ACORN SUES OVER FUNDING VOTE

NY Times - Saying a resolution by the House of Representatives that barred Acorn from receiving federal aid violated the Constitution by singling the antipoverty group out for punishment, lawyers for Acorn filed a lawsuit on Thursday that seeks to restore the financing.

The lawsuit, filed in United States District Court in Brooklyn, says that the Congressional resolution constitutes a "bill of attainder," or a legislative determination of guilt without a trial. In the suit, Acorn, which came under fire especially from conservative critics after a series of embarrassing scandals, said it was penalized by Congress "without an investigation" and has been forced to cut programs that counsel struggling homeowners, and to lay off workers.

For example, it said, because of budget cutbacks, a first time homebuyer class in New York that enrolled 100 people in September enrolled only seven people in October, after the Congressional action.

"It's a classic trial by the Legislature," said Jules Lobel, a lawyer with the Center for Constitutional Rights, which brought the suit. "They have essentially determined the guilt of the organization and any organization affiliated or allied with it."