United States Ninth Circuit

The Speech Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution does not prohibit a public university from imposing a $100 expenditure limit on candidates running for a position in student government. The school opened a limited public forum in creating a student election process, and imposing an expenditure limitation on student candidates was viewpoint neutral and served to effectuate the purpose of the school's student government elections.

Appellate Information

• Argued 02/05/2007
• Decided 06/01/2007
• Published 06/01/2007

Judges

• Before:  SUSAN P. GRABER, RICHARD A. PAEZ, and CARLOS T. BEA, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• James Bopp, Jr., and Jeffrey Gallant, Bopp, Coleson & Bostrom, Terre Haute, IN, for the plaintiff-appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• David Aronofsky, Legal Counsel, The University of Montana, Missoula, MT;  Catherine M. Swift, Chief Legal Counsel, The Montana University System, Helena, MT;  and Lisa J. Danetz and Brenda Wright, Demos:  A Network for Ideas & Action, Boston, MA, for the defendants-appellees.