agent . . . alleviates the danger that expenditures will
be given as a quid pro quo for improper commitments from the candidate .
Rather than preventing circumvention of the contribution limitations, §
608(e)(1) severely restricts all independent advocacy despite its
substantially diminished potential for abuse .
Thus, in the discussions most relevant to this case, Buckled upheld FECA's limits
on contributions, but struck down FECA's limits on truly independent expenditures . As
the Court has recently noted, "[I]ater cases have respected this line between
contributing and spending ." Colorado II , supra, 533 U .S . at 437, 121 S .Ct. at 2356.
IV. "AS APPLIED ."
Appellants attack the constitutionality of the 1995 version of our campaign
finance laws both "as applied" and as "facially overbroad ." Generally, a person to
whom a statute may constitutionally be applied cannot challenge it on the ground that it
may conceivably be applied unconstitutionally to others in other situations not before
the Court. Broadrick v. Oklahoma , 413 U .S. 601, 610, 93 S .Ct. 2908, 2915, 37 L.Ed .2d
830 (1973) . However, there is an exception with respect to statutes restricting First
Amendment rights. Id . at 612, 93 S .Ct . at 2916 (citing Dombrowski v. Pfister , 380 U.S .
479, 486, 85 S.Ct. 1116, 1121, 31 L.Ed .2d 22 (1965)) . That is "because of a judicial
prediction or assumption that the statute's very existence may cause others not before
the court to refrain from constitutionally protected speech or expression ." Broadrick ,
supra, at 612, 93 S.Ct. at 2916. Dombrowski referred to this as a "chilling effect upon
the exercise of First Amendment rights ." 380 U.S. at 487, 85 S.Ct . at 1121 .
There is general agreement that the "as-applied" issue should be addressed
first, for if the statute is unconstitutional as applied, there is no need to address the
more complicated issue of "facial overbreadth ."
[T]he overbreadth question is ordinarily more difficult to resolve than the
as-applied, since it requires determination whether the statute's overreach
is substantial , not only as an absolute matter, but "judged in relation to the
statute's plainly legitimate sweep," Broadrick v. Oklahoma , supra , at 615,
93 S .Ct., at 2917, and therefore requires consideration of many more
applications than those immediately before the court . Thus, for reasons
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relating both to the proper functioning of courts and to their efficiency, the
lawfulness of the particular application of the law should ordinarily be
decided first.
Board of Trustees of State Univ . of New York v. Fox, 492 U.S . 469, 485, 109 S.Ct.
3028, 3037, 106 L.Ed .2d 388 (1989) (emphasis in original) . Thus, ordinarily, we would
first undertake a comprehensive "as applied" analysis of the constitutionally
objectionable provisions .
However, Appellants' "as applied" challenge can be dismissed simply because
the provisions of which they complain are not being applied to them . The primary First
Amendment violations claimed by Appellants are that (1) KRS 121 .015(6)(e) included
within the definition of "contribution" exactly the type of independent activity that
Buckle held could not be restricted ; (2) the definition of "independent expenditure,"
KRS 121 .150(1)(b) (as dissected), required the expenditure to be made without
"consultation involving a . . . candidate," which could include, pg a consultation with a
:,
.
third party about the candidate or a mere inquiry of the candidate as to his/her position
on a particular issue for the purpose of determining whether to make an independent
expenditure ; and (3) KRS 121 .150(1)(c) (as dissected) prohibited "any communication"
between the campaign and a potential independent spender about the expenditure
before the expenditure was made . We agree that these provisions were facially
unconstitutional for precisely the reasons stated by Appellants .
Nevertheless, the bases for Appellants' attack on these provisions are inapposite
to the conduct charged in the indictment . First, Appellants are not even charged under
KRS 121 .015(6)(e) . Second, although Appellants are charged under KRS 121 .150(1),
the language of which they complain in KRS 121 .150(1)(b) (as dissected) is irrelevant
to their allegedly criminal conduct. Appellants were indicted for making contributions
- 1 7-
(as principals or accomplices) in the form of "coordinated" expenditures to the
Patton/Henry slate other than through the slate's campaign manager or treasurer. The
indictment (as defined by the bill of particulars) does not allege that the expenditures
were contributions because they were made e.g., after consultation with a third party
about the candidate or a mere inquiry as to the candidate's position on a particular
issue. Instead, the indictment alleges that the expenditures were contributions because
the details as to content, timing, place, nature, or volume of the communications for
which the expenditures were made were coordinated with agents of the Patton/Henry
slate . Finally, the expansive reference to "any communication" in KRS 121 .150(1)(c)(as
dissected) is also irrelevant to the indictment . Appellants were not indicted for
it
communicati[ng] with another person or anyone on his/her behalf regarding that
person's making of an independent expenditure ." KRS 121 .150(1)(c) (as dissected).
They were indicted for making contributions (as principals or accomplices) to a slate of
candidates other than through the slate's campaign manager or treasurer. KRS
121 .150(1)(a) (as dissected).
Thus, although the above three provisions, all of which were either repealed or
amended in 1996,' ° were either wholly or partially facially unconstitutional, as discussed
in more detail infra , those unconstitutional aspects are not being applied to Appellants .
'° See notes 1, 3 and 4, supra .
-1 8-
V. OVERBREADTH .
A. Facial Overbreadth.
As noted in the preceding "as applied" analysis, we agree that KRS 121 .015(e),
KRS 121 .150(1)(b) (as dissected), and KRS 121 .150(1)(c) (as dissected) are all
constitutionally infirm for essentially the reasons asserted by Appellants .
The importance of the governmental interest is not at issue here . Appellants do
not suggest that Kentucky's election finance statutes do not serve a compelling or
"sufficiently important" governmental interest in the prevention of corruption and the
appearance of corruption. See Kentucky Right to Life . Inc. v. Terra, 108 F .3d 637, 639
(6th Cir. 1997) ("Numerous Kentucky public officials have been convicted of abusing
their political offices for personal gain over the past twenty-five years . To address this
serious problem, the Kentucky General Assembly passed the Campaign Finance Law
Nevertheless, the objectionable provisions, as written, cannot survive the close
scrutiny required by Buckle . First, as Appellants point out, KRS 121 .015(6)(e) directly
contravened Buckle by defining as a "contribution" exactly the type of "independent
expenditure" that Buckle held was subject to the closest scrutiny.
"Appellants also do not challenge the $500 limitation on contributions
established by KRS 121A.050(1) for the 1995 gubernatorial campaign. The
Patton/Henry slate agreed to that limitation when it filed its statement of intent to accept
partial public financing . That agreement, however, does not affect Appellants'
constitutional challenges to KRS 121 .015, KRS 121 .150, and KRS 121 .990, which
apply to all election campaigns, not just those that are publicly funded . It should be
noted that KRS 121 .150(6) also applied the $500 (now $1,000) limitation to all
candidates (except school board candidates) whose campaigns were not publicly
funded . That statute was upheld against a First Amendment challenge in Kentucky
Riaht to Life . Inc . v. Terry, supra , at 648.
- 1 9-
Second, KRS 121 .150(1)(b) (as dissected) facially defined "independent
expenditure" as, in part, an expenditure "not made . . . with any consultation involving a
candidate ." As Appellants point out, this definition would preclude a person who
intended to post a billboard as an "independent expenditure" from discussing the merits
of the candidate with his third-party neighbor .
Moreover, the potential speaker could
not even call the candidate's headquarters to inquire as to the candidate's position on a
particular issue . Since KRS 121 .150(1)(a) (as dissected) defines a contribution as, inter
alia, "other than an 'independent expenditure,"' the definition affects not only
independent expenditures, but also the limitations on contributions in KRS 121 .150(1).
It is neither narrowly tailored nor closely drawn to meet the governmental interests at
issue and is, therefore, unconstitutional as written .
The prohibition in KRS 121 .150(1)(c) (as dissected) of "any communication"
between the campaign and the potential independent spender about the expenditure
before the expenditure was made is even more seriously flawed . The hard core
purpose of KRS 121 .150(1) is not to prohibit "communications" but to prohibit
"contributions" not made through the candidate's or slate's campaign manager or
campaign treasurer. The existence or absence of a communication between a potential
spender and a candidate, slate, or agent thereof is relevant only to whether an
expenditure is a contribution or an independent expenditure. However, KRS
121 .150(1)(c) (as dissected) prohibited the communication, itself, an even worse First
Amendment violation than the "no contact" rule in 11 C .F.R. § 114 .4(c)(5) that was
struck down in Clifton v. Federal Election Comm'n , 114 F.3d 1309 (1st Cir. 1997).
"[W]e think it is beyond reasonable belief that, to prevent corruption or illicit
coordination, the government could prohibit voluntary discussions between citizens and
their legislators and candidates on public issues ." Id . at 1314.
B. Mootness .
The Commonwealth asserts that the 1996 repeal of KRS 121 .015(6)(e) and KRS
121 .150(1)(c) (as dissected), and the amendment of the definition of "independent
expenditure" to narrow its scope, moots Appellants' overbreadth challenge because
those statutes are no longer "chilling" the exercise of anyone's First Amendment rights .
This argument was embraced by a panel of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in
Kentucky Right to Life. Inc. v. Terry, supra, at 644-45, which premised its decision on
what we conclude was an incorrect interpretation of Massachusetts v. Oakes , 491 U.S .
