James Bopp

James Bopp Jr.. is an American conservative attorney.[1] He has repeatedly been named one of the 100 most influential lawyers in the United States by the National Law Journal,[2][3] and is most known for his work associated with election laws and campaign finance.[4]

James Bopp
CitizenshipUnited States
EducationJuris Doctor
Alma materUniversity of Florida
OccupationAttorney
Years active1973–present
OrganizationThe Bopp Law Firm
Notable work
Citizens United v. FEC
Board member ofRepublican National Committee, Republicans Overseas
WebsiteThe Bopp Law Firm

Bopp served as Indiana's Republican National Committeeman on the Republican National Committee, and was the RNC's Vice Chairman from 2008 to 2012.[5][6]

Early life

Bopp is a native of Terre Haute, Indiana, and holds a bachelor's degree from Indiana University and a J.D. degree from the University of Florida College of Law.

He has been the general counsel for National Right to Life since 1978, the James Madison Center for Free Speech since 1997, and as the special counsel for Focus on the Family since 2004.[7] Bopp was the editor of Restoring the Right to Life: The Human Life Amendment.[8]

A study conducted in 2014 showed that Bopp was one of a comparatively small number of lawyers most likely to have their cases heard by the Supreme Court.[9]

Bopp represented a group of plaintiffs, including Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), Republicans Overseas, and current and former U.S. citizens living in foreign countries, in a legal challenge to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) filed in 2015.[10][11][12] The plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Crawford v. U.S. Department of Treasury, alleged that a number of provisions of the act unconstitutionally violate privacy rights of U.S. citizens, while burdening both private individuals and the financial institutions that they patronize.[13][12][10] In April 2016, U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Rose of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio dismissed the suit for lack of standing.[12]

Republican Party membership and activism

Bopp is known for his staunch social conservatism,[14][15] and his past and present clients are "a who's who of social conservatism," including the Traditional Values Coalition, the Home School Legal Defense Association, Concerned Women for America, and the Federation for American Immigration Reform.[15]

Bopp is particularly known for his opposition to all forms of limits on money in politics and his role as counsel for groups seeking to strike down campaign-finance limitations.[15][16]

He became Indiana's Republican National Committeeman on the Republican National Committee in 2006, and became the RNC's Vice Chairman in 2008.[5] His tenure on the RNC ended in 2012 when he was defeated for another term by John Hammond at the state Republican convention. Bopp said after the convention that he was defeated because he supported Richard Mourdock over incumbent Richard Lugar for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in 2012.[17]

In 2009, Bopp was the lead sponsor of an RNC resolution that initially called on the Democratic Party to change its name to Democratic Socialist Party. A compromise resolution was passed instead, condemning President Barack Obama and the then-Democratic congressional majority for "pushing America toward socialism and more government control."[18]

During a 2010 RNC meeting, he was the chief sponsor of a resolution covering financial support of candidates.[19] The "purity test" resolution (titled "Proposed RNC Resolution on Reagan's Unity Principle for Support of Candidates") names ten public policy positions that are important to the RNC and stipulated that public officials and candidates who disagree on three or more of the ten positions would be ineligible for financial support or endorsement from the RNC.[20][15] The resolution was defeated.[15]

Bopp clashed with Michael Steele during Steele's term as chairman of the Republican National Committee; after Bopp criticized Steele, Steele called Bopp an "idiot."[15]

During the 2012 Republican presidential primaries, Bopp initially stayed neutral in the race because he was part of a committee charged with setting the number of Republican primary debates.[15] However, three attorneys in Bopp's office left to work for Herman Cain.[15] In February 2012, Bopp endorsed Mitt Romney.[21]

