United States Tenth Circuit

In an action alleging that a county board of commissioners and other officials violated his First Amendment rights by seeking to threaten and intimidate plaintiff into dropping various tax assessment challenges, summary judgment for defendants on the ground that plaintiff's tax challenge was not a matter of "public concern" is reversed as: 1) the constitutionally enumerated right of a private citizen to petition the government for the redress of grievances does not pick and choose its causes but extends to matters great and small, public and private; and 2) thus, whatever the public significance or merit of plaintiff's petitions, they enjoy the protections of the First Amendment.

Appellate Information

• Decided 08/14/2007
• Published 08/15/2007

Judges

• GORSUCH, Circuit Judge., Before HARTZ, McKAY, and GORSUCH, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Tenth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Michael D. Van Deelen, filed a brief pro se., Nicholas P. Heinke of Hogan & Hartson, Denver, CO, for Plaintiff-Appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Peter T. Maharry (Michael K. Seck and Daniel P. Goldberg on the brief), of Fisher, Patterson, Sayler & Smith, Overland Park, KS, for Defendants-Appellees.