576, 109 S .Ct . 2633, 105 L .Ed .2d 493 (1989). Terry , 108 F.3d at 644. The
Commonwealth and the Sixth Circuit's opinion rely on Justice O'Connor's plurality
opinion in Oakes. 491 U .S. at 582-84, 109 S.Ct . at 2637-39 . However, that opinion
was joined by only three other members of the Court with respect to that issue. The
separate opinions of Justice Scalia (joined by Blackmun, J .) and Justice Brennan
(joined by Marshall and Stevens, JJ .) both would have held that an intervening repeal of
a facially overbroad statute does not moot an overbreadth challenge by one who stands
convicted under the statute . Id . at 585-88, 591 n.1, 109 S.Ct. at 2639-40, 2642 n .1 .
I join Part I of Justice Scalia's opinion holding that a defendant's
overbreadth challenge cannot be rendered moot by narrowing the statute
after the conduct for which he has been indicted occurred -- the only
proposition to which five Members of the Court have subscribed in this
case .
Id . at 591 n.1, 109 S.Ct. at 2642 n.1 (Brennan, J . dissenting) . Although the five votes
fragmented between the concurring and dissenting opinions in Oakes cannot be
characterized as a "holding" for purposes of stare decisis , Gregg v. Georgia , 428 U.S .
-2 1-
153, 169 n.15, 96 S .Ct. 2909, 2923 n .15, 49 L .Ed .2d 859 (1976) ("the holding of the
Court may be viewed as that position taken by those members who concurred in the
judgment on the narrowest grounds"), we find the reasoning supporting those five votes
persuasive. See espec~iallv_ Justice Scalia's analysis of Bigelow v. Virginia , 421 U .S .
809, 95 S .Ct. 222, 44 L.Ed .2d 600 (1975). Oakes, supra , at 587 n .1, 109 S.Ct. at 2640
n .1 . We conclude that Appellants' overbreadth challenge is not precluded by the
mootness doctrine .
C. Advisory Opinion Mechanism .
The Commonwealth asserts that the advisory opinion mechanism in KRS
121 .135, especially the "safe harbor" provision in KRS 121 .135(4)(b), effectively
eliminates any claim of facial overbreadth . KRS 121 .135(4)(b) provides :
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person or
committee to whom a written advisory opinion has been rendered who
relies upon any provision or finding of the advisory opinion and who acts
in good faith in accordance with the provisions and findings of an advisory
opinion shall not, as a result of any act with respect to a transaction or
activity addressed by the advisory opinion, be subject to any sanction
provided by this chapter . . . .
This issue was also raised in Bucks as a defense to a vagueness challenge,
but was rejected because, at that time, the FECA advisory opinion statute, 2 U.S .C . §
437f (1970 ed ., Supp . IV), afforded the right to request advisory opinions only to
candidates, federal officeholders, and political committees . Buckley, 424 U .S. at 40
n .47, 96 S .Ct. at 645 n .47 . As the Commonwealth points out, KRS 121 .135(1) contains
no such restriction . In further support of its position, the Commonwealth cites the
following language in Martin Tractor Co. v. Federal Election Comm'n , 627 F .2d 375
(D .C. Cir. 1980), a pre-enforcement challenge to the application of certain FECA
provisions :
-22-
[T]o the extent that it offers a prompt means of resolving doubts
with respect to the statute's reach, the advisory opinion (AO) mechanism
written into the FECA, under which the Commission is authorized to give
advice concerning the Act's application to specific factual situations,
mitigates whatever chill may be induced by the statute and argues against
constitutional adjudication on a barren record .
When a means like this one is available to reduce uncertainty or narrow
the statute's reach and that means can be pursued at little risk to the
rights asserted, the chill induced by facial vagueness or overbreadth is pro
tanto reduced .
Id . at 384-86 (emphasis added) .
Although the above quotation refers to "overbreadth," Martin Tractor , like
Buckle , was, in fact, considering the effect of the advisory opinion mechanism on a
claim of vagueness . 627 F .2d at 384. Regardless, we cannot agree that the advisory
opinion mechanism cures or even pro tanto reduces the degree of overbreadth that
existed in KRS 121 .015(6)(e) and KRS 121 .150(1)(c) (as dissected) . The advisory
opinion mechanism, as applied to these provisions, would have been resigned to
continually interpreting an unconstitutional statute. All an advisory opinion could say
with respect to, e .g ., whether a prospective expenditure would constitute a
"contribution*" under KRS 121 .015(6)(e) is essentially "yes" or "no ." If "no," the
expenditure would be afforded a "safe harbor," and no enforcement or punitive action
could be taken . But if "yes," then the otherwise valid conduct would be "chilled," and
the overbreadth issue would still remain .
D . Limiting Construction .
"When a . . . court is dealing with a . . . statute challenged as overbroad, it
should, of course, construe the statute to avoid constitutional problems, if the statute is
subject to such a limiting construction ." New York v. Ferber, 458 U .S. 747, 769 n .24,
102 S.Ct. 3348, 3361 n .24, 73 L .Ed .2d 1113 (1982). "Facial overbreadth has not been
-23-
invoked when a limiting construction has been or could be placed on the challenged
statute ." Broadrick v. Oklahoma , supra , at 613, 93 S .Ct. at 2916 . See also
Massachusetts Citizens for Life. Inc . , supra , 479 U.S. at 248-49, 107 S .Ct. at 623
(construing the definition of "expenditure" in 2 U .S.C. § 432(9)(A) to mean "expenditure
for express advocacy") ; Buckley , supra, 424 U .S . at 41-44, 96 S .Ct. at 645-47
(attempting to mute a vagueness challenge by construing the phrase "expenditure . . .
relative to a clearly identified candidate" to mean "expenditure . . . advocating the
election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate") .
Appellants suggest that the process of upholding constitutionality by a limiting
construction is precluded by the statement in Justice Brennan's dissent in Oakes,
supra , at 591 n.1, 109 S .Ct. at 2642 n .1, that "a defendant's overbreadth challenge
cannot be rendered moot by narrowing the statute after the conduct for which he has
been indicted occurred ." Id . at 591 n .1, 109 S .Ct. at 2642. The distinction, of course, is
that mootness is a procedural device that precludes consideration of the substance of a
statute. The substance of a statute includes not only its words but the judicial
construction placed on those words .
Indeed, in its very next term after rendering Oakes , the United States Supreme
Court addressed precisely this argument in Osborne v . Ohio , 495 U .S . 103, 110 S .Ct.
1691, 109 L .Ed.2d 98 (1990). There, the challenged Ohio statute facially purported to
prohibit the possession of "nude" photographs of minors, apparently contravening the
Supreme Court's holding in Erznoznik v. City of Jacksonville , 422 U .S . 205, 213, 95
S.Ct . 2268, 2274, 45 L .Ed .2d 125 (1975), that depictions of nudity, without more,
constitute protected expression . The Ohio Supreme Court narrowly construed the
statute to prohibit "the possession or viewing of material or performance of a minor who
-24-
is in a state of nudity, where such nudity constitutes a lewd exhibition or involves a
graphic focus on the genitals, and where the person depicted is neither the child nor the
ward of the person charged ." 495 U .S. at 113, 110 S .Ct . at 1698.
Osborne contends that it was impermissible for the Ohio Supreme
Court to apply its construction of § 2907.323(A)(3) to him -- i.e. , to rely on
the narrowed construction of the statute when evaluating his overbreadth
claim . Our cases, however, have long held that a statute as construed
"may be applied to conduct occurring prior to the construction, provided
such application affords fair warning to the defendan[t] ."
Id . at 115, 110 S .Ct. at 1699 (quoting Dombrowski v. Pfister, supra , at 491 n.7, 85 S .Ct .
at 1123 n .7) .
The Court then determined that Osborne had fair warning of the narrowed
construction because (1) it was obvious from the face of the statute that its goal was to
eradicate child pornography and (2) the material in Osborne's possession consisted of
photographs of adolescent boys in sexually explicit situations. "Therefore, although §
2907 .323(A)(3) as written may have been imprecise at its fringes, someone in
Osborne's position would not be surprised to learn that his possession of the four
photographs at issue in this case constituted a crime ." 495 U .S. at 116, 110 S .Ct. at
1700. See also Hamlina v . United States , 418 U .S . 87, 94 S .Ct. 2887, 41 L .Ed .2d 590
(1974), construing a statute that proscribed the mailing of "obscene" matter. In
Ham, the United States Supreme Court rejected an overbreadth challenge by
construing "obscenity," as used in the statute, "to be limited to the sort of 'patently
offensive representations or depictions of that specific "hard core" sexual conduct given
as examples in Miller v. California ."' Id . at 114, 94 S .Ct. at 2906 .
We do not regard Musselman v. Commonwealth , Ky., 705 S .W .2d 476 (1986), or
Hatchett v. City of Glasgow , Ky., 340 S .W.2d 248 (1960), as being contrary to these
mainstream First Amendment precedents . Hatchett involved an interpretation of a
provision of the T .V.A. Act, KRS 96.550, et seg . , that provides authority and procedures
for acquisition by municipalities of privately owned electrical plants . 340 S .W .2d at 251 .
