Appeals Court Expedites NAM Appeal

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit yesterday granted an expedited schedule to an appeal of lobbying disclosure laws filed by the National Association of Manufacturers.

The ruling set a briefing schedule with the last brief due July 2, which leaves open the possibility that the court could rule on the appeal by July 21, the next deadline for a quarterly disclosure filing. The ruling also directs the clerk to schedule oral arguments on the first available date after the briefings are complete.

NAM will have to disclose its members regardless of the appeal. The first quarterly disclosure report was due April 21. The trade association initially filed a report that did not name its members, as required by the law. But after Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. denied NAM's motion for a stay last week, the group said it would file an amended report after notifying its members of the pending disclosure. NAM has not yet done so.

NAM's general counsel, Jan Amundson, could not immediately be reached for comment on the status of the report.