Bopp has repeatedly represented Indiana on the Republican Party's platform committee,[14] including in 2016.[22] On the committee, Bopp pushed for a socially conservative platform, advocating platform language stating that children "deserve a married mom and dad" and referring to "natural marriage" as between a man and a woman.[23] Bopp opposed efforts by billionaire Republican Paul E. Singer to add a statement to the party platform committing the party "to respect for all families," a signal of openness to LGBT Americans; Bopp called the proposed language "redundant and superfluous."[22] Bopp also opposed efforts by delegate Rachel Hoff (the first openly gay member of a Republican platform committee) to include a reference in the platform to the 2016 attack on a gay nightclub in Orlando; Bopp stated that including such language (which was ultimately voted down) would be "identity politics."[24]

Bopp opposed an effort by some delegates to replace the 60-page platform that the committee had adopted with a simplified two-page "statement of principles" that excluded any mention of contentious issues, such as same-sex marriage. Bopp write in opposition to the alternative proposal that: "Obviously, the adoption of this statement of principles would be a major defeat for those of us that want the Republican Party to promote traditional marriage since the minority report wipes out our current platform language that supports traditional marriage."[25]

During the 2020 election, Bopp represented Republicans in lawsuits to hinder voting rights. Bopp claimed, without evidence, that proactively mailing ballots to registered voters would lead to voter fraud.[26]

Notable cases

In McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission, Bopp successfully represented McCutcheon. The Supreme Court struck down section 441 of the Federal Election Campaign Act, which imposed a limit on contributions an individual could make over a two-year period to national party and federal candidate committees, is unconstitutional.[27]

In 2011 in Susan B. Anthony List v. Driehaus, Bopp successfully defended the Susan B. Anthony List against a defamation lawsuit by Steve Driehaus, a former Democratic congressman who claimed that the SBA List had made false statements regarding taxpayer funding of abortion in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.[28] The court ruled "We do not want the government deciding what is political truth — for fear that the government might persecute those who criticize it. Instead, in a democracy, the voters should decide."[29]

In Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, Bopp represented Citizens United, drafting the complaint and handling the early stages of the litigation. Bopp did not argue the case in the Supreme Court, having been replaced by Ted Olson.[30]

In Wisconsin Judicial Commission v. Gableman (2010), Bopp successfully represented Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman in a case alleging he broke the Wisconsin Judicial Code of Conduct during his successful run for the state supreme court.[31] The case was presented before the Wisconsin Supreme Court and resulted in a 3-3 deadlock decision.[32]

In ProtectMarriage.com v. Bowen, Bopp represented ProtectMarriage.com in a lawsuit challenging the finance limit required for reporting campaign donations and the open way in which information on such donations is shared in California.[33] This lawsuit was filed after the identities of people supporting California Proposition 8 were revealed as a result of disclosure laws.[34]

In Kurita v. Tennessee Democratic Party (2008), Bopp represented former State Senator Rosalind Kurita, a Democrat, in her suit against the Tennessee Democratic Party for removing her as the Democratic nominee in her State Senate district after she had won the primary.[35]

Other cases in which Bopp was counsel for a party or parties are:

