Challenge to Legislation

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Matthew D. Claussen v. Michael R. Pence

Case No.: 16-1003

Officials: POSNER and FLAUM, Circuit Judges, and ALONSO, District Judge

Focus: Challenge to Legislation

Legislation prohibiting persons holding elected office from being employed as civil servant in same unit of government did not violate 1^st or 14^th amendment.

“The Indiana Law surely passes muster under rational basis review. There is a clear, rational relationship between pre‐ venting actual and perceived corruption and Indiana’s treatment of municipal employees. Although government contractors who hold elected office could use their voting power to enrich themselves at the expense of the public, Indiana sub‐ jects government contractors to extensive disclosure requirements, which reduces the risk of self‐dealing. And even if the risk of self‐dealing were identical for contractors and employees, Indiana is not required to address all manifestations of public corruption at once. See FCC v. Beach Commc’ns, Inc., 508 U.S. 307, 316 (1993) (holding that the State “must be allowed leeway to approach a perceived problem incrementally”); Clements, 457 U.S. at 969 (“The Equal Protection Clause allows the State to regulate one step at a time, addressing itself to the phase of the problem which seems most acute.” (citation and internal quotation marks omitted)). Thus, the district court properly dismissed plaintiffs’ claim under the Equal Protection Clause.”

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.