Hello CADF friends!
There’s a lot to cover this month, but per usual, I’ll do my best to keep it brief and stick to the highlights. Thanks for being along for the ride with us while we continue to push back against government overreach and uphold your constitutional rights – we couldn’t do all of this without your support.
Case Updates
unDivided Media LLC v. City of Seattle | HEARING COMPLETE
UPDATE: After a strenuous discovery process and incredibly thorough briefing, CADF Executive Director and Counsel, Jackson Maynard, presented our argument in Court against the City of Seattle on July 26, 2024. This was definitely a team effort, with CADF staff putting in countless hours to prepare for and conduct depositions, draft and polish multiple briefs, and prepare for argument.
The judge, Annette Messitt of King County Superior Court, has previously ruled in our favor with this case on two separate occasions:
- Motion to Dismiss: earlier this year, the City filed a Motion to Dismiss the case, and the judge struck down their Motion and allowed our case to move forward.
- Motion for Protective Order: later, the City filed their Motion for Protective Order to request that the Court restrict the number of witnesses we were allowed to depose, and Judge Messitt ruled in our favor, allowing the discovery process to proceed.
This time around, the judge elected to reserve her ruling so she can deliberate both sides’ arguments. We’ll keep you updated when we receive her ruling.
Your monthly refresher:
BACKGROUND: On June 6, 2023, Councilmember Andrew J. Lewis voted to reject a proposal by the city attorney to prosecute drug offenses. His vote was contrary to statements he’d made in support of the measure just hours before the vote took place.
On June 21, 2023, in an effort to ascertain whether special interests influenced his vote, Brandi Kruse filed a narrow public records request, seeking text messages, emails, and phone calls to and from the Councilmember over a ten-hour period prior to and after the vote.
The City then withheld the release of those records until after both the primary and general elections, both of which had Andrew Lewis’ name on the ballot. Regardless of whether or not this was politically motivated (as we believe it to be), the City violated the Public Records Act by failing to turn over records in a timely fashion. It’s worth noting that the City also filed a Motion to Dismiss earlier this year, and that too was denied!
Whistleblower Suit – Smith v. WSDOT | Case Ongoing
Last month, you’ll recall we won against the Washington State Department of Transportation’s (WSDOT) and the Governor’s Office of Financial Management’s (OFM) Motion to Dismiss in Scott Smith’s Whistleblower lawsuit.
Note: The judge found that this case has legal merit, and that ruling is not only in contrast to the investigation report that WSDOT paid for, but is also in line with CADF’s assertion that the government cannot – and should not – punish state employees simply for doing their job.
WSDOT is compelled to produce discovery, and we are currently in the process of thoroughly reviewing those documents.
In addition, both sides have been producing their briefings for the court. We will keep you updated as the case progresses.
CADF v. OFM | Ruling Received
UPDATE: On June 13, 2024, we defended our win against Governor Inslee’s Office of Financial Management with the Division II Court of Appeals.
Last year, we won our public records suit against them for violating the public records act – OFM refused to hand over initial offers in collective bargaining negotiations even after the parties had signed agreements.
Thurston County Superior Court Judge Mary Sue Wilson ruled in our favor and shortly after, OFM filed an appeal.
Unfortunately, despite the law being on our side, the opinion rendered was in favor of OFM. We are currently considering an appeal to the Washington State Supreme Court, and should we elect to pursue that, we will keep you updated on next steps.
Amicus Brief(s)
Yakima Redistricting Case | Palmer v. Hobbs et al.
On July 8, 2024, CADF filed an amicus brief on the Yakima redistricting case. We are unwaveringly committed to democracy, and that means doing our part to ensure the integrity of elections in Washington State and throughout the United States is upheld.
Our primary concern? Our brief summarizes it best: “…the district court’s endorsement of Plaintiffs’ theory of majority-minority redistricting constitutes an improper exercise of federal power over what is a longstanding state-controlled enterprise.”
We don’t have a ruling yet, but we’ll let you know when we do.
Fun Fact: CADF Executive Director Jackson Maynard spoke on this issue at the Mainstream Republicans of Washington Cascade Conference this past June!
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STAY INVOLVED
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As always, we are so grateful for your support.
Thank you,
Paige Jaramillo