CopyCited 7 times | Published | District Court, S.D. Florida | 1978 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15681
...*61 Steven Wisotsky, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for plaintiff. Janet Reno, State Atty., and Robert L. Shevin, Atty. Gen., in pro. per. PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION ROETTGER, District Judge. Plaintiffs in this lawsuit, Concerned Democrats of Florida, filed suit urging this court to strike down Florida Statute § 105.09 [1] as unconstitutional, and to enjoin the State Attorney of Dade County, Janet Reno, from enforcing that particular law....
...Plaintiffs contend typically, at the eleventh hour [2] that they desire to interview candidates for judicial office and, based on those interviews, to publicize their recommendations and endorsements to the voters of Dade County. They contend that the flat prohibition of Fla. Stat. § 105.09 impermissibly chills their First Amendment rights to free speech; that it violates their right to political association; that it violates their right to equal protection under the laws as provided in the Fourteenth Amendment; and that it co...
...fendants were represented. Upon the basis of the law and the evidence presented at the hearing, the court concludes that plaintiff is entitled to a preliminary injunction pending final determination on the merits. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. Florida Statute § 105.09 enacted in 1971, punishes by fine and imprisonment any support, endorsement, or assistance given to a judicial candidate by a political party or partisan political organization....
...Stat. § 105.021 judicial officers in Florida are to be elected on separate non-partisan ballots. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. This court's jurisdiction is invoked pursuant to Title 28 U.S.C. §§ 1343(3), (4) and 1331. Plaintiffs' allegations that Fla. Stat. § 105.09 violates their rights guaranteed by the First and Fourteenth Amendments present this court with a case or controversy as required by Art....
...Under such a test, the state is then required to show a compelling interest, to be achieved by statutory means that are "closely drawn to avoid unnecessary abridgement." First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti,
435 U.S. 765,
98 S.Ct. 1407, 1421,
55 L.Ed.2d 707 (1978). Florida Statute §
105.09 most assuredly aids the state in maintaining the non-partisan qualities of its elections....
...Accordingly, it is ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that plaintiffs' request for preliminary injunction is granted. The State Attorney for Dade County, Florida is hereby enjoined from prosecuting the Concerned Democrats of Florida or any of its members for any violations of Fla. Stat. § 105.09 pending the final determination of this case on the merits....
