United States Eighth Circuit

In a suit brought by residents and a non-profit advocacy organization alleging that Missouri law violates the constitution and federal laws by disqualifying persons under court-ordered guardianship from voting, a judgment for defendants is affirmed where: 1) facial attacks by a resident and by the organization on the alleged categorical ban failed on the merits; 2) resident's as-applied attack failed for a number of interrelated reasons; and 3) the organization lacked associational standing to assert non-categorical equal protection and statutory claims absent participation in the lawsuit by one or more wards with individual standing to raise those claims.

Appellate Information

• Decided 08/23/2007
• Published 08/23/2007

Judges

• LOKEN, Chief Judge., Before LOKEN, Chief Judge, O'CONNOR, Associate Justice (Ret.), and GRUENDER, Circuit Judge.

Court

• United States Eighth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Samuel R. Bagenstos, argued, St. Louis, MO (James M. Kirkland, Kansas City, MO; Anthony E. Rothert, St. Louis, MO; Neil Bradley, Atlanta, GA; James G. Felakos, New York, NY; Barrett J. Vahle, Kansas City, MO; Ira Burnim, Jennifer Mathis and Alison N. Barkoff, Washington, DC; and Michael H. Finkelstein and David Hale, Jefferson City, MO, on the brief), for appellant., Michael Eugene Cook Pritchett, argued, Assistant Attorney General, Jefferson City, MO.