PORTER v JONES - Legal Case Documents


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Keywords & Phrases

CaseNo: PVJ76801, Plaintiff: PORTER, State: MA Massachusetts, UniqueCaseRef: LCD>PVJ76801, California, Voting, Rights, Amendment, Speech, Web Site, First Amendment, Voters, Vote, Communication, Election, Website, Criminal Prosecution, Tenley, Threat, United States Constitution, Presidential Election, Bill Jones, Site Visitors, Threats, Los Angeles, Lewis, Facilitate, Newspaper Reports, Nader, Unofficial Capacity, Guarantee, San Diego, Voting Strategies, Concerted Voting, Founders, Third-party Candidates, Prosecution, Like-minded Voters, Candidacy, Pro Hat Vice, Ucla , ContentID: 120243721

Case Documents

REPLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT
[ see first page and extracted highlights below ] ItemID: 124037

Government Exhibit # 1ST AMENDED COMPLAINT
[ see first page and extracted highlights below ] ItemID: 124036

RESTRAININGORDER
[ see first page and extracted highlights below ] ItemID: 110242

COMPLAINT
[ see first page and extracted highlights below ] ItemID: 110241

Total Documents: 4 documents , 30 pages

Price: $ 34.95

IVESLCD01 KGI0001

1 . REPLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT

EXTRACTED KEY WORDS

PROSECUTION
OPPOSITION
PROTECTION
ATTORNEY
TRO
WEB SITE
ACLU
CALIFORNIA
COURT
SPEECH
THREATS
UNION
SBN
NATIONAL VOTING RIGHTS
VOTING RIGHTS INSTITUTE
SAN DIEGO
DEFENDANT
PRIOR RESTRAINT
AMENDMENT
PROSECUTORIAL AUTHORITY
FOUNDERS
VIOLATION
MEMORANDUM
INFORMING
EXCHANGE
VOTES
ELECTIONS
LAW
CHILL

LAURENCE H. TRIBE, of counsel
Hauser Hall 420
1575 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA  02138
Telephone: (617) 495-4621

PETER J. ELIASBERG, SBN 189110
MARK D. ROSENBAUM, SBN 59940
ACLU FOUNDATION OF
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
1616 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90026
Telephone: (213) 977-9500
Facsimile: (213) 250-3919

NATIONAL VOTING RIGHTS INSTITUTE
JOHN C. BONIFAZ,  admitted in MA
GREGORY G. LUKE, admitted in MA
BRENDA WRIGHT, admitted in NY
One Bromfield Street
Third Floor
Boston, MA 02108
Application for admission pro hac vice
pending

JORDAN C. BUDD, SBN 144288
ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties
P.O. Box 87131
San Diego, California 92138-7131
Telephone: (619) 232-2532
Facsimile: (619) 232-0036

Attorneys for Plaintiffs

                                          UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

                               FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

ALAN PORTER; PATRICK KERR;                                              )     Case No.  00-11700
STEVEN LEWIS; SCOTT W. TENLEY;                                          )
WILLIAM J. DAVIS; DEMOCRATIC                                            )     REPLY MEMORANDUM IN
LAW STUDENTS ASSOCIATION AT                                             )     OF PLAINTIFFS' EX
UCLA,                                                                   )     APPLICATION FOR
                                                                        )     RESTRAINING ORDER
Plaintiffs,                                                             )
vs.                                                                     ))
BILL JONES, in his official capacity as                                 )
California Secretary of State;                                          ))
Defendants.                                                             )

PETER J. ELIASBERG, SBN 189110 MARK D. ROSENBAUM, SBN 59940 ACLU FOUNDATION OF SOUTHERN

NATIONAL VOTING RIGHTS INSTITUTE

ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties

California 92138-7131 Telephone: 232-2532 Facsimile: 232-0036

Defendants' opposition to Plaintiffs' Application for a Temporary Restraining Order

Amendment, except by implying that they are not.

The Secretary of State mistakenly contends that a TRO should not issue because he is

actual prosecutorial authority.

Def's Memorandum at 2, 3.

Supreme Court and Ninth Circuit precedent.

founders of voteswap2000.com, a web site that is materially the same as

exchange of votes throughout the United States of America.

the voting process in violation of the Elections Code sections 18521 and 18522 as well as

As the Chief Elections Officer of the State

Court concluded that it was engaged in an illegal prior restraint.

public officer's thinly veiled threats to institute criminal proceedings against them if they

1999), the Attorney General

sent a letter to a union informing them that their actions might violate state law and that

violations would be referred for prosecution.

