First Circuit Mulls Compelled Speech Challenge to Maine Scheme

A law firm and client challenging Maine’s Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts program told the First Circuit that the program is constitutionally problematic, no matter the specifics of how the accounts function.

“There’s no difference there in the First Amendment harm,” said Kyle Singhal, the lawyer for Russell Johnson Beaupain LLC and E. David Wescott, to the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit on Monday. “The client would rather not have his funds used in any way to support causes he opposes,” Singhal added.

The appeals court is weighing the constitutionality of Maine’s program, which pools interest from ...