Ciara Torres-Spelliscy

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy is a fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice and professor of law at Stetson University College of Law, where she teaches courses in election law, corporate governance, business entities, and constitutional law. Prior to joining Stetson’s faculty, Torres-Spelliscy was counsel in the Brennan Center’s Democracy Program, where she provided guidance on money in politics and the judiciary to state and federal lawmakers. She was previously an associate at Arnold & Porter LLP and a staffer for Senator Richard Durbin. Torres-Spelliscy has testified before Congress and state and local legislative bodies as an expert on campaign finance reform. She has also helped draft legislation and Supreme Court briefs.

Torres-Spelliscy specializes in campaign finance law and constitutional law and has presented at symposia across the United States and abroad. In 2016 she addressed the Federal Election Commission at a forum on dark and foreign money in U.S. elections.

Torres-Spelliscy is the author of Political Brands and Corporate Citizen? An Argument for the Separation of Corporation and State. Her work has been published in the New York Times, New York Law Journal, Slate, the Los Angeles Times, and U.S. News & World Report, among others.

Contributions

Florida Supreme Court Allows Abortion Ban, but Final Decision Will Go to Voters

The decision means that a 6-week ban will go into effect next month, but a proposed amendment protecting abortion will be on the Florida ballot in November.

Why Have States Diverged on Trump’s Ballot Eligibility?

As the U.S. Supreme Court considers whether Trump should be disqualified from the 2024 ballot, it’s worth exploring how state law has impacted outcomes in different states.

State Supreme Courts Reach Opposite Conclusions in Trump Ballot Disqualification Cases

Colorado’s high court kicked Trump off the primary ballot, while Minnesota’s declined to.

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