Republican Party of Minnesota, et al., Petitioners v. Suzanne White, Chairperson, Minnesota Board of Judicial Standards, et al.
Docket nos.
01-521
Citations
536 U.S. 765 (more)
122 S. Ct. 2528; 153 L. Ed. 2d 694; 2002 U.S. LEXIS 4883; 70 U.S.L.W. 4720; 15 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 518
Argument
Oral argument
Opinion announcement
Opinion announcement
Prior history
Judgment for defendants, 63 F. Supp. 2d 967 (Minn. 1999); affirmed, 247 F.3d 854 (8th Cir. 2001); cert. granted, 534 U.S. 1054 (2001)
Holding
"Announce clauses" of judicial ethics codes which prohibit judicial candidates from announcing their views on how disputed legal or political issues be decided are unconstitutional.
Court membership
Chief Justice
William Rehnquist
Associate Justices
John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy David Souter · Clarence Thomas Ruth Bader Ginsburg · Stephen Breyer
Case opinions
Majority
Scalia, joined by Rehnquist, O'Connor, Kennedy, Thomas
Concurrence
O'Connor
Concurrence
Kennedy
Dissent
Stevens, joined by Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer
Dissent
Ginsburg, joined by Stevens, Souter, Breyer
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend. I; Minnesota Code of Judicial Conduct 5(A)(3)(d)(i)
Republican Party of Minnesota v. White, 536 U.S. 765 (2002), was a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States regarding the First Amendment rights of candidates for judicial office. In a 5–4 decision, the court ruled that Minnesota's announce clause, which forbade candidates for judicial office from announcing their views on disputed legal and political issues, was unconstitutional.
Contents
1Background
2The decision
3Post-decision
4See also
5References
6External links
Background[edit]
Minnesota, like many states, had a code of judicial ethics[1] that constrained candidates seeking to be elected as judges from discussing issues that could come before them if elected and announcing their views—referred to as an "announce clause."
In 1996, Gregory Wersal ran for associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. He distributed literature critical of several Minnesota Supreme Court decisions. An ethics complaint was filed against him; however, the board which was to review the complaint dismissed the charges and cast doubt upon the constitutionality of the announce clause.
In 1998, Wersal ran again for the same office. However, this time he preemptively filed suit in Federal District Court against Suzanne White, the chairperson of the Minnesota Board on Judicial Standards. Wersal charged that the announce clause limited his right to free speech and made a mockery of the election process by denying him the ability to wage a meaningful campaign. The Republican Party of Minnesota joined in Wersal's lawsuit, arguing that the restrictions prevented the Party from learning Wersal's views on the issues, and thus making an informed decision to oppose or support his candidacy.
The district court found that the announce clause did not violate the Constitution. Wersal appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, and they affirmed the district court's decision. Wersal then filed for a writ of certiorari to the United States Supreme Court, which was granted.
The decision[edit]
In a 5–4 ruling, the Supreme Court reversed the Eighth Circuit and declared Minnesota's announce clause to be in violation of the First Amendment. The Court reasoned that Minnesota's announce clause "burden[ed] a category of speech that is at the core of First Amendment freedoms -- speech about the qualifications of candidates for public office."
The Court concluded that the announce clause was not narrowly tailored to serve the state's compelling interest in judicial impartiality and therefore failed the test of strict scrutiny.
Post-decision[edit]
In 2006, a retired Justice O'Connor expressed concern about her vote in the White case, stating "That (Minnesota) case, I confess, does give me pause."[2]
See also[edit]
James Bopp
List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 536
Rutan v. Republican Party
References[edit]
^See generally, ABA Model Code of Judicial Conduct (2004);[1] Minnesota Code of Judicial Conduct (2006).[2] See also, in specific, ABA Model Code of Judicial Conduct (1972), Canon 7(B); Minnesota Code of Judicial Conduct (2000) Canon 5(A)(3)(d)(i).
