|
|
Home :
Free Speech
:
General
Maine Civil Liberties Union Says Candidate’s Right to Exercise Political Speech Violated (7/20/2006)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: media@aclu.org
MCLU Says Speech Statute Is Overbroad and Unfair
PORTLAND, ME —
The Maine Civil Liberties Union today filed a motion on behalf of Michael
Mowles, a 2006 candidate for the Maine House of Representatives. Mowles became
the subject of harmful scrutiny during his bid for the Republican primary
nomination after the State Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election
Practices publicly criticized his campaign literature, using an unconstitutional
law to limit political speech.
“Our elections system is
based upon a free marketplace of ideas,” said David A. Lourie, an MCLU volunteer
attorney for Mowles.. “The decision about whether a politicians’ speech is
foolish, inappropriate, or misleading rests with the voters, not the
government.”
Mowles’ 2004 candidacy for the Maine House of
Representatives was endorsed by U.S. Senators Snowe and Collins. In his
2006 run for the same office, he distributed leaflets that included quotations
from the previous election’s Senatorial endorsements, each with the attribution
“October 2004” printed after it. His opponent in the 2006 Republican
primary, Jennifer Duddy, filed a complaint with the Commission alleging that
Mowles circulated a misleading leaflet.
The Commission held an
impromptu hearing, giving Mowles only an an hour and a half notice. He was
unable to attend. At the hearing, the Commission determined that by
reprinting the earlier endorsements Mowles was violating the statute that
prohibits distributing “unauthorized” campaign materials. The decision of
the Commission was widely reported in local papers, and Mowles lost to Duddy in
the primary.
“The government doesn’t have the right to control
political speech,” said Shenna Bellows, Executive Director of the Maine Civil
Liberties Union, “Mr. Mowles was making use of comments already in the public
sphere. It’s up to the people, not his opponent and not the government, to
decide whether or not that’s appropriate.”
Today’s motion
was filed in the Cumberland County Superior Court. At issue is whether or not
the law that allowed the scrutiny of Mowles’ campaign materials is
unconstitutional. Today’s proceedings also represent the first time the MCLU
officially spoke in the case.
|
|
|
