Siefert v. Alexander: The Seventh Circuit Erroneously Found the Endorsement Clause Constitutional in an Effort to Confront the Ethical Dilemmas of Judicial Elections
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Authors
Moss, Tyler J.
Issue Date
2012
Volume
45
Issue
Type
Journal Article
Language
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
INTRODUCTION|In Siefert v. Alexander, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that John Siefert, a Wisconsin County Circuit Court judge, was prohibited from publicly endorsing other political candidates during his judicial campaign. The Seventh Circuit prohibited Siefert from endorsing political candidates by determining that Wisconsin's Endorsement Clause, a code of judicial ethics that banned judicial candidates from endorsing other candidates during elections, was constitutional. Instead of applying strict scrutiny, the level of review established in Republican Party of Minnesota v. White (White 1), the Seventh Circuit determined the Endorsement Clause was constitutional by applying the Pickering v. Board of Education balancing test for the first time to judicial elections and judges' First Amendment rights...
Description
Citation
45 Creighton L. Rev. 893 (2011-2012)
Publisher
Creighton University School of Law