The T .V.A. Act does not purport to restrict First Amendment rights and has no
application to a First Amendment overbreadth challenge . Musselman condemned
"judicial expansion" of a statute by extending its scope to include conduct that could
constitutionally be regulated but which was not within the plain meaning of the statute
as written. 705 S .W.2d at 477 . On the other hand, a limiting construction, sometimes
referred to as "judicial narrowing," limits the scope of a statute by identifying conduct
that can constitutionally be regulated and which is clearly within the meaning of the
statute as written, thereby excluding, by a process akin to eiusdem generis , application
of the statute to conduct that cannot constitutionally be regulated . See also our
discussion, infra, of the "ex post facto/fair warning" issues raised by Appellants .
Among Kentucky precedents, only Commonwealth v. Folev, Ky., 798 S.W .2d
947 (1990), can be construed to prohibit the application of a limiting construction to
uphold the constitutionality of a facially overbroad statute regulating First Amendment
activities . Id . at 948-949 . Foley, however, cited only Hatchett , supra , Musselman,
supra, and Coates v. Cincinnati , 402 U .S . 611, 91 S.Ct. 1686, 29 L.Ed .2d 214 (1971), in
support of that prohibition . As discussed above, neither Hatchett nor Musselman so
held . And in declaring unconstitutional a Cincinnati loitering ordinance that prohibited
"conduct . . . annoying to persons passing by," the Court in Coates noted that the Ohio
Supreme Court had not sufficiently narrowed the scope of the ordinance, 402 U .S . at
613, 91 S.Ct . at 1688, and "[w]e are thus relegated, at best, to the words of the
ordinance itself." Id . at 614, 91 S .Ct. at 1688. Implicit in the Court's holding was a
-26-
conclusion that the ordinance would have been upheld if the Ohio Supreme Court had
narrowly construed it to apply only to activities that could constitutionally be regulated
under the First Amendment . 492 U.S . at 613 n.3, 91 S .Ct. at 1688 n .3 (citing
Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire , 315 U.S . 568, 62 S.Ct. 766, 86 L.Ed . 1039 (1942),
which holds that an otherwise facially overbroad state statute that has been narrowly
construed by the highest court of that state to apply only to activities that can
constitutionally be regulated is not unconstitutional) . Insofar as Commonwealth v. Folev
can be construed to prohibit a limiting construction of a statute challenged as facially
overbroad, we overrule it and follow the mainstream principle of judicial construction
exemplified by Osborne v. Ohio , Federal Election Comm'n v. Massachusetts Citizens
for Life, New York v. Ferber, Buckley v. Valeo , Hamling v. United States, Broadrick v.
Oklahoma , and Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire , all supra . We express no opinion as to
whether the provisions of KRS 119 .205 that were struck down in FoleX would have
survived constitutional scrutiny even under a limiting construction . Cf. Buckley , supra,
at 44-51, 647-50 (even as narrowly construed, former 18 U .S .C. § 608(e)(1)
impermissibly burdened the constitutional right of free expression) .
Thus, we avoid invalidating KRS 121 .150(1) by narrowly construing the phrase,
"consultation involving a . . . candidate, slate of candidates . . . or agent" in the
definition of "independent expenditure," KRS 121 .150(1)(b) (as dissected), as limited to
"consultation with a . . . candidate, slate of candidates . . . or agent regarding the
content, timing, place, nature or volume of the communication for which the expenditure
is made." Cf. Federal Election Commission v. Christian Coalition , 52 F.Supp . 2d 45, 92
(D . D. C. 1999) .'2
Appellants urge us to go further, as did Christian Coalition, and require not only
that the consultation be about details of the proposed communication, as opposed to,
.,
.
e a mere inquiry into the position of the candidate on a particular issue, but also that
the candidate "exercise control over" or engage in "substantial discussion or
negotiation" with the potential spender about those specifics. Id . However, our polar
star, Buckley v. Valeo , supra , defined a "contribution" as an expenditure placed in
"cooperation with or with the consent of the candidate, 424 U .S . at 78, 96 S .Ct. at 663,
obviously concluding that this definition was "closely drawn to avoid unnecessary
abridgment of associational freedoms." Id. at 25, 96 S .Ct. at 638 . Similarly, the
expenditures at issue in Colorado Republican Campaign Comm. v. Federal Election
Comm'n ("Colorado I"), 518 U .S . 604,116 S.Ct. 2309, 135 L.Ed .2d 795 (1996), were
held to be independent expenditures and not contributions because they were "not
[made] pursuant to any general or particular understanding with a candidate ." Id. at
614, 116 S .Ct. at 2315. (In fact, the expenditures at issue in Colorado I , were for
advertisements opposing the election of a Democratic candidate and were made before
the Republican candidate had been selected .) FECA defines "independent
expenditure" as one made "without cooperation or consultation with" the candidate and
"not made in concert or cooperation with, or at the request or suggestion of the
The definition fashioned in Christian Coalition was intended only to apply to
what was termed an "expressive coordinated expenditure," 52 F.Supp . at 92, which the
Federal Election Commission apparently regards as an expenditure for "a general
public communication," e .g ., an advertisement . 11 C.F.R. § 100.23 . However, those
aspects of the definition that we have borrowed from Christian Coalition also apply to
the type of expenditures alleged to have occurred in this case.
12
-2 8-
candidate . 2 U.S .C . § 431(17) .' 3 We conclude that KRS 121 .150(1)(b) (as dissected),
as above construed, is "sufficiently narrowly tailored," Austin v. Michigan Chamber of
Commerce , 494 U .S . 652, 660, 110 S .Ct. 1391, 1398, 108 L.Ed .2d 652 (1990), to
withstand Appellants' overbreadth challenge . 14 However, no amount of judicial
The statute was amended, effective November 6, 2002, to add the words "or
cooperation ." Pub . L. 107-155, Title II § 211 . Title IV § 402, 116 Stat. 92, 112 (March
27, 2002) .
13
Appellants insist that "exacting scrutiny," the label sometimes used by Buckle
to refer to its standard of review, requires a search for "the most narrowly tailored
means" of restricting communications . They then extend that argument to a conclusion
that the 1996 amendments of KRS chapter 121, which, indeed, further narrowed the
restrictions on campaign finance expenditures, conclusively prove that the 1995 version
was unconstitutional because it did not employ "the most narrowly tailored means" of
restriction, i.e . , those reflected by the 1996 amendments . We find this argument akin to
an assertion that a statute is facially overbroad if it is possible to conceive of any
impermissible application thereof. See Houston v. Hill , 482 U .S . 451, 458, 107 S .Ct.
2502, 2508, 96 L.Ed .2d 398 (1987) ("We have never held that a statute should be held
invalid merely because it is possible to conceive of a single impermissible application .")
(quotation omitted) . In fact, "a law should not be invalidated for overbreadth unless it
reaches a substantial number of impermissible applications . . . ." New York v. Ferber,
supra, 458 U .S. at 771, 102 S .Ct. at 3362 ( extending Broadrick v. Oklahoma , supra,
413 U.S . at 615, 93 S.Ct. at 2917).
"A substantial overbreadth rule is implicit in the chilling effect
rationale . . . [T]he presumption must be that only substantially overbroad
laws set up the kind and degree of chill that is judicially cognizable ."
Moreover, "[without] a substantial overbreadth limitation, review for
overbreadth would be draconian indeed . It is difficult to think of a law that
is utterly devoid of potential for unconstitutionality in some conceivable
application ."
Ferber, 458 U .S . at 772 n.27, 102 S .Ct. at 3362 n .27 (quoting Note, The First
Amendment Overbreadth Doctrine , 83 Harv. L . Rev. 844, 859, and n .61 (1970)) . See
also Hendricks v. Commonwealth , Ky., 865 S .W .2d 332, 337 (1993).
The United States Supreme Court has used the phrase, "most narrowly tailored
means," on only one occasion to date, Norman v. Read, 502 U .S . 279, 294, 112 S .Ct.
698, 708, 116 L .Ed .2d 711 (1992), a case challenging the number of signatures that a
"new political party" must obtain to acquire ballot access . The phrase was used in an
isolated context and nothing in Norman suggests an intent to extend or depart from
Buckle in that respect . For these reasons, we reject Appellants' assertion that
exacting scrutiny, or its cousin "strict scrutiny," requires a potentially neverending quest
for "the most narrowly tailored means" of restricting campaign expenditures.
'4
-2 9-
narrowing can cure the constitutional infirmities present in KRS 121 .015(6)(e) and KRS
121 .150(1)(c) (as dissected) .
E. Severability .
KRS 446 .090, entitled "Severability," provides :
It shall be considered that it is the intent of the General Assembly, in
enacting any statute, that if any part of the statute be held unconstitutional
the remaining parts shall remain in force, unless the statute provides
otherwise, or unless the remaining parts are so essentially and
inseparably connected with and dependent upon the unconstitutional part
that it is apparent that the General Assembly would not have enacted the
remaining parts without the unconstitutional part, or unless the remaining
parts, standing alone, are incomplete and incapable of being executed in
accordance with the intent of the General Assembly.
The compiler's notes to this statute explain that this section was originally
created in order to obviate the necessity of attaching a severability clause to each act
as it is passed .
