281 Care Committee, et al v. Ross Arneson, et al, No. 10-1558 (8th Cir. 2011)
Annotate this CasePlaintiffs, three Minnesota-based grass roots advocacy organizations, challenged a Minnesota law that made it a crime to knowingly, or with reckless disregard for the truth, make a false statement about a proposed ballot initiative under the Minnesota Fair Campaign Practices Act ("FCPA"), Minn. Stat. 211.B06, subd.1. At issue was whether the district court erred when it dismissed plaintiffs' complaint for lack of jurisdiction; when it alternatively held that it would dismiss plaintiffs' complaint for failing to state a claim upon which relief could be granted; and when it denied plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment. The court held that plaintiffs' claims were justiciable and that subject matter jurisdiction was proper in federal court; that plaintiffs did allege First Amendment claims upon which relief could be granted; and that the district court's denial of plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment based on its findings of mootness was vacated. Therefore, the court remanded for additional development of arguments regarding whether section 211.b06 satisfied strict scrutiny.
Court Description: Civil case - Constitutional law. Plaintiffs had standing to bring a challenge to a provision of the Minnesota Fair Campaign Practices Act which makes it a crime to knowingly or with reckless disregard of the truth make a false statement about a proposed ballot initiative; claims were ripe for review; suit is proper under the Ex Parte Young, 209 U.S. 123 (1908), exception to Eleventh Amendment immunity; the district court erred in dismissing the complaint for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction and erred in dismissing for failure to state a claim; reversed and remanded for further proceedings.
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