A small blow for 1st Amendment rights, struck by the PA Supreme Court

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

In re the Nomination Petitions and Papers of Carl STEVENSON as a Candidate for State Representative in the 134th Legislative District.
Appeal of Carl Stevenson.

No. 54 MAP 2010.Submitted Sept. 8, 2010.
Decided March 26, 2012.

Background: Objectors petitioned to set aside nominating paper of candidate for state representative on ground that candidate did not secure a sufficient number of valid signatures to have his name appear on the ballot. The Commonwealth Court ordered the Secretary of the Commonwealth to strike candidate's name from the general election ballot. Candidate appealed. The Supreme Court vacated and remanded. On remand, the Commonwealth Court, No. 643 M.D. 2010, considered and sustained individual signature challenges. Candidate filed an application for relief.

Holdings: The Supreme Court, Castille, C.J., held that:

(1) issue of whether residency requirement for affiants circulating nomination papers violated the First Amendment, though moot, would be addressed as an important election question that had the potential to recur, and

(2) federal District Court's unappealed, final decision in Morrill v. Weaver, permanently enjoining the Commonwealth from enforcing district residency requirement for affiants circulating nomination papers, was binding on the Commonwealth, and was unenforceable by the Secretary and the courts of the Commonwealth, abrogating In re Payton, 945 A.2d 279, In re Nomination Paper of Rogers, 908 A.2d 942, and In re Petition for Agenda Initiative, 821 A.2d 203.