In Brockett v. Spokane Arcades Inc ., 472 U .S. 491, 105 S .Ct. 2794, 86 L .Ed .2d
394 (1985), a similar severability clause in a state statute was invoked to remove
unconstitutional language from a statute and thereby avoid total invalidation because of
partial overbreadth . Id . at 507, 105 S.Ct. at 2803. Similar to the language in KRS
446 .090, Brockett noted that "[p]artial invalidation would be improper if it were contrary
to legislative intent in the sense that the legislature had passed an inseverable Act or
would not have passed it had it known the challenged provision was invalid ." Id . at 506,
105 S.Ct . at 2802-03 . Even without a specific severability statute or clause, courts
routinely sever unconstitutional provisions from overbroad statutes. "[I]f the . . . statute
is not subject to a narrowing construction and is impermissibly overbroad, it
nevertheless should not be stricken down on its face; if it is severable, only the
unconstitutional portion is to be invalidated ." New York v. Ferber, supra , 458 U .S . at
-30-
769 n.24, 102 S .Ct . at 3361 n.24 (citing United States v. Thirty-seven Photographs , 402
U .S . 363, 91 S .Ct . 1400, 28 L.Ed .2d 822 (1971). Thus, in Buckley v. Valeo , supra , the
Court severed those sections of the statutes that it had declared unconstitutional .
Unless it is evident that the legislature would not have enacted those
provisions which are within its power, independently of that which is not,
the invalid part may be dropped if what is left is fully operative as a law.
Id. 424 U .S . at 108-09, 96 S .Ct. at 677 (quoting Champlin Refining Co. v. Corporation
Comm'n, 286 U .S . 210, 234, 52 S .Ct. 559, 565, 76 L.Ed . 1062 (1932)) .
We have no difficulty concluding that KRS 121 .015(6)(e) and KRS 121 .150(1)(c)
(as dissected) are severable from the other valid provisions of those statutes. The valid
provisions, standing alone, are complete and capable of being executed in accordance
with the intent of the General Assembly. Obviously, the valid provisions are not so
essentially and inseparably connected with and dependent upon the invalid provisions
that the General Assembly would not have enacted the valid provisions without the
invalid provisions . Proof positive of the accuracy of that conclusion is the fact that the
General Assembly, itself, severed KRS 121 .015(6)(e) and KRS 121 .150(1)(c) (as
dissected) from the statutory scheme in 1996 . 15 Thus, we invoke KRS 446 .090 and
uphold the constitutionality of KRS 121 .015(6) and KRS 121 .150(1) by severing
therefrom KRS 121 .015(6)(e) and KRS 121 .150(1)(c) (as dissected) .
F. Ex Post Facto/Fair Warning .
Appellants contend that the Ex Post Facto Clause, U.S . Const. art. I, § 10, Ky.
Const . § 19(1), precludes application of our limiting construction of KRS 121 .150(1)'s
definition of "independent expenditure" to the indictment against them . We disagree .
15
See notes 1 and 4, supra .
-31-
As noted su ra, the United States Supreme Court explicitly held otherwise in Osborne
v. Ohio , supra, so long as "'such application affords fair warning to the defendan[t] ."' Id.
at 115, 110 S .Ct. at 1699 (quoting Dombrowski , supra , at 491 n .7, 85 S.Ct. at 1123
n.7). See also Hamling, supra ; Tharp v. Commonwealth , Ky., 40 S.W .3d 356, 362-63
(2000). Appellants' reliance on Bouie v. City of Columbia, 378 U .S. 347, 84 S.Ct. 1697,
12 L .Ed .2d 894 (1964), is misplaced . The defendants in Bouie were charged with
criminal trespass when they refused to leave a retail drug store at which they were
conducting a sit-in demonstration . South Carolina's trespass statute, S .C . Code § 16386 (1952), prohibited " e nt
on lands of another after notice prohibiting same ."
(Emphasis added) . The South Carolina Supreme Court "construed the statute to cover
not only the act of entry on the premises of another after receiving notice not to enter,
but also the act of remaining on the premises of another after receiving notice to leave ."
Bouie , 378 U .S . at 350, 84 S .Ct. at 1700-01 (emphasis added) . Thus, as explained in
Hamling , supra , Bouie involved an "unforeseeable and retroactive judicial expansion of
narrow and precise statutory language," whereas a limiting construction, applied, as
here, in response to an overbreadth challenge "add[s] a clarifying gloss" to the statute
to make it "more definite" in its application to conduct sought to be restricted. Hamling,
418 U.S . at 115-16, 94 S .Ct. at 2907 . See also our discussion, supra, of limiting
construction .
Our construction of the definition of "independent expenditure" in KRS
121 .150(1) simply specifies conduct that was already included within the plain language
of the statute and excludes any conduct that cannot constitutionally be restricted .
Thus, Appellants had "fair warning" of the scope of the valid restrictions in accordance
with Osborne , supra , at 116, 110 S .Ct. at 1700 . Indeed, unlike the expansive
-32-
construction in Bouie, supra , our limiting construction restricts the range of conduct that
is subject to regulation under KRS 121 .150(1)(a) (as dissected). "It is axiomatic that for
a law to be ex post facto it must be more onerous than the prior law." Dobbert v.
Florida , 432 U .S . 282, 294, 97 S.Ct. 2290, 2299, 53 L.Ed .2d 344 (1977) . See also
Calder v. Bull, 3 U .S . (3 Dall.) 386, 391, 1 L .Ed . 648 (1798) (No law "that mollifies the
rigor of criminal law" is within the prohibition of the Ex Post Facto Clause.) .
Appellants' ex post facto challenge to our severance of KRS 121 .015(6)(e) and
KRS 121 .150(1)(c) (as dissected) from the statutes fails for the same reasons .
Severing these unconstitutional provisions only "mollifies the rigor" of the law, Calder,
supra , at 391, and makes it "less onerous ." Dobbert , supra , at 294, 97 S .Ct. at 2299 .
In fact, Dobbert noted that the "ultimate proof"that the new version of the statute was
less onerous than the old was the fact that the old version was unconstitutional . Id. at
297, 97 S.Ct. at 2300 .
VI. VAGUENESS.
"Due process requires that a criminal statute provide adequate notice to a
person of ordinary intelligence that his contemplated conduct is illegal, for'no man shall
be held criminally responsible for conduct which he could not reasonably understand to
be proscribed ."' Buckley v. Valeo, supra , at 77, 96 S .Ct. at 662 (quoting United States
v. Harriss , 347 U .S . 612, 617, 74 S.Ct. 808, 812, 98 L .Ed . 989 (1954)) . "[T]he void-forvagueness doctrine requires that a penal statute define the criminal offense with
sufficient definiteness that ordinary people can understand what conduct is prohibited
and in a manner that does not encourage arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement ."
Kolander v. Lawson , 461 U .S . 352, 357, 103 S .Ct . 1855, 1858, 75 L.Ed .2d 903 (1983).
See also Foley, supra , 798 S .W.2d at 951 ; Commonwealth v. Kash , Ky . App ., 967
S .W .2d 37, 43 (1997) . Moreover, "[b]ecause First Amendment freedoms need
breathing space to survive, government may regulate in the area only with narrow
specificity ." NAACP v. Button , supra, 371 U .S. at 418, 83 S .Ct. at 338 . However,
"speculation about possible vagueness in hypothetical situations not before the Court
will not support a facial attack on a statute when it is surely valid in the vast majority of
its intended applications ." Hill v. Colorado, 530 U .S . 703, 733, 120 S .Ct. 2480, 2498,
147 L .Ed .2d 597 (2000) (quotation omitted) .
A. "Directly or Indirectly."
Appellants assert that use of the phrase "directly or indirectly" in KRS
121 .150(1)(a) (as dissected) and "direct or indirect" in KRS 121 .150(1)(b) (as dissected)
render those provisions unconstitutionally vague . We disagree . Our very Constitution
employs the same language in the context of sanctions for election campaign finance
violations :
[I]f any corporation shall, directly or indirectly , offer, promise or give, or
shall authorize, directly or indirectly , any person to offer, promise or give
any money or any thing of value to influence the result of any election in
this State, or the vote of any voter authorized to vote therein . . . . such
corporation . . . shall, on conviction thereof, forfeit its charter . . . [or] all
right to carry on any business in this State . . . .
Ky . Const. § 150 (emphasis added) . And in Fanelli v. Commonwealth , Ky., 418 S .W .2d
740 (1967), our predecessor Court upheld against a vagueness challenge the provision
of KRS 61 .190 that provides a penalty for "[a]ny public officer who shall receive, directly
or indirectly, any interest, profits or perquisites arising from the use or loan of public
funds . . . ." Id . at 745 (emphasis added) .
Nor have the federal courts expressed any constitutional qualms about
regulating conduct committed "directly or indirectly."
Funds provided to a candidate or political party or campaign committee
either directly or indirectly through an intermediary constitute a
contribution.
Buckley v. Valeo , supra , at 23-24 n .24, 96 S .Ct. at 637 n .24 (emphasis added) .
In Part I we . . . construed that term ["contribution"] to include not only
contributions made directly or indirectly to a candidate, political party, or
campaign committee, and contributions made to other organizations or
individuals but earmarked for political purposes, but also all expenditures
placed in cooperation with or with the consent of a candidate, his agents,
or an authorized committee of the candidate .
