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Supreme Court Review Conference: Important Decisions of the 2007-2008 Term
Sponsored by the Western New England College School of Law
Institute for Legislative and Govenmental Affairs
November 1, 2008
List of Principal Cases
1. Brunner v. Ohio Republican Party, 2008 U.S. LEXIS 7762, 77 U.S. L.W. 3238 (Order of October 17, 2008) (per curiam) (vacating temporary restraining order obtained by Ohio Republican Party which directed Secretary of State to update voter database to comply with § 303 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002).
2. Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1 (1976) (interpreting the First Amendment to permit limits on campaign donations and disclosure requirements, but not limits on campaign expenditures in reviewing the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971).
*3. Crawford v. Marion County Election Board, 128 Sup. Ct. 1610 (April 28, 2008) (6-3) (rejecting facial challenge to Indiana's voter ID law with 3 members of the Court preserving the possibility of a future as-applied challenge, 3 members of the Court finding that the law would also withstand an as-applied challenge because the burden it imposed on voters was minimal, and 3 dissenting Justices voting to strike down the law on the ground that it unconstitutionally burdened the right to vote without adequate justification).
*4. Davis v. Federal Election Commission, 128 S. Ct. 2759 (June 26, 2008) (5-4) (striking down the so-called Millionaire's Amendment that allowed a candidate for federal elective office to receive three times the normal amount from individual donors if the candidate's opponent contributed $350,000 to his or her own campaign on the ground that the Amendment violated the First Amendment by unconstitutionally burdening the right of candidates to self-finance their campaigns).
5. California Democratic Party v. Jones, 530 U.S. 567 (2000) (striking down California's blanket primary system because it unconstitutionally burdened a political party's right to freedom of association).
*6. New York State Board of Elections v. Lopez Torres, 128 Sup. Ct. 791 (Jan. 16, 2008) (9-0) (finding system of selecting nominees for state court judgeships by political party convention did not violate the First Amendment rights of prospective party candidates and voters).
*7. Riley v. Kennedy, 128 Sup. Ct. 1970 (May 27, 2008) (7-2) (allowing Alabama to return to a previously approved system of filling midterm vacancies on the Mobile County Commission without obtaining fresh preclearance approval under § 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965)
*8. Washington State Grange v. Washington State Republican Party, 128 S. Ct. 1184 (March 18, 2008) (7-2) (rejecting a First Amendment challenge by state political parties to Washington State's nonpartisan blanket primary system).
* Indicates cases to be discussed in greater detail.