After the union sued the Attorney General,

makes clear that the Mr. Porter's web site consists of pure political speech that is

Nor does Defendant even mention Brown v. Hartlage, 456 U.S. 45, 54

reveals that Plaintiffs' face a severe chill on their speech.

therefore entitled to the Court's protection in the form of a TRO.

2 . Government Exhibit # 1ST AMENDED COMPLAINT

EXTRACTED KEY WORDS

PLAINTIFFS
VOTING
AMENDMENT
RIGHTS
FIRST AMENDMENT
SPEECH
WEB SITE
COMMUNICATION
VOTE
THREAT
ELECTION
VOTERS
UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION
BILL JONES
WEBSITE
CRIMINAL PROSECUTION
ATTORNEYS
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
LOS ANGELES
UNOFFICIAL CAPACITY
GUARANTEE
SITE VISITORS
FACILITATE
SAN DIEGO
CONCERTED VOTING
THIRD-PARTY CANDIDATES
NEWSPAPER REPORTS
INTERFERE
JURISDICTION

LAURENCE H. TRIBE, of counsel                                JAMIN RASKIN, admitted in MD, MA, DC
Hauser Hall 420                                              American University
1575 Massachusetts Avenue                                    Washington College of Law
Cambridge, MA  02138                                         4801 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Telephone: (617) 495-4621                                    Washington, DC 20016
                                                             Telephone: (202) 274-4011
PETER J. ELIASBERG, SBN 189110                               Application for admission pro hac vice
MARK D. ROSENBAUM, SBN 59940                                 pending
ACLU FOUNDATION OF
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
1616 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90026
Telephone: (213) 977-9500
Facsimile: (213) 250-3919

NATIONAL VOTING RIGHTS INSTITUTE
JOHN C. BONIFAZ,  admitted in MA
GREGORY G. LUKE, admitted in MA
BRENDA WRIGHT, admitted in NY
One Bromfield Street
Third Floor
Boston, MA 02108
Telephone:  (617) 368-9100
Facsimile:  (617) 368-9101
Application for admission pro hac vice pending

JORDAN C. BUDD, SBN 144288
ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties
P.O. Box 87131
San Diego, California 92138-7131
Telephone: (619) 232-2532
Facsimile: (619) 232-0036

Attorneys for Plaintiffs

                                      UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

                                FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

         ALAN PORTER; PATRICK KERR;                     )    Case No.  00-11700 RJK (Mcx)
         STEVEN LEWIS; SCOTT W. TENLEY;                 )
         WILLIAM J. DAVIS; DEMOCRATIC                   )    FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT
         LAW STUDENTS ASSOCIATION AT                    )
         UCLA,                                          )    Class Action
                                                        )    Demand for Jury Trial
                                 Plaintiffs,            )
                   vs.                                  )    First Amendment to the United States
                                                        )    Constitution; Fourteenth Amendment to
         BILL JONES, in his unofficial capacity, and    )    United States Constitution; 42 U.S.C.

ACLU FOUNDATION OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

1616 Beverly Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90026 Telephone: 977-9500 Facsimile: 250-3919

NATIONAL VOTING RIGHTS INSTITUTE

ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties

Attorneys for Plaintiffs

BILL JONES, in his unofficial capacity, and) United States Constitution; 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in

interfere, by use of threats of severe criminal penalties, with the rights of political

guaranteed by the First Amendment.

Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and the Declaratory Judgment Act,

Jurisdiction is also conferred by 28 U.S.C. § 1367with respect to the state

Plaintiffs seek to redress the violation by defendants,

established to promote and facilitate communication among like-minded individuals concerning

On October 30, 2000, defendant Bill Jones, the Secretary of State of California, sent email

the founders of a website known as

threat of prosecution on their website and effectively discontinued all activities that

On October 23, 2000, Plaintiff Alan Porter decided to help create a web site entitled

discuss their political beliefs and strategies for the upcoming presidential election.

candidates would amount to a vote cast for the major-party candidate whom they strongly

such third-party voters in swing states felt that they could happily cast a vote for the

Mr. Porter created votexchange2000.com to educate site visitors about the electoral

facilitate the exchange of such information by creating a database of e-mail addresses of

those persons would have no guarantee that the other persons would in fact fulfill their

Kerr intended to cast his vote for Ralph Nader in the presidential election,

free speech, he was afraid of prosecution by the state.

founders of one of these websites with criminal prosecution,

Mr. Tenley learned from newspaper reports that the California

Third-party candidates such as George Wallace, John Anderson, Ross Perot, and Ralph

them to communicate with a person or persons about a concerted voting strategy that involves

