Litigation of Interest
April 9, 2024: Shirley N. Weber, as Secretary Of State, etc., v. The Superior Court Of Sacramento County; Vince Fong.
The California 3rd District Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the Sacramento Superior Court to require the California Secretary of State to accept Vince Fong’s filing papers for Congressional District 20. In December 2023, Fong filed nomination papers for two different offices for the March 5, 2024, primary election, Congressional District 20 and the California Assembly District 32, for which he is the incumbent.
March 15, 2024: Lindke v. Freed
The Supreme Court of the United States concluded that when a public official prevents someone from commenting on their official social media pages, that public official is engaging in a state action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 if two conditions are met. First, the public official possessed actual authority to speak on the State’s behalf on a particular matter, and second, the public official purported to exercise that authority when speaking in the relevant social-media.
March 4, 2024: Donald J. Trump, Petitioner v. Norma Anderson, Et Al.
The Supreme Court of the United Stated reversed the Colorado Supreme Court judgment that excluded former President Donald J. Trump from the 2024 presidential primary ballot. SCOTUS determined that the Constitution makes Congress responsible for enforcing Section 3 of the 14th amendment, not the States.
February 16, 2024: National Republican Senatorial Committee, et al. v. Fec, et al., 22-639 (S.D. Ohio)
The U.S . District Court for the Southern District of Ohio determined that The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) and Senator J.D. Vance have standing to bring suit regarding the potential violation of the First Amendment by limits placed on coordinated party expenditure limits contained in 52 U.S.C. § 30116. The district court granted their motion to certify the question to the en bance court of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. The district court determined that the standing of the other parties to this action (The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) and former Representative Steve Chabot) does not need to be discussed since their claims are the same.
January 30, 2024: Mike Karbassi v Esmerelda Soria
In 2022, Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria and Fresno City Councilmember Mike Karbassi both ran for the California State Assembly, District 27, currently held by Soria. Days before the election, Soria sent out mailers containing possible defamatory statements, implying Karbassi had a criminal record. Karbassi filed a defamation lawsuit against Soria in the Superior Court of Fresno County. Soria filed an anti-SLAPP motion, which the trial court granted. The California Fifth District Court of Appeal reversed the trial courts ruling on the anti-SLAPP motion and remanded back to the trial court.
January 4, 2024: The People of the State of California v. Shakir Khan
Former Lodi City Councilmember Shakir Khan plead no contest in an election fraud case in San Joaquin County. Kahn was charged with fraudulently registering several dozen individuals as voters, and holding over 40 ballots at his home.