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Federal Court Applies Younger Abstention In Challenge To Maine's Charitable Solicitations Act

By Howard M. Friedman

In Christian Action Network v. State of Maine, (D ME, Jan. 13, 2010), a Maine federal district court applied the Younger v. Harris abstention doctrine and dismissed a challenge by Christian Action Network (CAN) to Maine's Charitable Solicitations Act. CAN claimed that the law imposes an unconstitutional prior restraint on speech, is overbroad, and that the state had discriminated against it on the basis of its viewpoint in refusing to renew its charitable solicitation license. The refusal was based on alleged unlicensed solicitation of donations in Maine in April 2009 and CAN's unauthorized use of the Governor's name in a mailing that suggested the Governor endorsed the anti-Muslim message in the group's newsletter. The court's decision requires CAN to assert its constitutional challenges in state enforcement proceedings that had been commenced before the federal lawsuit was filed. (See prior related posting.) WorldNet Daily today carries an article critical of the decision.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on January 26, 2010 (boomark / email).