FAN 52.1 (First Amendment News) Court denies review in false political ads law case

This morning the Court released its latest order list. The Court denied cert in Arneson v. 281 Care Committee (see state’s cert. petition here). The Minnesota law challenged in the case provides:

A person is guilty of a gross misdemeanor who intentionally participates in the preparation, dissemination, or broadcast of paid political advertising or campaign material . . . with respect to the effect of a ballot question, that is designed or tends to . . . promote or defeat a ballot question, that is false, and that the person knows is false or communicates to others with reckless disregard of whether it is false.

Applying a strict scrutiny standard of review, the Eight Circuit ruled that the law was not narrowly tailored to comply with First Amendment requirements, though the Eight Circuit panel also ruled that the state attorney general was immune from suit under the Eleventh Amendment.

→ Tomorrow the Supreme Court will issue opinions in argued cases (see listing below) and may do so again on Wednesday.

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The next great First Amendment battleground, it turns out, is on the back of your car. — Adam Liptak (2009)

This morning at 10:00 a.m. ET the Court is hearing oral arguments in the Texas license plate case, Walker v. Texas Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans, Inc. The case was argued by R. James George Jr. on behalf of the Respondent and by the state’s Solicitor General, Scott A. Keller. Some of the more notable amicus briefs were filed by:

• The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty on behalf of the Respondent (Eugene Volokh & Mark Rienzi)
• The Cato Institute on behalf of the Respondent (Ilya Shapiro & Robert Corn-Revere)
• The ACLU on behalf of the Respondent (Steven R. Shapiro & Christopher Brook)

→ See here re an earlier post re license plate cases breakdown of cases and sampling of scholarly literature.

THE COURT’S 2014-15 FREE EXPRESSION DOCKET

Review Granted

1. Elonis v. United States (argued on 12-1-14)
2. Williams-Yulee v. The Florida Bar (argued 1-20-15)
3. Reed v. Town of Gilbert (argued on 1-12-15)
4. Walker v. Texas Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans (license plate case) (argued 3-23-15)

Pending Petitions

1. Berger v. American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina (license plate case)
2. Thayer v. City of Worcester
3. The Bronx Household of Faith v. Board of Education of the City of New York (see Becket Fund amicus brief of Michael McConnell)
4. Dariano v. Morgan Hill Unified School District (re Mary Beth Tinker amicus brief)
5. Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, et al.
6. Apel v. United States (Erwin Chemerinsky, counsel of record)

Review Denied

1. Arneson v. 281 Care Committee
2. ProtectMarriage.com-Yes on 8 v. Bowen
3. Kagan v. City of New Orleans
4. Clayton v. Niska
5. Pregnancy Care Center of New York v. City of New York 
6. City of Indianapolis, Indiana v. Annex Books, Inc.
7. Ashley Furniture Industries, Inc. v. United States 
8. Mehanna v. United States
9. Stop This Insanity Inc Employee Leadership Fund et al  v. Federal Election Commission
10. Vermont Right to Life Committee, et al v. Sorrell