Cite as: 538 U. S. 600 (2003)
Opinion of the Court
represented that contributions would "be used to help and assist Viet[N]ow's charitable purposes." Id., at 8, ¶ 30.4
The 15 cents or less of each solicited dollar actually made available to VietNow, the Attorney General charged, "was merely incidental to the fund raising effort"; consequently, she asserted, "representations made to donors [that a significant amount of each dollar donated would be paid over to Viet[N]ow for its purposes] were knowingly deceptive and materially false, constituted a fraud[,] and were made for the private pecuniary benefit of [Telemarketers]." Id., at 9,
¶¶ 34, 35.
Telemarketers moved to dismiss the fraud claims, urging that they were barred by the First Amendment. The trial court granted the motion,5 and the dismissal order was affirmed, in turn, by the Illinois Appellate Court and the Illinois Supreme Court. The Illinois courts placed heavy weight on three decisions of this Court: Schaumburg v. Citizens for a Better Environment, 444 U. S. 620 (1980); Secretary of State of Md. v. Joseph H. Munson Co., 467 U. S.
expenses." See App. 111, 169 (capitalization omitted). In any event, the sentence fragment counsel identified falls short of showing, in the face of established Illinois case law, that the court "found" the affidavits annexed by the Illinois Attorney General dehors the complaint. Counsel's contention is further clouded by the Illinois Supreme Court's explicit notation that "the Attorney General ha[d] attached to his complaint the affidavits of 44 VietNow donors." 198 Ill. 2d, at 352, 763 N. E. 2d, at 293.
4 Illinois law provides that "[i]n any solicitation to the public for a charitable organization by a professional fund raiser or professional solicitor[,] [t]he public member shall be promptly informed by statement in verbal communications and by clear and unambiguous disclosure in written materials that the solicitation is being made by a paid professional fund raiser. The fund raiser, solicitor, and materials used shall also provide the professional fund raiser's name and a statement that contracts and reports regarding the charity are on file with the Illinois Attorney General and additionally, in verbal communications, the solicitor's true name must be provided." Ill. Comp. Stat., ch. 225, § 460/17(a) (2001).
5 The parties subsequently stipulated to the dismissal of all remaining claims. App. to Pet. for Cert. 30-31.
609
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