Big Victory for Wesley Snipes' Attorneys in Nader Open Ballot Appellate Ruling.SAN FRANCISCO San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden -- In a move heralded by election reform advocates, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled unanimously Wednesday that an Arizona election law requiring that independent presidential candidates register earlier than those affiliated with political parties was unconstitutional. Presidential candidate Ralph Nader  This page is currently protected from editing until (UTC) or until disputes have been resolved. , represented by Robert Barnes
Robert Barnes of the Milwaukee law firm Bernhoft Law, had filed a challenge to the deadline, arguing that it violated his rights to free speech under the First Amendment. Arizona officials had argued that the early registration requirement was necessary to give the state time to print accurate ballots, but the court ruled that the same deadline should be imposed on all candidates. The appellate court A court having jurisdiction to review decisions of a trial-level or other lower court. An unsuccessful party in a lawsuit must file an appeal with an appellate court in order to have the decision reviewed. also struck down an Arizona requirement for residency to circulate petitions for presidential candidates, a decision that may have nation-wide impact. "This extraordinary win for the free speech and open ballot rights of every American justifies the four years of legal work in this case," said attorney Barnes. "This exceptional victory in the Ninth Circuit establishes a precedent setting case to guarantee American democracy remains open to all regardless of their beliefs or ideals." Oliver Hall, founder of the Washington, D.C. group Center for Competitive Democracy, said, "The appellate court decision is groundbreaking because the court applied strict scrutiny A standard of Judicial Review for a challenged policy in which the court presumes the policy to be invalid unless the government can demonstrate a compelling interest to justify the policy. , which happens all too rarely in ballot access cases." Theresa Amato, the national campaign manager for Nader in 2004, said, "Yesterday's ruling has knocked down one of the many barriers to free competition in the electoral arena and is a blow to severe state ballot access burdens heaped on third party and independent candidates." The case, originally argued in Arizona federal district court, stems from Nader's 2004 presidency bid. ABOUT ROBERT BARNES OF BERNHOFT LAW Robert Barnes is a partner in Bernhoft Law, one of the nation's leading boutique law firms specializing in complex litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. in federal criminal and civil courts and asset fraud recovery. Barnes and his partner Robert Bernhoft were lead attorneys for the actor Wesley Snipes Snipes (Diminutive for Snipers) is a text-mode networked computer game that was created in 1983 by SuperSet software. Snipes is officially credited as being the original inspiration for Novell NetWare. in Snipes' 2008 conspiracy and tax fraud federal trial in Florida, a trial that resulted in Snipes being acquitted on all felony counts. (Snipes was found guilty of three of six misdemeanor counts for willfully willfully adv. referring to doing something intentionally, purposefully and stubbornly. Examples: "He drove the car willfully into the crowd on the sidewalk." "She willfully left the dangerous substances on the property." (See: willful) failing to file a tax return). Bernhoft Law has offices in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Malibu, California. |
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