^Egelko, Bob (4 November 2006). "Former justice warns of threat to judiciary / O'Connor tells of political assault on court's autonomy". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 30 April 2015..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
External links[edit]
Text of Republican Party of Minnesota v. White, 536 U.S. 765 (2002) is available from: CornellFindlawJustia
First Amendment Library entry on Republican Party of Minnesota v. White
mp3 Recording of the oral argument
Transcript of the oral argument
PDF of slip opinion
Article on political vs. independent judges at The Economist
v
t
e
United States First Amendment case law
Establishment Clause
Public funding
Everson v. Board of Education (1947)
McCollum v. Board of Education (1948)
Walz v. Tax Commission of the City of New York (1970)
Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)
Marsh v. Chambers (1983)
Mueller v. Allen (1983)
Aguilar v. Felton (1985)
Board of Education of Kiryas Joel Village School District v. Grumet (1994)
Agostini v. Felton (1997)
Mitchell v. Helms (2000)
Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002)
Locke v. Davey (2004)
Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn (2011)
Public displays
Stone v. Graham (1980)
Lynch v. Donnelly (1984)
Board of Trustees of Scarsdale v. McCreary (1985)
County of Allegheny v. ACLU (1989)
McCreary County v. ACLU of Kentucky (2005)
Van Orden v. Perry (2005)
Pleasant Grove City v. Summum (2009)
School prayer
Zorach v. Clauson (1952)
Engel v. Vitale (1962)
Abington School District v. Schempp (1963)
Stone v. Graham (1980)
Wallace v. Jaffree (1985)
Lee v. Weisman (1992)
Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe (2000)
Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow (2004)
Creationism
Epperson v. Arkansas (1968)
Edwards v. Aguillard (1987)
Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District (M.D. Pa. 2005)
Legislature prayer
Marsh v. Chambers (1983)
Town of Greece v. Galloway (2014)
Other
McGowan v. Maryland (1961)
McDaniel v. Paty (1978)
Estate of Thornton v. Caldor, Inc. (1985)
Texas Monthly, Inc. v. Bullock (1989)
Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church & School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (2012)
Free Exercise Clause
Reynolds v. United States (1879)
Davis v. Beason (1890)
Schneider v. New Jersey (1939)
Cantwell v. Connecticut (1940)
Minersville School District v. Gobitis (1940)
Murdock v. Pennsylvania (1943)
United States v. Ballard (1944)
Braunfeld v. Brown (1961)
Torcaso v. Watkins (1961)
Sherbert v. Verner (1963)
Presbyterian Church v. Hull Church (1969)
Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)
Harris v. McRae (1980)
Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division (1981)
United States v. Lee (1982)
Bob Jones University v. United States (1983)
Bowen v. Roy (1986)
Goldman v. Weinberger (1986)
Employment Division v. Smith (1990)
Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah (1993)
City of Boerne v. Flores (1997)
Watchtower Society v. Village of Stratton (2002)
Cutter v. Wilkinson (2005)
Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer (2017)
Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission (2018)
National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra (2018)
Freedom of speech (portal)
Sedition and imminent danger
Alien and Sedition Acts (1798)
Masses Publishing Co. v. Patten (S.D.N.Y. 1917)
Schenck v. United States (1919)
Abrams v. United States (1919)
Gitlow v. New York (1925)
Whitney v. California (1927)
Dennis v. United States (1951)
Communist Party v. Subversive Activities Control Board (1955, 1961)
Yates v. United States (1957, clear and present danger)
Bond v. Floyd (1966)
Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969, imminent lawless action)
Hess v. Indiana (1973)
False speech
New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964, actual malice)
United States v. Alvarez (2012)
Susan B. Anthony List v. Driehaus (2014)
Fighting words and the heckler's veto
Cantwell v. Connecticut (1940)
Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire (1942)
Terminiello v. Chicago (1949)
Feiner v. New York (1951)
Gregory v. Chicago (1969)
National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie (1977)
R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul (1992)
Snyder v. Phelps (2011)
Elonis v. United States (2015)
Freedom of assembly and public forums
Hague v. CIO (1939)
Schneider v. New Jersey (1939)
Thornhill v. Alabama (1940)
Martin v. City of Struthers (1943)
