Tschida v. Motl

Montana State Representative Brad Tschida filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983 against the Commissioner of Montana's Commission of Political Practices (COPP), alleging that Mont. Code Ann. 2-2-136(4) violates the First Amendment. Section 2-2-136(4) prohibits public disclosure of an ethics complaint lodged with the COPP until the COPP decides either of two things.The Ninth Circuit held that the confidentiality provision of the Montana Code of Ethics is not narrowly tailored to serve a compelling state interest. Therefore, it does not survive strict scrutiny and is facially unconstitutional. The panel reversed the district court's decision that the law was constitutional as applied to unelected public officials. However, the panel held that it was not unreasonable for the Commissioner to rely on the constitutionality of Montana's duly enacted confidentiality statute, given the differences between Montana law and the law at issue in Lind v. Grimmer, 30 F.3d 1115, 1118 (9th Cir. 1994). Accordingly, the panel held that the Commissioner was entitled to qualified immunity and affirmed the judgment in his favor. View "Tschida v. Motl" on Justia Law