See also

References
  1. "Conservative Leader James Bopp, Jr. Endorses Mitt Romney". The American Presidency Project. University of California, Santa Barbara. February 7, 2012. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
  2. "The 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America". The National Law Journal. March 22, 2013.
  3. "James Bopp Named One of the 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America". The Bopp Law Firm. The National Law Journal. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
  4. Carter, Terry (November 26, 2006). "The Big Bopper". ABA Journal. American Bar Association. Archived from the original on November 20, 2015. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  5. "NRLC General Counsel James Bopp Named Republican Lawyer of the Year". National Right to Life. September 2009. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
  6. Press Release: Attorney James Bopp Files an Appearance on Behalf of Jodi Lohrman in Challenge to the Candidate Qualifications of Todd Young
  7. "James Bopp, Jr". The Bopp Law Firm. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
  8. Bopp, James (1984). Restoring the Right to Life: The Human Life Amendment. Brigham Young University Press. ISBN 0842521003.
  9. Biskupic, Joan; Roberts, Janet; Shiffman, John (December 8, 2014). "At America's court of last resort, a handful of lawyers now dominates the docket". Thomson Reuters. Reuters. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
  10. "Crawford et al v. United States Department of the Treasury et al". Justia Dockets & Filings. Justia. July 14, 2015. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
  11. Goulder, Robert (September 16, 2015). "Litigating FATCA: Rand Paul And Financial Privacy". Forbes.com. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
  12. Jack Newsham, Sen. Rand Paul’s FATCA Lawsuit Tossed For Lack Of Standing, Law360 (April 26, 2016).
  13. Voreacos, David (July 14, 2015). "Rand Paul Sues IRS Over Foreign Account Taxes, Disclosures". Bloomberg Business. Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
  14. Jeremy W. Peters, Social Conservatives, However Reluctant, Are Warming to the Idea of Trump, New York Times (May 15, 2016).
  15. Viveca Novak, Citizen Bopp, The American Prospect (January 2, 2012).
  16. "James Bopp: What Citizens United Means for Campaign Finance", Frontline, October 30, 2012 (edited transcript of interview conducted July 27, 2012); interview used in part in "Big Sky, Big Money" documentary, correspondent Kai Ryssdal, broadcast October 30, 2012. Primary focus of documentary: Montana campaign finance law and politics; retrieved October 31, 2012.
  17. Jim Bopp: RNC Ouster “Revenge” For Mourdock Support Indiana Public Media
  18. Hallow, Ralph (May 21, 2009). "GOP condemns 'socialist' Obama, Democrats". The Washington Times. The Washington Times, LLC. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
  19. "Proposed RNC Resolution on Reagan's Unity Principle for Support of Candidates" (PDF). Republican National Committee. MSNBC. 2010. Archived from the original (pdf) on December 28, 2009. Retrieved January 26, 2010.
  20. Wallsten, Peter (November 24, 2009). "Some Conservatives Push a 'Purity Test' for GOP Candidates". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
  21. Press Release - Conservative Leader James Bopp, Jr. Endorses Mitt Romney (February 7, 2012).
  22. Jeremy W. Peters, Donald Trump Keeps Distance in G.O.P. Platform Fight on Gay Rights, New York Times (July 10, 2016).
  23. Brian Naylor, GOP Delegates Draft Conservative Party Platform Ahead of Convention, NPR, All Things Considered (July 13, 2016).
  24. David Jackson, GOP platform committee backs Trump on trade, foreign policy, immigration, USA Today (July 12, 2016).
  25. Reid J. Epstein, Rogue Republicans Offer Alternative Platform That Skips Marriage Issue, Wall Street Journal (July 13, 2016).
  26. "Courts view GOP fraud claims skeptically as Democrats score key legal victories over mail voting". The Washington Post. 2020.
  27. "McCutcheon, et al. v. FEC Case Summary". Federal Election Commission. April 2, 2014.
  28. Judge: Reform doesn't fund abortion, politico.com; accessed December 12, 2015.
  29. Johnson, Dennis (2015). Political Consultants and American Elections: Hired to Fight, Hired to Win. Routledge. ISBN 1138786365.
  30. Kirkpatrick, David D. (January 25, 2010). "A Quest to End Spending Rules for Campaigns". The New York Times. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  31. Wisconsin Law blog entry
  32. Stein, Jason (July 1, 2010). "State Supreme Court deadlocks on Gableman's ethics case". Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel. Journal Sentinel. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
  33. Perryman, Rianna (May 20, 2014). "ProtectMarriage.com v. Bowen". Willamette University College of Law. Willamette University. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
  34. "Prop 8 Supporters File Suit After Threats". Associated Press. January 10, 2009. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
  35. Whitehouse, Ken (October 1, 2008). "Kurita vs. Dems showdown set". Nashville Post. SouthComm Inc. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
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