In 1998, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit struck down a City of Cincinnati Ordinance placing a $140,000 limit on city council campaign expenditures.
In October 2001, the Center, representing Senators John McCain and Russ Feingold and Representatives Christopher Shays and Martin Meehan, filed an amicus brief with the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
This case raised, but did not resolve, the question of when an organization can be deemed a "political committee" under the Federal Elections Campaign Act and thereby be subject to record-keeping and reporting requirements.