Marsh v. Alabama (1946)
Niemotko v. Maryland (1951)
Edwards v. South Carolina (1963)
Cox v. Louisiana (1965)
Brown v. Louisiana (1966)
Adderley v. Florida (1966)
Carroll v. Town of Princess Anne (1968)
Coates v. Cincinnati (1971)
Organization for a Better Austin v. Keefe (1971)
Lloyd Corp. v. Tanner (1972)
Pruneyard Shopping Center v. Robins (1980)
Hill v. Colorado (2000)
McCullen v. Coakley (2014)
Packingham v. North Carolina (2017)
Symbolic speech
Stromberg v. California (1931)
United States v. O'Brien (1968)
Cohen v. California (1971)
Smith v. Goguen (1974)
Texas v. Johnson (1989)
United States v. Eichman (1990)
Virginia v. Black (2003)
Compelled speech
Minersville School District v. Gobitis (1940)
West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943)
Wooley v. Maynard (1977)
Agency for International Development v. Alliance for Open Society International, Inc. (2013)
National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra (2018)
Compelled subsidy of others' speech
Abood v. Detroit Board of Education (1977)
Communications Workers of America v. Beck (1978)
Keller v. State Bar of California (1990)
Lehnert v. Ferris Faculty Ass'n (1991)
Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System v. Southworth (2000)
Johanns v. Livestock Marketing Association (2005)
Davenport v. Washington Education Association (2007)
Locke v. Karass (2008)
Knox v. Service Employees International Union, Local 1000 (2012)
Harris v. Quinn (2014)
Friedrichs v. California Teachers Ass'n (2016)
Janus v. AFSCME (2018)
Loyalty oaths
American Communications Association v. Douds (1950)
Garner v. Board of Public Works (1951)
Speiser v. Randall (1958)
Keyishian v. Board of Regents (1967)
Communist Party of Indiana v. Whitcomb (1974)
School speech
Minersville School District v. Gobitis (1940)
West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943)
Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969, substantial disruption)
Island Trees School District v. Pico (1982)
Bethel School District v. Fraser (1986)
Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier (1988)
Rosenberger v. University of Virginia (1995)
Morse v. Frederick (2007)
Obscenity
Rosen v. United States (1896)
United States v. One Book Called Ulysses (S.D.N.Y. 1933)
Roth v. United States (1957)
One, Inc. v. Olesen (1958)
Smith v. California (1959)
Marcus v. Search Warrant (1961)
MANual Enterprises v. Day (1962)
Jacobellis v. Ohio (1964)
Quantity of Books v. Kansas (1964)
Freedman v. Maryland (1965)
Ginzburg v. United States (1966)
Memoirs v. Massachusetts (1966)
Redrup v. New York (1967)
Ginsberg v. New York (1968)
Stanley v. Georgia (1969)
Cohen v. California (1971)
United States v. Thirty-seven Photographs (1971)
Kois v. Wisconsin (1972)
Miller v. California (1973)
Paris Adult Theatre I v. Slaton (1973)
United States v. 12 200-ft. Reels of Film (1973)
Jenkins v. Georgia (1974)
Erznoznik v. City of Jacksonville (1975)
Young v. American Mini Theatres (1976)
New York v. Ferber (1982)
American Booksellers v. Hudnut (7th Cir., 1985)
Renton v. Playtime Theatres, Inc. (1986)
People v. Freeman (Cal. 1988)
Osborne v. Ohio (1990)
United States v. X-Citement Video (1994)
Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union (1997)
United States v. Playboy Entertainment Group (2000)
Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition (2002)
Ashcroft v. American Civil Liberties Union (2002)
Nitke v. Gonzales (S.D.N.Y., 2005)
United States v. Williams (2008)
Federal Communications Commission v. Fox Television Stations (2012)
American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression v. Strickland (6th Cir., 2009)
United States v. Kilbride (9th Cir., 2009)
United States v. Stevens (2010)
Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association (2011)
Public employees
Pickering v. Board of Education (1968)
Perry v. Sindermann (1972)
Board of Regents of State Colleges v. Roth (1972)
Mt. Healthy City School District Board of Education v. Doyle (1977)
Givhan v. Western Line Consolidated School District (1979)
Connick v. Myers (1983)
Rankin v. McPherson (1987)
Waters v. Churchill (1994)
Garcetti v. Ceballos (2006)
Borough of Duryea v. Guarnieri (2011)
Heffernan v. City of Paterson (2016)
Hatch Act and similar laws
Ex parte Curtis (1882)
United Public Workers v. Mitchell (1947)
United States Civil Service Commission v. National Association of Letter Carriers (1973)
Broadrick v. Oklahoma (1973)
Licensing and restriction of speech
Mutual Film Corporation v. Industrial Commission of Ohio (1915)
