Public Trust Institute Launches Pro Bono Litigation Effort to Protect Coloradans from Government Overreach

For Immediate Release:

9/11/20

First Suit Challenges Unconstitutional Requirement that Nonprofits Get Secretary of State’s Approval Before Voicing Opinions on Ballot Issues

Lakewood, CO - The Public Trust Institute filed a lawsuit today against Secretary of State Jena Griswold for denying Coloradans their right to free speech. This is the first suit filed by the Institute’s recently established public-interest law firm. The firm was founded to advance liberty and individual rights and promote accountable, ethical governance in Colorado.

The Public Trust Institute is the organization that pursued the successful ethics complaint against U.S. Senate candidate John Hickenlooper.

“Too often in our state, the government has run roughshod over the lives and livelihoods of ordinary citizens, knowing that most people lack the resources to vigorously defend their rights against government encroachment,” said Dan Burrows, the Institute’s legal director. “No longer. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, PTI can now provide free legal representation to those fighting for limited government, free markets, democracy, and the rule of law in Colorado. Worthy causes will have the firepower they need to keep government within its proper, limited, constitutionally defined role.”

The lawsuit against Secretary of State Griswold, filed in federal court in Denver, is over rules that require nonprofit organizations to register with her office nearly any time they want to say anything about a pending ballot issue. Those rules violate the First Amendment, which protects all Americans’ right to speak freely on matters of public concern without obtaining government blessing or fearing government penalty. The Institute’s client in the case is the Colorado Union of Taxpayers (CUT), a small nonprofit that has been active in the state since the late 1970s.

“These rules were enacted under the guise of establishing so-called ‘fair campaign practices.’ But it’s nonsense to think that Colorado can’t have free and fair elections unless the Secretary of State is allowed to scrutinize everything the Colorado Union of Taxpayers says and does. They’ve been part of this state’s political landscape for more than forty years,” said Burrows.

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The Public Trust Institute is a Lakewood-based non-profit organization that was created to restore transparency, ethics and honesty in American leadership. This lawsuit is the beginning of their public-interest litigation venture, and they will continue to pursue lawsuits against unconstitutional or otherwise illegal acts by Colorado governments.

Burrows, a former federal prosecutor, joined the Public Trust Institute in June and is heading up the litigation effort.