By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services/East Valley Tribune
A lawyer for Democratic attorneys general group told the state Court of Appeals Tuesday that organizations have a constitutional right to run what amounts anonymous “hit pieces” on candidates right before the election.
Tom Irvine acknowledged the commercial at issue said in effect that Tom Horne, then state school superintendent, was not protecting children from molesters. Iit aired just weeks before he faced off in the 2010 general election for attorney general against Democrat Felecia Rotellini.
But Irvine told the judges the ad was not subject to financial disclosure laws because it never used the specific words like “vote against” or “oppose.” That, he argued, means his client had a constitutional right to keep its funding secret despite state laws to the contrary.
