Caucus Distributors, Inc. v. Maryland Securities Commissioner

MURPHY, Chief Judge.

The principal questions presented are whether certain promissory notes, issued by a nonprofit corporation, are within the definition of a “security” under the Maryland Securities Act (the Act), Maryland Code (1985 Repl.Vol.), §§ 11-101 through 11-805 of the Corporations and Associations Article; and whether, if they are securities, the Act’s regulatory provisions constitute an infringement upon the organization’s First Amendment rights of political speech and association.

I

Caucus Distributors, Inc. (Caucus) is a nonprofit publishing and fundraising organization incorporated…