Id . at 78, 96 S .Ct . at 663 (emphasis added) .
In United States Civil Service Comm'n v. National Ass'n of Letter Carriers etc.,
413 U .S . 548, 576-81, 93 S .Ct. 2880, 2896-98, 37 L.Ed .2d 796 (1973), the United
States Supreme Court rejected overbreadth and vagueness challenges to Section 9(a)
of the "Hatch Act," 5 U.S .C . § 7324(a)2, and its attendant regulations, one of which, 5
C .F.R. § 733.121(3), prohibited "[d]irectly or indirectly soliciting, receiving, collecting,
handling, disbursing, or accounting for assessments, contributions, or other funds for a
partisan political purpose." (Emphasis added .) In Broadrick v. Oklahoma , supra , the
Court also upheld against identical challenges Oklahoma's version of the "Hatch Act,"
Okla . Stat. Ann ., Tit. 74, § 818(5) and (6), which contained the same provisions . 413
U .S. at 618, 93 S.Ct. at 2908. And in United States v. Goland, 959 F .2d 1449 (9th Cir.
1992), where the defendant claimed his contributions were "independent expenditures"
because the money was not paid directly to the campaign but to a political consultant
who used the money to produce and broadcast commercials scripted by the contributor
and read by the candidate, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that it was immaterial
that the defendant made his illegal contribution "indirectly" as opposed to "directly ." Id .
at 1452 .
The use of the phrase, "directly or indirectly," in KRS 121 .150(1)(a) (as
dissected) gives adequate notice to a person of ordinary intelligence that a contribution
to a candidate or slate includes, e.g ., payment to a third party for the benefit of the
candidate or slate . We also conclude that use of the phrase, "direct or indirect," in the
definition of "independent expenditure" gives adequate notice to a person of ordinary
intelligence that the requisite "consent, request, suggestion or consultation" includes,
.,
.g
etc . , such a communication made to one acting on behalf of the potential spender, e
a request by Martin and/or Ross that Fields and/or Winstead induce the Teamster
PACs to pay Ross's salary.
B. "Knowingly."
Appellants assert that statutes that restrict First Amendment freedoms require
proof of "intent" as an element of any criminal sanction, thus the mens rea of
"knowingly" required by KRS 121A.050(1) and KRS 121 .990(3) is insufficient .
Appellants cite only Smith v. California , 361 U .S. 147, 80 S.Ct. 215, 4 L .Ed .2d 205
(1959), for this proposition . However, Smith struck down the obscenity ordinance at
issue in that case precisely because it did not require the mens rea element of scienter,
i .e . , knowledge by the defendant bookseller of the content of the allegedly obscene
book. Id . at 154-55. And in New York v. Ferber, supra, it was held on appeal of a child
pornography conviction that "criminal responsibility may not be imposed without some
element of scienter on the part of the defendant ." 458 U .S . at 765, 102 S .Ct . at 3358.
We also note that 2 U.S .C . § 441 b(a) makes it unlawful "knowingly to accept or receive"
a contribution from a national bank, corporation, or labor organization, and that 2 U .S.C .
-36-
§ 441 c(a)(2) makes it unlawful "knowingly to solicit" a contribution from a government
contractor. It was held in Federal Election Comm'n v. Dramesiifor Concuress
Committee , 640 F .Supp. 985 (D . N.J. 1986), that a "'knowing' standard, as opposed to
a 'knowing and willful' one, does not require knowledge that one is violating a law, but
merely requires an intent to act." Id. a t 987 . See also Federal Election Comm'n v.
Friends of Jane Harman , supra , note 5, at 1056 n .11 . We conclude that "knowingly" is
a sufficient mens rea to support a criminal conviction of violating Kentucky's campaign
finance laws .
Appellants next contend that KRS 121 .015(10)'s definition of "knowingly" to
mean "aware or should have been aware" denies them due process of law because it
authorizes their convictions under a negligence standard . But Smith v. California,
supra, did not foreclose the possibility that something less than actual knowledge could
support a conviction, even under a statute restricting First Amendment rights .
We need not and most definitely do not pass today on what sort of mental
element is requisite to a constitutionally permissible prosecution of a
bookseller for carrying an obscene book in stock; . . . whether there might
be circumstances under which the State constitutionally might require that
a bookseller investigate further, or might put on him the burden of
explaining why he did not, and what such circumstances might be .
Id . at 154, 80 S .Ct at 219 .
Subsequent cases have held that actual knowledge is not a prerequisite to
conviction under criminal statutes implicating the First Amendment . E Hamling v.
.,
.g
United States, supra, 418 U .S . at 120, 94 S .Ct. at 2909, rejecting an argument that
conviction under an obscenity statute required proof that the defendant "knew or
believed that such [material] could be properly or justly characterized as obscene" and
holding that the proper inquiry was whether (1) the material was, in fact, obscene and
(2) the defendant "knew or had notice" at the time of its content (not whether he knew
or believed it was obscene which, of course, would constitute a mens rea of "intent") ;
Ginsbura v. New York , 390 U .S . 629, 643-44, 88 S.Ct .1274, 1283, 20 L.Ed.2d 195
(1968), rejecting a vagueness challenge to a pornography statute defining "knowingly"
as "having general knowledge of, or reason to know, or a belief or ground for belief
which warrants further inspection or inquiry . . . ."
Other First Amendment cases upholding similar definitions of "knowingly" include
Newman v. Conover , 313 F. Supp . 623, 630 (N .D. Tex. 1970) (defining "constructive
knowledge" as "knowledge of facts which would put a reasonable and prudent man on
notice as to the suspect nature of the material"); Taylor v. State ex rel. Kirkpatrick , 529
S .W .2d 692, 694 (Tenn . 1975) (same) ; State v. Scott, 460 S .W.2d 103, 105 (Tex . 1970)
(same) ; Commonwealth v. Doe, 462 A.2d 762, 7665 (Pa . Super. 1983) ("having general
knowledge of or reason to know, or a belief or ground for belief which warrants further
inspection or inquiry or both"); Great Speckled Bird of Atlanta Coop . News Project v.
Stynchcombe, 298 F .Supp. 1291, 1292 (N .D . Ga . 1969) ("reasonably should know");
State v. Yabe , 559 P .2d 209, 211 (Ariz. Ct . App. 1977) ("having general knowledge of,
or reason to know, or a belief or ground for belief which warrants further inspection or
inquiry") ; State v. Burch , 365 So .2d 1263, 1266 (La . 1978) ("knew or had reason to
know") ; Commonwealth v. Rosenberg , 398 N.E .2d 451, 454-55 (Mass . 1979) ("had
seen, or should have seen") . And in Burns v. State, 512 S .W.2d 928 (Ark. 1974), the
Arkansas Supreme Court upheld a jury instruction defining "knowingly" as "was aware
or should have been aware," precisely the language challenged here . Id . at 934 .
We recognize that the Model Penal Code definition of "knowingly" requires actual
knowledge, Model Penal Code and Commentaries , Part I, § 2 .02 cmt. 2 (A .L .I . 1985),
-38-
and that the definition of "knowingly" in KRS 501 .020(2) defines the term even more
narrowly than does the Model Code. Robert G. Lawson and William H . Fortune,
Kentucky Criminal Law § 2-2(c)(1) (Lexis 1998) . That, however, does not mean that a
different approach is unconstitutional . Our inquiry is not whether KRS 121 .015(10)
"ought" to require actual knowledge but whether requiring less denies Appellants their
Due Process and First Amendment rights . Those statutes that require only something
similar to constructive knowledge are premised upon a recognition that "wilful
blindness" is equivalent to knowledge . See Lawson and Fortune, supra , § 2-2(c)(2);
Rollin M. Perkins, Criminal Law, ch . 7, § 4C (2d ed . Found . Press 1969).
[O]ne with [a deliberate antisocial purpose] may deliberately "shut his
eyes" to avoid knowing what would otherwise be obvious to view. In such
cases, so far as criminal law is concerned, the person acts at his peril in
this regard, and is treated as having "knowledge" of the facts as they are
ultimately discovered to be.
Perkins, at 776 . Thus, in Commonwealth v. Griffin , Ky., 759 S .W .2d 68 (1988), we held
that the mens rea element of "knowingly or having reason to believe" in KRS 514.150
was sufficient to uphold a criminal conviction . Id . at 69 . Similarly, we now hold that the
mens rea element of "aware or should have been aware" in KRS 121 .015(10) suffices
to support a criminal conviction under KRS 121 .990(3) because it requires Appellants to
have sufficient knowledge of the nature of their conduct so as not to deny them their
Due Process and First Amendment rights .
Accordingly, we affirm the Court of Appeals and remand this case to the Franklin
Circuit Court for further proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion .
Lambert, C.J. ; Graves, Keller and Wintersheimer, JJ., concur. Johnstone, J .,
dissents by separate opinion. Stumbo, J ., not sitting.
