Minnesota RFL Caucus v. Mike Freeman, No. 20-3083 (8th Cir. 2022)
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Plaintiffs, described as “political candidates, political associations, and individuals who engage in political activities relating to political elections and campaigns in Minnesota”, brought a case under 42 U.S.C. Section 1983 to assert a pre-enforcement First Amendment challenge to Minn. Stat. Section 211B.02. Plaintiffs sued four Minnesota county attorneys with the authority to criminally prosecute violations of 211B.02. Plaintiffs moved for a preliminary injunction to enjoin the county attorneys from enforcing 211B.02 pending the district court’s entry of final judgment. The district court denied the motion.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of Plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction holding that Defendants had not enforced the statute and had not threatened to do so and were entitled to Eleventh Amendment immunity. The court reasoned that the record showed that after the motion-to-dismiss stage and in response to Plaintiffs’ preliminary-injunction motion, the four county attorneys filed substantially similar affidavits providing that they had “no present intention” to prosecute anyone for violating 211B.02. Further, because county officials’ affidavits all show that they have not enforced or threatened to enforce 211B.02 the Ex parte Young exception to Eleventh Immunity is inapplicable.
Court Description: [Smith, Author, with Gruender and Kobes, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Minnesota Fair Campaign Practices Act. The relevant section of the Minnesota Fair Campaign Practices Act - Minn. Stat. Sec. 211B.02 - prohibits a candidate from falsely stating that a candidate or ballot question has the support or endorsement of a major political party; the statute further provides that county attorneys may prosecute violations of the statute. Plaintiffs contend the statute violates their First Amendment rights, and they sued four Minnesota county attorneys with authority to criminally prosecute violations and asked the district court for a preliminary injunction to prohibit the county attorneys from enforcing the statute pending disposition of the case; the district court denied their motion, and plaintiffs appeal the denial of the preliminary-injunction motion. The district court did not err in denying the motion as the defendants had not enforced the statute and have not threatened to do so and were entitled to Eleventh Amendment immunity.
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