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Federal Election Commission | United States of America

Graham v. FEC (01-CV-00635)

Summary

On April 25, 2002, the U.S. Court for the District for the Eastern District of Arkansas, Western Division, granted the plaintiffs' motion to dismiss this complaint with prejudice.

Background

On September 14, 2001, Plaintiffs filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, Western Division. The complaint appeals a civil money penalty the Commission imposed on the Dewayne Graham for Congress Committee (the Committee) and Everett Martindale, as the Committee's treasurer, for failure to file the Committee's 2000 October Quarterly Report. According to the allegations of the complaint, the Committee attempted to file a termination report in July of 2000, but the Commission did not act on the termination report until November 2000.

In August 2001, the Commission found reason to believe that the Committee and Mr. Martindale had violated 2 U.S.C. §434(a), which requires the timely filing of reports by political committees, by not filing an October 2000 Quarterly Report. The Commission assessed a civil penalty in the amount of $900 in accordance with 11 CFR 111.43. Plaintiffs claim that the Commission failed to act on the Committee's termination request in a timely fashion and has taken an "arbitrary and unconscionable position" in assessing the civil penalty, thus violating the plaintiffs' constitutional rights.

Plaintiffs ask the court to exempt them from the Commission's rulings and fines based upon the plaintiffs' extenuating circumstances.

Court decision

On April 25, 2002, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, Western Division, granted the plaintiffs' motion to dismiss this complaint with prejudice. The complaint, filed September 14, 2001, had appealed a civil money penalty the Commission imposed on the Dewayne Graham for Congress Committee (the Committee) and Everett Martindale, as the Committee's treasurer, for failure to file the Committee's 2000 October Quarterly Report.

Source:   FEC Record — July 2002; and December 2001.

This information is not intended to replace the law or to change its meaning, nor does this information create or confer any rights for or on any person or bind the Federal Election Commission or the public.

The reader is encouraged also to consult the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.), Commission regulations (Title 11 of the Code of Federal Regulations), Commission advisory opinions and applicable court decisions.