No. 19-251October Term 2019Decided Jul 1, 2021Updated May 23, 2026
Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta
This case was about a California rule requiring charities that raise money in the state to give the attorney general the names and addresses of their major donors.
Case status
Decided 6-3 · July 1, 2021 · Opinion by Chief Justice Roberts
Read the opinion (PDF)- Current stage
- Decided
- Latest event
- Decision released Jul 1, 2021
- What it's about
This case was about a California rule requiring charities that raise money in the state to give the attorney general the names and addresses of their major donors. The charities argued that forcing this disclosure burdened donors’ privacy and freedom of association under the First Amendment.
Question presented
Whether the exacting scrutiny this Court has long required of laws that abridge the freedoms of speech and association outside the election context — as called for by NAACP v. Alabama ex rel. Patterson, 357 U.S. 449 (1958), and its progeny — can be satisfied absent any showing that a blanket governmental demand for the individual identities and addresses of major donors to private nonprofit organizations is narrowly tailored to an asserted law-enforcement interest.
- Case path
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit / Decision released Jul 1, 2021
- Area
First Amendment, Elections
Timing
Decided July 1, 2021
The Court released its decision on July 1, 2021 without hearing oral argument.
Documents
Activity
Docket activity3
Brief added: Questions Presented
May 23, 2026 | Court records
Opinion added: opinion
Jul 1, 2021 | Court records
Brief added: Petition
Aug 26, 2019 | Court records
Related cases
Grounding
- Grounding
- Primary-source trail available.
- Note
- Plain-English explainer. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.
- Checked
- Jul 25, 2026
- Method
- Methodology