COUNSEL FOR APPELLANT/CROSS-APPELLEE ANDREW J . MARTIN :
M. Holliday Hopkins
Suite 210
462 S . 4th Avenue
Louisville, KY 40202
William E. Johnson
Johnson, Judy, True & Guarnieri, LLP
326 West Main Street
Frankfort, KY 40601-1887
Sheryl G . Snyder
Amy D. Cubbage
Brown, Todd & Heyburn, PLLC
3200 Providian Center
400 West Market Street
Louisville, KY 40202-3363
COUNSEL FOR APPELLANT/CROSS-APPELLEE DANNY ROSS :
Thomas L . Osborne
Whitlow, Roberts, Houston & Straub
300 Broadway
P .O. Box 995
Paducah, KY 42002-0995
Phillip J. Shepherd
307 West Main Street
P .O . Box 782
Frankfort, KY 40602-0782
COUNSEL FOR APPELLANT/CROSS-APPELLEE LON FIELDS:
Samuel B . Carl
Carl, Head & Triplett
616 South Fifth Street
Louisville, KY 40202
COUNSEL FOR APPELLANT/CROSS-APPELLEE ROBERT WINSTEAD:
J . Bart Adams
500 Kentucky Home Life Building
239 South Fifth Street
Louisville, KY 40202
Alton D. Priddy
Priddy, Isenberg, Miller & Meade, PLLC
800 Republic Building
429 West Muhammad Ali Blvd .
Louisville, KY 40202
COUNSEL FOR APPELLEE/CROSS-APPELLANT COMMONWEALTH OF
KENTUCKY :
A. B . Chandler, III
Attorney General
State Capitol
Frankfort, KY 40601
Janet M . Graham
Jennifer L. Carrico
Assistant Attorneys General
Criminal Appellate Division
Office of the Attorney General
1024 Capital Center Drive
Frankfort, KY 40601-8204
COUNSEL FOR AMICUS CURIAE UNITED STATES SENATOR MITCH MCCONNELL
(2000-SC-1101-DG) :
John K. Bush
Christie A. Moore
Greenebaum, Doll & McDonald, PLLC
3300 National City Tower
101 South Fifth Street
Louisville, KY 40202-3197
RENDERED : JANUARY 23, 2003
TO BE PUBLISHED
0sixprruto (90urf of
2000-SC-1101-DG
AND
2001-SC-0675-DG
ANDREW J . MARTIN ; DANNY ROSS;
LON FIELDS ; AND ROBERT WINSTEAD
V.
rttfixrkg
APPELLANTS/CROSS-APPELLEES
ON REVIEW AND CROSS-REVIEW FROM COURT OF APPEALS
1999-CA-1367
FRANKLIN CIRCUIT COURT
98-CR-136-1, 98-CR-136-2, 98-CR-136-3 & 98-CR-136-4
COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY
APPELLEE/CROSS-APPELLANT
DISSENTING OPINION BY JUSTICE JOHNSTONE
The trial judge in this case correctly ruled that KRS 121 .150(1)' is
unconstitutional on its face and cannot be enforced against the appellants . Because
the majority opinion erroneously affirms the Court of Appeals' opinion that reverses that
decision, I respectfully dissent.
I.
Introduction
The indictment against the appellants alleges that they violated KRS 121 .150(1)
by "knowingly making or receiving a contribution of a thing of value which was neither
an independent expenditure to support or defeat a candidate nor made to the duly
appointed campaign manager or campaign treasurer of the Patton/Henry slate of
candidates." As made clear by the allegations contained in the Bill of Particulars, these
'All statutory citations in this dissent are to the 1994 versions of the statute.
charges involve expenditures made by third parties that allegedly benefitted the
Patton/Henry gubernatorial campaign . The majority opinion accepts this assessment in
concluding that "Appellants were indicted for making contributions . . . in the form of
'coordinated' expenditures to the Patton/Henry slate . . . ." Slip op . at 17-18 . But the
majority's use of the term "coordinated expenditures" is misleading .
The term "coordinated expenditure" comes from the U .S . Supreme Court's
seminal case on campaign-finance regulation . Buckley v. Valeo , 424 U .S. 1, 96 S . Ct.
612, 46 L. Ed . 2d . 659 (1976). In Bu- ckley, the U.S. Supreme Court addressed the
constitutionality of "key provisions of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971
[FECA] ." Id . at 6, 96 S . Ct . at 629, 46 L. Ed . 2d at 680 . The case stands as the
benchmark against which the constitutionality of all other campaign-finance regulation is
made. The majority attempts to shoehorn KRS 121 .150(1) into Bu_ ckley's dictates
through verbal manipulation and gerrymandering . But Buckle 's limits on the General
Assembly's reach are not as malleable as the majority suggests .
As used in Buckley , "coordinated expenditure" is clearly defined by statute to
mean an expenditure "authorized or requested by a candidate ." But the majority
construes KRS 121 .150(1) to define "coordinated expenditure" as any campaign
related expenditure that is not "independent" within the meaning of the statute . In other
words, under the majority's construction of the statute, "coordinated expenditure" is
defined expansively in terms of what it is not rather than in terms of what it is. Under
this reverse definition, "coordinated expenditures" embrace a wide range of campaignrelated expenditures that constitutionally can be neither limited in amount nor required
to be disclosed . Thus, the majority opinion's narrowing construction of KRS
121 .150(1)'s definition of "independent expenditure" merely expands the statute's
definition of "coordinated expenditure" and fails to correct the statute's inherent
constitutional flaw.
II .
Discussion
As did the majority, I begin my discussion with Buckle and its discussion on
spending limits .
Section 608 of FECA prohibited "individuals from contributing more than $25,000
in a single year or more than $1,000 to any single candidate for an election campaign
and from spending more than $1,000 a year'relative to a clearly identified candidate ."'
-.
Id . at 13, 96 S . Ct. at 631-32, 46 L . Ed . 2d at 684. (Buckle referred to the expenditures
encompassed by § 608 as "independent expenditures .") While limits on both
campaign-related contributions and expenditures "operate in an area of the most
fundamental First Amendment activities," the Bucklev Court determined that limits on
campaign-related expenditures deserve closer scrutiny than restrictions on campaignrelated contributions. Id . at 14-23, 96 S . Ct. at 632-36, 46 L. Ed. 2d at 684-90 . The
Court made, and has continued to carefully maintain this distinction, because
"[r]estraints on expenditures generally curb more expressive and associational activity
than limits on contributions do ." Federal Election Commission v. Colorado Republican
Federal Campaign Committee , 533 U .S . 431, 440, 121 S . Ct. 2351, 2358, 150 L . Ed . 2d
461, 472 (2001). Accordingly, the Buckle Court upheld FECA's spending limits on
contributions, but struck down the spending limits on expenditures .
The Buckley Court's discussion of FECA's spending limit provisions is important
to this case, because this is where Buck 's discussion of "coordinated expenditures"
is found; however, it takes a bit of explanation to get there . In beginning its spendinglimit discussion, the Buckle Court stated :
The Act's expenditure ceilings impose direct and
substantial restraints on the quantity of political speech . The
most drastic of the limitations restricts individuals and
groups, including political parties that fail to place a
candidate on the ballot, to an expenditure of $1,000 "relative
to a clearly identified candidate during a calendar year." §
608 (e)(1) . Other expenditure ceilings limit spending by
candidates, § 608 (a), their campaigns, § 608 (c), and
political parties in connection with election campaigns, § 608
(f). It is clear that a primary effect of these expenditure
limitations is to restrict the quantity of campaign speech by
individuals, groups, and candidates . The restrictions, while
neutral as to the ideas expressed, limit political expression
"at the core of our electoral process and of the First
Amendment freedoms ."
Buckley, 424 U .S . at 39, 96 S . Ct. at 644, 46 L . Ed . 2d at 699 .
The Buckley Court concluded that § 608(e)(1) was unconstitutionally vague
because the
key operative language of the provision limits "any
expenditure . . . relative to a clearly identified candidate ."
Although "expenditure," "clearly identified," and "candidate"
are defined in the Act, there is no definition clarifying what
expenditures are "relative to" a candidate. The use of so
indefinite a phrase as "relative to" a candidate fails to clearly
mark the boundary between permissible and impermissible
speech, unless other portions of § 608 (e)(1) make
sufficiently explicit the range of expenditures covered by the
limitation .
Id. at 41-42, 96 S . Ct . at 645, 46 L . Ed . 2d at 700 .
The Buckley Court, however, determined that the range of expenditures covered
by § 608(e)(1) could be made sufficiently explicit by construing the phrase "relative to a
candidate" to mean "advocating the election or defeat of a candidate ." Id . at 42, 96 S.
Ct. at 645-46, 46 L . Ed . 2d at 700-01 . Still, this did not eliminate the vagueness
problem because
the distinction between discussion of issues and candidates
and advocacy of election or defeat of candidates may often
dissolve in practical application . Candidates, especially
incumbents, are intimately tied to public issues involving
legislative proposals and governmental actions. Not only do
candidates campaign on the basis of their positions on
various public issues, but campaigns themselves generate
issues of public interest.
The Bucklev Court then held that the vagueness problem with § 608(e)(1) only
could be eliminated by further limiting the reach of the statute's spending limits by
construing it "to apply only to expenditures for communications that in express terms
advocate the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate for federal office ." Id . at
44, 96 S . Ct . at 646-47, 46 L. Ed . 2d at 702. Even so narrowly and explicitly construed,
the statute was still unconstitutional because "the governmental interest in preventing
corruption and the appearance of corruption is inadequate to justify § 608(e)(1)'s ceiling
on independent expenditures ." Id . at 45, 96 S . Ct. at 647, 46 L. Ed . 2d at 702 . One of
these governmental interests is of great importance to this case .
