Constitutionality

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Civil

7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Officials: KANNE and ROVNER, Circuit Judges, and SPRINGMANN, District Judge

Constitutionality

14-3300 Common Cause Indiana v. Individual Members of Indiana Election Committee

State statute governing system for election judges held unconstitutional.

“According to the State, these cases establish that election laws intended to ensure balanced political representation are fully consonant with the First and Fourteenth Amendments.12 However, the State’s rationale does not address a crucial difference from the facts presented—those cases speak to an interest in protecting minority party representation in the context of multi-member or legislative bodies. See, e.g., Hechinger, 411 F. Supp. at 654 (noting that “the purpose of the [minority representation provision] was entirely harmonious with that of the First Amendment” because it provided “fair and equitable protection of minority interests” by “ensur[ing] that political minorities are represented on the Council and that dissident voices are heard in the legislative process”). Minority representation provisions, or, stated differently, limitations on majority representation, protect against partisanship run amok. A judge, however, is not elected to represent a particular viewpoint but must exercise his or her own independent authority to make decisions that uphold and apply the law fairly and impartially. See, e.g., Republican Party of Minnesota v. White, 536 U.S. 765, 803 (2002) (Ginsburg, J., dissenting) (“Whether state or federal, elected or appointed, judges perform a function fundamentally different from that of the people’s elected representatives. Legislative and executive officials act on behalf of the voters who placed them in office; ‘judge[s] represen[t] the Law.’” (citations omitted)).”

Affirmed

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.