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Last Updated: February 21, 2013 at 10:11 AM

Applewhite v. Pennsylvania

Case Information

Date Filed: May 1, 2012
State: Pennsylvania
Issue: Voter ID
Current Court: Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania (Case 330 MD 2012)

Issue:

Whether Pennsylvania's newly passed state voter ID law violates the Pennsylvania Constitution and whether or not the law can go into effect for the 2012 general election.

Status:

Petition for Review filed 5/1/12. Trial scheduled for 7/25/12. Motion for preliminary injunction denied 8/15/12. Notice of Appeal to Supreme Court of Pennsylvania filed 8/16/12. Order granting motion to expedite and setting briefing schedule filed 8/23/12. Oral argument set for 9/13/12. Appellant's brief filed 8/30/12. Appellee's briefs filed 9/7/12. Order Vacating Judgment and Remanding Case filed 9/18/12. Opinion and Order Granting Preliminary Injunction filed 10/2/12. Trial on Permanent Injunction scheduled for July 2013. Joint stipulation that preliminary injunction will continue through May primary election filed 2/14/13.

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Documents

Order granting motion to expedite and setting briefing schedule (filed 8/23/12)
- Oral argument schedule
Brief of Appellants (filed 8/30/12)
- Amicus Brief of Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (filed 8/30/12)
- City of Philadelphia Amicus Brief (filed 8/30/12)
- Common Cause Amicus Brief (filed 8/30/12)
- Pennsylvania Law Professors' Amicus Briefs (filed 8/30/12)
- AARP and Senior Law Center Amicus Briefs (filed 8/30/12)
- Amicus Brief of Stephen J. Shapiro (filed 8/30/12)
Brief for Appellee the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (filed 9/7/12)
Brief of Appellees Corbett and Aichele (filed 9/7/12)
- Republican Caucus Amicus Brief (filed 9/7/12)
- Bipartisan Group of Electors Amicus Brief (filed 9/7/12)
- Landmark Legal Foundation Amicus Brief (filed 9/7/12)
- American Center for Law and Justice Amicus Brief (filed 9/7/12)
- Pennsylvania House of Representatives Members Amicus Brief (filed 9/7/12)
Per Curiam Order Vacating Judgment and Remanding Case to Commonwealth Court (filed 9/18/12)
- Dissenting Statement (filed 9/18/12)
- Second Dissenting Statement (filed 9/18/12)

Commonwealth Court Documents

Petition for Review (filed 5/1/12)
Motion for Preliminary Injunction (filed 5/1/12)
Intervenors' Response to Petitioner's Request to Expedite (filed 5/9/12)
Verified Petition for Leave to Intervene (filed 5/9/12)
Reply in Support of Motion to Expedite (filed 5/14/12)
Brief in Opposition to Verified Petition to Intervene (filed 5/16/12)
Answer and New Matter of the Petitioners to the Verified Motion to Intervene (filed 5/16/12)
Order Denying Intervention (filed 5/29/12)
Application for Protective Order (6/8/12)
Order Granting Application for Protective Order (6/11/12)
Common Cause of Pensylvania Amicus Curiae Brief in Support of Petitioners (filed 7/11/12)
Stipulations (filed 7/12/12)
Brief of Amicus Curiae the City of Philadelphia in Support of Petitioners (filed 7/16/12)
Amicus Curiae Brief in Support of Respondents (filed 7/17/12)
Petitioners' Pre-Trial Brief (filed 7/18/12)
Respondents' Pre-Trial Brief (filed 7/18/12)
Petitioners' Proposed Exhibits (filed 7/18/12)
Petitioners' Proposed Witnesses (filed 7/18/12)
Brief of Amicus Curiae Pennsylvania AFL-CIO in Support of Petitioners (filed 7/18/12)
Motion to Quash Subpoena (Pike County District Attorney's Office) (7/19/12)
Trial Transcript (filed 7/25/12)
Trial Transcript (filed 7/26/12)
Trial Transcript (filed 7/27/12)
Trial Transcript (filed 7/30/12)
Trial Transcript (filed 7/31/12)
Trial Transcript (filed 8/1/12)
Trial Transcript (filed 8/2/12)
Respondents' Post-Trial Brief (filed 8/7/12)
Petitioners' Post-Trial Brief (filed 8/7/12)
Denial of Preliminary Injunction (filed 8/15/12)
Notice of Appeal to PA Supreme Court (filed 8/16/12)
Petitioner's Application for Entry of Injunction without Evidentiary Hearing (filed 9/20/12)
Scheduling Order for Hearing on Remand (filed 9/20/12)
Petitioners' Pre-hearing Brief (filed 9/24/12)
Respondents' Pre-hearing Brief (filed 9/24/12)
Declarations and Exhibits (filed 9/25/12)
Transcript (filed 9/24/12)
Transcript (filed 9/27/12)
Petitioner's Post-hearing Brief (filed 9/28/12)
Respondent's Post-hearing Brief (filed 9/28/12)
Opinion and Order Granting Preliminary Injunction (filed 10/2/12)
Petition for Supplemental Injunction (filed 10/19/12)
Petition for Supplemental Injunction Exhibits (filed 10/19/12)
Amended Motion to Reconsider Response Deadline (filed 10/24/12)
Scheduling Order for Trial on Permanent Injunction (filed 1/22/13)
Joint Stipulation and Proposed Order (filed 2/14/13)
Amended Scheduling Order (filed 2/19/13)

Commentary

FAQ on social welfare organizations

Donald B. Tobin

The Frank E. and Virginia H. Bazler Designated Professor in Business Law and a senior fellow at Election Law @ Moritz explains the nuances of social welfare organizations and federal regulations related to them.

more commentary...

In the News

How Did The IRS Get The Job Of Vetting Political Activity?

Professor Donald Tobin was interviewed by the Boston NPR station on its show Here & Now about the Internal Revenue Service's investigation into groups classified as social welfare organizations (marked by the 501(c)(4) tax classification). The IRS was in search of groups that are not focusing primarly on the social welfare of the country, but have a strong political advocacy facet. Political advocacy groups might want to be classified as 501(c)(4) organizations because under that classification they do not have to disclose their donors.

"The key is if you are going to be engaged in candidate-type advocacy, and if you're going to intervene in elections and engage in election advocacy, we want disclosure of who your donors are," Tobin said.

“What groups are trying to do here is avoid having to disclose,” Tobin continued. “By earning the classification of social welfare, they’re avoiding the campaign disclosure that’s required for political organizations. So that’s really the underpinning of why we have this mess of the IRS having to get in and investigate and figure out whether an organization is political or not.”

more EL@M in the news...

Info & Analysis

Ohio Secretary of State Releases Report on Voter Fraud

Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted released a report today on voter fraud in Ohio during the 2012 general election. In a press release, Husted stated that while voter fraud does exist in Ohio, "it is not an epidemic." According to the report, 135 voter fraud cases have been referred to law enforcement for possible prosecution. Twenty of these cases involved voters attempting to vote in Ohio and another state. The report shows that 115 cases were referred to local Ohio county prosecutors. According to Husted as quoted in the Columbus Dispatch, most of these cases involved voters attempting to vote twice within the state, and in a "majority" of instances, only one vote was counted.

more info & analysis...

Major Pending Cases

more litigation...

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