The proponents of § 608(e)(1) argued that the statute was necessary to
prevent would-be contributors from avoiding the contribution
limitations by the simple expedient of paying directly for
media advertisements or for other portions of the
candidate's campaign activities . . . [and] that expenditures
controlled by or coordinated with the candidate and his
campaign might well have virtually the same value to the
candidate as a contribution and would pose similar dangers
of abuse .
Id . at 46, 96 S. Ct. a t 647, 46 L . Ed . 2d at 703 (emphasis added) . The Buckles Court
rather summarily dismissed this argument by noting that "such controlled or coordinated
expenditures are treated as contributions rather than expenditures under the Act." Id .
at 46, 96 S . Ct . at 647-48, 46 L. Ed . 2d at 703 (emphasis added). The argument had
no merit because "Section 608(b)'s contribution ceilings rather than § 608(e)(1)'s
independent expenditure limitation prevent attempts to circumvent the Act through
prearranged or coordinated expenditures amounting to disguised contributions." Id . at
46-47, 96 S. Ct. at 648, 46 L . Ed . 2d at 703-04.
Thus, under Buckley , "coordinated expenditure" means an expenditure
"authorized or requested by the candidate, an authorized committee of the candidate,
or an agent of the candidate." Id . a t 46, n . 53, 96 S . Ct. at 648, n . 53, 46 L. Ed . 2d at
703, n . 53 (citing § 608(c)(2)(B) of the Act) . KRS Chapter 121's definition of section
does not define "contribution" to include coordinated expenditures as that term is used
in Buckley . Rather, the only definition of "contribution" that applies to expenditures of
any sort is KRS 121 .015(6)(e) : "'Contribution' means any . . . [e]xpenditure in
connection with any other activity undertaken independently of the activities of a
candidate, slate of candidates, committee, or contributing organization made or
furnished for the purposes of influencing the results of an election ." This definition is
unconstitutional on its face because it includes "exactly the type of independent activity
that Buckley held could not be restricted ." Slip op . at 17. The definition is void and has
no effect . Further, KRS Chapter 121's definition of section does not define either the
term "expenditure" or "coordinated expenditure ." Therefore, any definition of those
terms must be found in KRS 121 .150(1) itself .
KRS 121 .150(1) places affirmative obligations on all persons or groups who
make expenditures to support or defeat a candidate ("campaign-related expenditures") .
The form of the obligation depends on the type of expenditure made . "Independent"
campaign-related expenditures over $500 must be reported directly to the Registry . All
other campaign-related expenditures must be made through a "duly appointed
campaign manager, or campaign treasurer ." The majority opinion considers these non-
independent, campaign-related expenditures to be "coordinated expenditures" that can
be treated as "contributions" under Buckley . See slip op . at 17-18 . The
Commonwealth clearly gives the statute this construction . The Bill of Particulars
alleges that the appellants "violated KRS 121 .150(1) by contributing a 'thing of value' to
the Patton campaign [that] was not made to [Patton's] campaign manager or . . .
treasurer . . . and which was not an independent expenditure ." (Emphasis added) .
Thus, while KRS 121 .150(1) does not expressly define "coordinated expenditure," it
implicitly defines it in terms of what is not an "independent expenditure ." This inclusive
and implicit definition is contrary to the exclusive and explicit definition of the same term
in Buckley. This difference in definition is what makes KRS 121 .150(1)
unconstitutionally overbroad on its face .
KRS 121 .150(1) defines the term "independent expenditure" to mean an
expenditure
made for a communication which expressly advocates the
election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate or slate of
candidates, or the passage or defeat of a constitutional
amendment or public question which will appear on the
ballot and which is not made with any direct or indirect
cooperation, consent, request, suggestion, or consultation
involving a candidate, slate of candidates, campaign
committee, political issues committee, or agent.
The above definition is detailed, precise and, well, definite . It is the inverse of
Buckley's definition of the same term . Buckley uses the term "independent
expenditure" broadly and indefinitely to refer to FECA's spending limits on all
"expenditures by individuals and groups 'relative to a clearly identified candidate ."'
Buckle , 424 U.S . at 7, 96 S. Ct. at 629, 46 L. Ed. 2d at 681 . Thus, Buckley' s use of
the term "independent expenditure" corresponds the closest with KRS 121 .150(1)'s
phrase "expenditures . . . made . . . to support or defeat a candidate ." On the other
hand, KRS 121 .150(1)'s definition of "independent expenditure" corresponds with
Bu-.ckley' s narrow and explicit construction of the term "expenditure ."
The language "expressly advocates the election or defeat of a clearly identified
candidate" contained in KRS 121 .150(1)'s definition of "independent expenditure" is
obviously patterned after the Buckle Court's narrow construction of § 608 (e)(1), which
limited that statute's application "only to expenditures for communications that in
express terms advocate the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate for
federal office ." Buckle , 424 U.S. at 44, 96 S . Ct. at 646-47, 46 L . Ed . 2d at 702 .
Recall that the Buckle Court narrowly construed § 608(e)(1) this way to avoid the
inherent vagueness problem of applying FECA's spending limits to "independent
expenditures" as that term was used in Buckle . Further recall that, by definition,
expenditures that were "authorized or requested by a candidate" (coordinated
expenditures) were excluded from the definition of "independent expenditures" in
Bu_ ckle. Thus, under Buckle 's narrow construction of § 608, "expenditures"
comprised a small, discrete subset of the whole set of "independent expenditures," as
that term is used in Bu_ ckley.
Unlike Buckle , under KRS 121 .150(1) it is "independent expenditures" that
comprise a small, discrete subset of a much greater set. This greater set consists of all
"expenditures . . . made . . . to support or defeat a candidate ." But the greater set of
KRS 121 .150(1) is larger than Buckley's set of "independent expenditures" because,
under Buckley , "independent expenditures" expressly excluded expenditures
"authorized or requested by a candidate," whereas such expenditures are not excluded
from KRS 121 .150(1)'s phrase "expenditures . . . made . . . to support or defeat a
candidate" and, thus, necessarily fall somewhere within it. But also falling within that
phrase are expenditures made for "exactly the type of independent activity that Buckle
held could not be restricted ." Therefore, under Buck, all expenditures "relative to a
clearly identified candidate" ("independent expenditures") that are not "expenditures for
communications that in express terms advocate the election or defeat of a clearly
identified candidate" ("expenditures") are campaign-related expenditures that
constitutionally can be subject to neither spending limits nor reporting requirements . On
the other hand, under KRS 121 .150(1) "expenditures . . . made . . . to support or defeat
a candidate" (all campaign-related expenditures) that are not "independent
expenditures" within the meaning of the statute, include both "independent
expenditures" and "coordinated expenditures" as those two terms are used in Buckle .
Thus, in the context of the case at bar, the statute's constitutional infirmity lies not in the
type of expenditures included in KRS 121 .150(1)'s definition of "independent
expenditure," but rather, the infirmity lies in the type of expenditures excluded by the
definition, which indiscriminately includes both "independent expenditures" and
"coordinated expenditures" as those terms are used in Buckle. And it applies to these
campaign-related expenditures in a way prohibited by Buckle , as can be shown
through Bu- ckley's discussion of FECA's disclosure and reporting provisions .
Reporting and disclosure are not the same thing . "Disclosure" refers to statutory
provisions that compel political candidates, parties and committees to keep detailed
records of contributions and expenditures and to disclose this information through
regular pre- and post-election reports to a governmental agency . See Buckle, 424
U.S . at 60-63, 96 S . Ct. at 654-55, 46 L. Ed. 2d at 711-12 (emphasis added) .
"Reporting" refers to statutory provisions that require "direct disclosure of what an
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individual or group contributes or spends ." Id . at 75, 96 S . Ct. at 661, 46 L . Ed . 2d at
719 (emphasis added) .
The Kentucky disclosure provisions require any candidate, slate of candidates,
or political issue committee to make a report to the Kentucky Registry of Election
Finance ("Registry") that includes inter alia a list of the full name, address, occupation
and employer of any person making a contribution over $100, as well as the date on
which the contribution was made ; and (2) a "complete statement of all expenditures
authorized, incurred or made ." KRS 121 .180(3)(a). In turn, the Registry is required to
make these reports available for inspection and copying. KRS 121 .120(4)(f) . These
provisions are very similar to those in FECA, which were discussed in Buckle . Id . at
62-64, 96 S. Ct. at 655-56, 46 L. Ed . 2d at 712-13 .
The Buckle Court held that FECA's disclosure requirements were constitutional .
Id . at 64-68, 96 S. Ct. at 655-56, 46 L . Ed. 2d at 713-16. Likewise, and for the same
reasons which are not relevant here, I believe that the Kentucky disclosure statutes are
constitutional . But Bu_ ckley's "disclosure" discussion is not relevant to the case at bar.
Rather, what is relevant is Buckles discussion and examination of FECA's reporting
statute, § 434.