3 . RESTRAININGORDER

EXTRACTED KEY WORDS

STATES DXSTRICT COURT
CEBTRAI
DISTRICT
CALIFORNIA
TEMPORARY RESTRAIOLNG ORDER

                                                                               t


                     lINTTED  STATES  DXSTRICT  COURT
                   CEBTRAI,  DISTRICT  OF  CALIFORNIA




Title:





PROCEEDINGS:  P!alntiffs'  Application  For  Temporary  RestraIolng  Order

lINTTED STATES DXSTRICT COURT

CEBTRAI, DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

P!alntiffs' Application For Temporary RestraIolng Order

EXTRACTED KEY WORDS

VOTING
RIGHTS
TENLEY
WEB SITE
SPEECH
VOTERS
VOTE
WEBSITE
LEWIS
THREATS
COMMUNICATION
ELECTION
CRIMINAL PROSECUTION
NADER
SITE VISITORS
FIRST AMENDMENT
VOTING STRATEGIES
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
NEWSPAPER REPORTS
LIKE-MINDED VOTERS
CANDIDACY
LOS ANGELES
PRO HAT VICE
UCLA
STATES CONSTITUTION
FACILITATE
FOUNDERS
INTERNET
FREE SPEECH

      _*.
.


              I     LAURENCE  HI. TRIBE,  of counsel
                    Hauser  Hall  420
              2  1575  Massachusetts       Avenue              /  q&G;
                                                                      ..CR.:
                    Cambridge,  MA  02 138
              3  Telephone:  (617)  495-462  1  `-
              4  PETER  J. ELIASBERG,  SBN  189110
                    MARK  D.  ROSENBAUM,               SBN  59940
              S  ACLU  FOUNDATION               OF
                    SOUTHERN  CALIFORNIA
              6  1616 Beverly  Blvd.
                    Los Angeles,  CA  90026
              7  Telephone:  (213)  977-9500
                    Facsimile:  (213)  250-3919
              8  NATIONAL  VOTING  RIGHTS  INSTITUTE
              9  JOHN  C. BONIFAZ,  , admitted  in  MA
                    GREGORY  G.  LLJKE,  admitted  in  MA
         10  BRENDA  WRIGHT,  admitted  in  MA
                    20 Oxford  Road
         11  Newton,  MA  02459
                    Application  for  admission  pro  hat  vice
         12  pending
         13
         14  Attorneys  for Plaintiffs
         15

         16
         17                                         UNITED  STATES  DlSTRTCT  COURT
         18                               FOR  THE  CENTRAL  DISTRICT                 OF 
                                                                                                   
                                                                                                   

         19  ALAN  PORTER,  PATRICK  KEm,                                  ;     CaseNo~~_r&i      
         20  STEVEN  LEWIS;  SCOTT  W.  TENLEY;
                    WILLIAM  J. DAVIS;  DEMOCRATIC                         )     COMPLAINT       
         21  LAW  STUDENTS  ASSOCIATION  AT                                )  INJUNCTIVE         
                    UCLA,
         22                                  Plaintiffs,
         23                   vs.                                          1
         24  BILL  JONES,  in his  official  capacity  as                  j
                    California  Secretary  of State;                       1
         25                                  Defendants.
         26                                                                1
         27
         2x

NATIONAL VOTING RIGHTS INSTITUTE

Application for admission pro hat vice 12 pending

20 STEVEN LEWIS; SCOTT W. TENLEY;

California to interfere, by use of threats of severe criminal penalties, with the rights, of

speech and association guaranteed by the First Amendment.

17 addresses for inclusion in a database that would link persons for individual communication.

the founders of a website

26 known as "voteswap2000xom" threatening criminal prosecution under the California Elections

E entitled votexchange2000.com as a forum to allow individuals around the country to contact

IC Mr. Porter had observed that many citizens in so-called "swing states" around the country

Many such third-party voters in swing states feel that they

Mr. Porter's web site advocated

25 3ehveen site visitors who wish to talk to each other about voting strategies.

questionnaire page designed to facilitate the exchange of such information by creating

24 a Democrat to vote in Los Angeles County.

free speech, he is afraid of prosecuOion by the state.

Mr. Lewis wishes to engage in this

13 communication via the Internet, In using the Internet, he wishes to access websites which

24 Vice President Al Gore and the candidacy of Green Parry candidate RaIph Nader.

he would like to able to communicate with like-minded voters in states

Mr. Tenley understands from newspaper reports that the California Secretary of State's

16 organization comprised of UCLA law students, On Wednesday, Ocrober 3 1,2000, the

10 the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.


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