Joseph Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson (1952)
NAACP v. Button (1963)
Freedman v. Maryland (1965)
Virginia State Pharmacy Board v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council (1976)
Hoffman Estates v. The Flipside, Hoffman Estates, Inc. (1982)
Walker v. Texas Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans (2015)
Matal v. Tam (2017)
Commercial speech
Valentine v. Chrestensen (1942)
Rowan v. U.S. Post Office Dept. (1970)
Pittsburgh Press Co. v. Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations (1973)
Bigelow v. Commonwealth of Virginia (1974)
Virginia State Pharmacy Board v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council (1976)
Bates v. State Bar of Arizona (1977)
Linmark Associates, Inc. v. Willingboro (1977)
Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. v. Public Service Commission (1980)
Consol. Edison Co. v. Public Serv. Comm'n (1980)
Zauderer v. Office of Disciplinary Counsel of Supreme Court of Ohio (1985)
Pacific Gas & Electric Co. v. Public Utilities Commission of California (1986)
Posadas de Puerto Rico Associates v. Tourism Company of Puerto Rico (1986)
San Francisco Arts & Athletics, Inc. v. United States Olympic Committee (1987)
44 Liquormart, Inc. v. Rhode Island (1996)
Sorrell v. IMS Health Inc. (2011)
Campaign finance and political speech
Buckley v. Valeo (1976)
First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti (1978)
Citizens Against Rent Control v. City of Berkeley (1981)
Brown v. Socialist Workers '74 Campaign Committee (1982)
Regan v. Taxation with Representation of Washington (1983)
FEC v. Massachusetts Citizens for Life (1986)
Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce (1990)
McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission (1995)
Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee v. FEC (1996)
Nixon v. Shrink Missouri Government PAC (2000)
Republican Party of Minnesota v. White (2002)
McConnell v. FEC (2003)
Randall v. Sorrell (2006)
FEC v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. (2007)
Davis v. FEC (2008)
Citizens United v. FEC (2010)
McComish v. Bennett (2011)
American Tradition Partnership v. Bullock (2012)
McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission (2014)
Williams-Yulee v. The Florida Bar (2015)
Freedom of the press
Prior restraints and censorship
Near v. Minnesota (1931)
Lovell v. City of Griffin (1938)
Hannegan v. Esquire, Inc. (1946)
New York Times Co. v. United States (1971)
Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Tornillo (1974)
Nebraska Press Ass'n v. Stuart (1976)
Landmark Communications, Inc. v. Virginia (1978)
Tory v. Cochran (2005)
Privacy
Time, Inc. v. Hill (1967)
Cox Broadcasting Corp. v. Cohn (1975)
Florida Star v. B. J. F. (1989)
Taxation and privileges
Grosjean v. American Press Co. (1936)
Branzburg v. Hayes (1972)
Minneapolis Star Tribune Co. v. Commissioner (1983)
Defamation
Beauharnais v. Illinois (1952)
New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964)
Curtis Publishing Co. v. Butts (1967)
Greenbelt Cooperative Publishing Ass'n, Inc. v. Bresler (1970)
Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc. (1974)
Time, Inc. v. Firestone (1976)
Bose Corp. v. Consumers Union of United States, Inc. (1984)
Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. v. Greenmoss Builders, Inc. (1985)
McDonald v. Smith (1985)
Hustler Magazine v. Falwell (1988)
Harte-Hanks Communications, Inc. v. Connaughton (1989)
Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co. (1990)
Obsidian Finance Group, LLC v. Cox (9th Cir., 2014)
Broadcast media
Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC (1969)
FCC v. Pacifica Foundation (1978)
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. v. FCC (1994)
Bartnicki v. Vopper (2001)
Copyrighted materials
Zacchini v. Scripps-Howard Broadcasting Co. (1977)
Harper & Row v. Nation Enterprises (1985)
Freedom of association
Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee v. McGrath (1951)
Watkins v. United States (1957)
NAACP v. Alabama (1958)
NAACP v. Button (1963)
Baggett v. Bullitt (1964)
In re Primus (1978)
Roberts v. United States Jaycees (1984)
Hurley v. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian, & Bisexual Group of Boston (1995)
Boy Scouts of America v. Dale (2000)
Categories:
United States Supreme Court cases
United States Free Speech Clause case law
2002 in United States case law
Republican Party (United States) by state
United States Supreme Court cases of the Rehnquist Court
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