Section 434 of FECA imposed no spending limits on either contributions or
expenditures . Instead, it required "every person (other than a political committee or
candidate) who makes contributions or expenditures aggregating over $100 in a
calendar year other than by contribution to a political committee or candidate to file a
statement with the [Federal Election Commission]." Id . at 74-75, 96 S. Ct. at 661, 46 L .
Ed . 2d at 719 (internal quotation marks omitted) . Violation of the statute carried
criminal penalties . Id . at 76, 96 S . Ct . at 661, 46 L . Ed . 2d at 720 . Similarly, KRS
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121 .150 imposes no limits on either campaign-related contributions or expenditures .
Instead, it requires that all contributions and expenditures, other than "independent
expenditures," be made only through [a] candidate's campaign manager or treasurer .
"Independent expenditures" over $500 are to be directly reported to the Registry . And,
violation of the statute is a felony offense . KRS 121 .990(3). In the context of this case,
the only possible difference in the two statutes is KRS 121 .150(1)'s bifurcation of
reporting requirements between (1) the Registry, and (2) "only through [a] duly
appointed campaign manager ." The difference is of no practical consequence .
First of all, it was § 434's criminal penalties for individuals and groups who failed
to report a contribution or expenditure that caused the Buckle Court the most concern
about the statute's constitutionality . See Buckle , 424 at 76-77, 96 S . Ct . at 662, 46 L.
Ed . 2d at 720 (§ 434 "raises serious problems of vagueness, particularly treacherous
where, as here, the violation of its terms carries criminal penalties and fear of incurring
these sanctions may deter those who seek to exercise protected First Amendment
rights .") . Further, KRS 121 .150(1)'s requirement that a campaign-related contribution
or non-independent expenditure shall be made "only through [a] duly appointed
campaign manager, or campaign treasurer" is, for all practical purposes, a reporting
requirement .
While no report is made directly to the Registry under the "through [a] duly
appointed campaign manager" requirement, the candidate, through whose campaign
manager the contribution or non-independent expenditure is made, is required to file a
detailed report of the information to the Registry . KRS 121 .180(3)(a). This report
includes the full name and address of the person making the contribution or
expenditure . In turn, the Registry is required to make these reports available for public
inspection and copying . KRS 121 .120(4)(f). From the standpoint of the person or
group making a campaign-related contribution or expenditure, there is no appreciable
difference between directly reporting vital information about a campaign-related
contribution or expenditure to the Registry and indirectly reporting the same information
through a "duly appointed campaign manager." Therefore, the reach of KRS
121 .150(1)'s reporting requirement is necessarily constrained by what is constitutionally
permissible under Buckley and its progeny, because (1) neither § 434 nor KRS
121 .150(1) imposes any constraints on the amount of campaign-related contributions or
expenditures that individuals or groups can make, (2) both KRS 121 .150(1) and § 434
of FECA affirmatively require individuals and groups to report campaign-related
contributions and expenditures, (3) violation of both statutes is a criminal offense, and
(4) both statutes' reporting requirements implicate core First Amendment rights .
In its discussion of § 434, the Buckle Court separately examined the
constitutionality of the statute as applied to contributions and expenditures, just as it did
in its discussion of FECA's spending-limit provisions . In this discussion, the Court noted
that FECA's reporting and disclosure provisions used the same definition of
"contribution" as was used in the spending limit provisions . Buckle, 424 U .S . at 78, 96
S . Ct. at 663, 46 L . Ed . 2d at 721 . That is, FECA defined "contribution" to include
expenditures "authorized or requested" by a candidate for purposes of § 434 . The
Buckle Court held that the reporting provisions were constitutional as applied to
contributions because, "[s]o defined, 'contributions' have a sufficiently close relationship
to the goals of the Act, for they are connected with a candidate or his campaign." Id . at
78, 96 S . Ct. at 663, 46 L. Ed . 2d at 721-22. The individual reporting requirements of
§ 434 as applied to "expenditures" gave the Court more pause.
- 1 2-
Just as it began its discussion on FECA's spending-limit provisions, the Buckley
Court began its discussion of § 434 by addressing an inherent vagueness problem with
the statute . This time, the language that gave the Court trouble was the phrase "for the
purpose of . . . influencing an election or nomination," which the Court determined had
the "potential for encompassing both issue discussion and advocacy of a political
result ." Id . at 79, 96 S . Ct. at 663, 46 L. Ed. 2d at 722 . The Court concluded that this
was overbroad . Id . at 79-80, 96 S . Ct. at 663-64, 46 L . Ed . 2d at 722 . Thus, to insure
that the reach of § 434(e) was not impermissibly broad, the Buckle Court construed
"expenditure" for purposes of § 434 in the same way it construed "expenditure" in
FECA's spending-limit provisions, i.e. , "to reach only funds used for communications
that expressly advocate the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate ." Id . at
80, 86 S . Ct. at 664, 46 L . Ed . 2d at 722 . But unlike § 608's spending limits on
expenditures, the Buckle Court held that § 434's reporting requirement of expenditures
was constitutional in light of its narrow construction of the statute because it bore a
"sufficient relationship to [the] substantial governmental interest[s]" of preventing
election corruption and the appearance of corruption . Id . at 80, 96 S. Ct. at 664, 46 L.
Ed . 2d . at 722.
In concluding its § 434 discussion, the Buckle Court provided a summary of
when § 434(e), as construed, imposed independent reporting requirements on
individuals and groups that were not candidates or political committees. Reporting
under the statute was required
only in the following circumstances : (1) when they make
contributions earmarked for political purposes or authorized
or requested by a candidate or his agent, to some person
other than a candidate or political committee , and (2) when
they make expenditures for communications that expressly
-1 3-
advocate the election or defeat of a clearly identified
candidate .
Id. at 80, 96 S. Ct. at 664, 46 L . Ed . 2d at 722-23 (emphasis added).
The "authorized or requested" language mirrors FECA's description of the types
of expenditures (coordinated) that are included in the definition of "contribution" and,
consequently, that are excluded from the definition of "expenditure ." Thus, under
Bu_ ckley, the General Assembly may only require individuals and groups, who are not
candidates or political committees, to report expenditures (1) that are authorized or
requested by a candidate or his or her agent, or (2) that are made for communications
that expressly advocate the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate. By
defining "coordinated expenditures" as any expenditure that is not "independent" within
the meaning of the statute, KRS 121 .150(1) goes much further than Buckley allows .
KRS 121 .150(1) requires the reporting of all expenditures made "to support or
defeat" a candidate or slate of candidates, except "independent expenditures" under
$500. This requirement indiscriminately embraces both direct advocacy and the
discussion of issues . It applies exactly to the type of "independent expenditures" that
the government cannot require to be reported . The statute is too broad . The majority's
narrowing construction of the term "independent expenditure" does nothing to solve this
problem, because it only affects to whom campaign-related expenditures have to be
reported ; it fails to affect the range of campaign-related expenditures that are required
to be reported under the statute, which is where the constitutional infirmity of the statute
lies.
Finally, KRS 121 .150(1)'s definition of "coordinated expenditures" in terms of
what it is not rather than in terms of what it is, creates yet another problem that makes
the statute unenforceable . Under the majority's construction of KRS 121 .150(1), to
prove violation of the statute at trial, the Commonwealth will have to show that the
alleged expenditures (1) were made to support or defeat a candidate, and (2) the
expenditures were not "independent" as that term has been construed by the majority .
Thus, all non-"independent expenditures" are non-rebuttably presumed to be
"coordinated" under KRS 121 .150(1). This presumption is not enforceable . See
Federal Election Commission v. Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee ,
518 U .S . 604, 621-22, 116 S . Ct. 2319, 135 L. Ed. 2d. 795, 809 (1996).
Ill .
Conclusion
KRS 121 .150(1) is unconstitutional on its face because it requires campaign-
related expenditures to be reported that cannot be required to be reported under
Bu_ ckley, and because it creates the impermissible presumption that all nonindependent expenditures are "coordinated ." Because the reporting requirement
applies to all expenditures made to support or defeat a candidate, it inescapably
reaches expenditures that neither expressly advocate the election or defeat of a clearly
identified candidate nor are authorized or requested by a candidate. The majority's
attempt to save the constitutionality of the statute through a narrow construction of the
term "independent expenditure" misses the mark because it does not limit the type of
campaign-related expenditures that are subject to the statute's reach . Finally, the
unconstitutionality of the statute renders all the charges in the indictment against the
appellants unenforceable.
Counts I and IV of the Indictment cannot be maintained because they allege a
violation of KRS 121 .150(1), which is unconstitutional and cannot be enforced against
the appellants.
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Count II of the Indictment cannot be maintained because the Bill of Particulars
alleges that appellant Martin violated KRS 121 .150(12) because he "knowingly
accepted a contribution made by Ross, Fields and Winstead ." But the alleged
"contribution" is in the form of an expenditure . The applicable definition of contribution
that applies to expenditures is unconstitutional on its face . Therefore, any expenditure
made or received by the appellants cannot be considered a "contribution" within the
meaning of KRS 121 .150(12).
Counts III and V of the Indictment cannot be maintained because the charges
are based on the allegation that the appellants violated KRS 121 .150(1) . Because the
statute is unconstitutional, there is no underlying offense to support the allegation .
For the reasons set forth above, I respectfully dissent.
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