Last Updated: September 10, 2010 at 1:39 PM

Moore v. Brunner

Case Information

Date Filed: March 7, 2008
State: Ohio
Issue: Ballot Access
Courts that Heard this Case: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio (Case 2:08-cv-00224)

Issue:

Whether the Secretary of State's refusal to give the Libertarian Party of Ohio access to the November 2008 general election ballot deprives "plaintiffs of speech, voting and associational rights secured by the First and Fourteenth amendments to the Constitution of the United States."

Status:

Complaint and Motion for Preliminary Injunction filed on 3/7/08.  Answer filed on 5/6/08.  Motion for PI granted on 6/2/08.  Case consolodated with Libertarian Party of Ohio v. Brunner on 8/05/08.  Secong Motion for PI granted (allowing Plaintiffs on the November ballot) on 8/21/08.

Case Summary and Consolidation

Moore v. Brunner (2:08-cv-00819) (Socialist Party USA), Libertarian Party of Ohio v. Brunner (2:08-cv-00555) and McKinney v. Brunner (2:08-cv-00819) (Green Party of the United States) involve minor political party challenges to the Ohio Secretary of State's Directive 2007-09. This Directive established procedures for the placement of minor party candidates on the state election ballot.

On 7/25/08, the Secretary of State filed a motion to consolidate Moore with Libertarian Party, due to the similarity of the issues in the case and for the purposes of judicial economy and legal consistency. The cases were ordered to be consolidated by the Court on 8/5/08. On 8/21/08, the Court granted plaintiff's Motion for Preliminary Injunction, and ordered that the Socialist Party Candidate be placed on the general election ballot in November. On 8/29/08, the Secretary of State filed a motion to consolidate Libertarian Party and McKinney. This motion was granted on 9/2/08.

The documents listed below include the case consolidation orders and the Court's 8/21/08 order granting the plaintiff's motion for a preliminary injunction. For earlier documents, please check the individual case pages linked above.

District Court Documents

• Complaint (filed 3/7/08)
• MOTION for Preliminary Injunction (filed 3/7/08)
  • Affidavit Moore affidavit
• Memorandum in Support of Motion for Preliminary Injunction (filed 3/7/08)
• AFFIDAVIT re MOTION for Preliminary Injunction (filed 3/10/08)
• AFFIDAVIT re MOTION for Preliminary Injunction (filed 3/20/08)
• Memorandum in Opposition to Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction (filed 3/25/08)
  • Exhibit A
  • Exhibit B
  • Exhibit C
• REPLY to Response to Motion for Preliminary Injunction (filed 3/28/08)
  • Exhibit 1, Exhibit 2, Exhibit 3, Exhibit 4, Exhibit 5, Exhibit 6, Exhibit 7
• ANSWER to Complaint (filed 5/6/08)
• ORDER granting Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction (entered 6/2/08)
• ANSWER to Complaint (filed 7/16/08)
• AMENDED COMPLAINT (filed 7/21/08)
• MOTION for Leave to File Amended Complaint (filed 7/21/08)
• Memorandum in Support for MOTION for Leave to File Amend Complaint (filed 7/21/08)
• Second MOTION for Preliminary Injunction (filed 7/21/08)
• Memorandum in Support of Second MOTION for Preliminary Injunction (filed 7/21/08)
  • Exhibit 2004 Presidential election results
• ORDER re MOTION for Leave to File Amended Complaint (entered 7/21/08)
• MOTION to Consolidate Cases by Defendant Jennifer Brunner (filed 7/25/08)
• ORDER granting Motion for Leave to File (entered 7/25/08)
• ORDER granting Motion to Consolidate (entered 8/5/08)
• ANSWER to Amended Complaint (filed 8/8/08)
• Memorandum Contra Plaintiffs' Second Motion for Preliminary Injunction (filed 8/14/08)
• Reply to Defendant's Opposition to Plaintiffs' Second Motion for Preliminary Injunction (filed 8/15/08)
  • Affidavit Declaration of Brian Moore
• OPINION AND ORDER granting Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction (entered 8/21/08)
• ORDER granting Motion to Consolidate