Legal Opinion
Rickert v. Public Disclosure Commission
Court of Appeals of Washington
Decided September 7, 2005No. 32274-9-IIPublishedCited by 4 opinions
1Opinion of the Court
¶1 Marilou Rickert appeals from the superior court’s affirmance of the Washington State Public *452Disclosure Commission’s (PDC) decision that she violated RCW 42.17.530(l)(a) when she made false statements about Senator Tim Sheldon’s voting record in the 2002 general election.
Bridgewater, J.
*452¶2 We hold that the statute violates the first amendment to the United States Constitution1 in that it is not limited to defamatory speech because it does not require that the candidate be damaged by the false statements. Although the stated intent of the legislature was to “provide protection for candidates…
2Cases cited25 opinions
- New York Times Co. v. SullivanSupreme Court of the United States · 1964
- Buckley v. ValeoSupreme Court of the United States · 1976
- Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc.Supreme Court of the United States · 1974
- Roth v. United StatesSupreme Court of the United States · 1957
- National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. ButtonSupreme Court of the United States · 1963
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3Cited by4 opinions
- Pederson's Fryer Farms, Inc. v. Transamerica InsuranceCourt of Appeals of Washington · 1996
- Rickert v. State, Public Disclosure Com'nWashington Supreme Court · 2007
- Rickert v. Public Disclosure CommissionWashington Supreme Court · 2007
- United States v. StrandlofDistrict Court, D. Colorado · 2010