The California Supreme Court has handed a preliminary victory to four former Montebello officials who were sued by the city for allegedly voting to support a garbage hauling contract in exchange for campaign contributions. In a 5-2 decision last week, the high court affirmed that an elected official’s vote is protected by the first amendment, shifting the burden to the city to prove that the officials actually violated state law.
The case, which we first covered in May, is now headed back to lower court. If the city can prove illegality, the three ex-council members and former city administrator would have to return the campaign cash they received from Athens Services.
“(Public) meetings, at which council members discuss matters of public interest and legislate, are conduct in furtherance of the council members’ constitutional right of free speech in connection with public issues and issues of public interest,” said Justice Carol A. Corrigan in the opinion reversing the 2nd state Court of Appeals decision. That allows for a special motion to throw out such lawsuits at an early stage.
Justice Goodwin Liu wrote a blistering dissent, saying this would “make it harder to enforce civil laws against public corruption.” The case largely centered around the state’s anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) law, which is designed to prevent legal actions that chill free speech.
Read more about the Court’s decision here.
Image Credit: Flickr User rumblepress, https://flic.kr/p/iASeZ8 via (CC BY 2.0)