High court stays out of Wash. campaign money case

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court has turned down a request to lift Washington state limits on campaign contributions in the final weeks of ballot measure campaigns.

The court said Tuesday that it will leave in place a decision from a federal appeals court that keeps a $5,000 limit in effect in the final three weeks of an initiative or referendum campaign. The action comes despite a federal judge's ruling that capping contributions is unconstitutional.

The state is appealing the ruling in a lawsuit brought by Family PAC, a political group involved in Washington's 2009 referendum on expanded domestic partnerships for gay couples.