Law, Politics, and Perception: How Policy Preferences Influence Legal Reasoning

B: Materials Relating to Experiment Testing the Separability of Preferences

Instructions: Study B (Estimated Time:  Minutes) In this study we are looking at reactions to a new kind of legal brief. Due to high case volume, many state and federal jurisdictions have proposed using a “Summary Brief” format where parties agree to strict page limits within a single document submitted to the court in order to get expedited decision on motions. What follows is an actual Summary Brief submitted to the federal district court for the Eastern District of Missouri (located in the th Circuit) [or Eastern District of Pennsylvania (located in the rd Circuit)] as part of a pilot study. Please read the brief carefully, as if you were the judge responsible for rendering a decision on the motion. At the end of the brief, you will be asked how you would decide the motion and what information from the Summary Brief led you to your decision. You may mark up the brief if you wish. the mock brief denise brunell, Plaintiff, vs. city of gayson and rick humprey, city manager, Defendants. Case No. :CV erw issue: Does the spouse of a city firefighter have standing to challenge an ordinance prohibiting public employees from engaging in campaign activity on behalf of local candidates? summary of motion proceedings: This action was brought pursuant to  U.S.C. § . Plaintiff, Denise Brunell, is seeking injunctive relief, damages, and a declaratory APPENDIX B MATERIALS RELATING TO EXPERIMENT TESTING THE SEPARABILITY OF PREFERENCES 190 Appendix B judgment that a Gayson City ordinance, § . of the City Charter, violates her right to political expression under the First Amendment. This matter is currently before the court on the defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment. Defendants, the City of Gayson and City Manager Rick Humprey, argue in this Summary Brief that plaintiff’s claims should be dismissed because she has not suffered an injury in fact. Plaintiff has submitted an Argument in Opposition stating that she has suffered the requisite injury to challenge the ordinance. [note—The following Summary of Facts was prepared by an objective third-party referee. Each of the parties involved in the dispute has reviewed the statement. Both sides have agreed to its inclusion in this Summary Brief stating that it is an accurate representation of the facts TABLE B.1 Law student characteristics in Separable Preferences Experiment NUMBER IN SAMPLE PERCENTAGE Gender Male 51 44 Female 64 56 Ideology Liberals 50 43 Conservatives 47 41 Moderates 18 16 Party affiliation Democrats 44 38 Republicans 49 43 Independents 22 19 Race Black 9 8 White 94 82 Asian 7 6 Hispanic 1 1 Mixed 4 4 Year in law school 2L 48 42 3L 46 40 Graduate 21 18 Materials Relating to Experiment Testing the Separability of Preferences 191 which may be used in the interest of getting an expedited ruling on the Motion.] statement of facts: The City of Gayson is located in St. Louis County, Missouri [or Chester County, Pennsylvania]. In  the city approved the current charter with the following provision:§ .—Employees. Participation in City Elections. Neither the City Manager nor any person holding an administrative office or position under the city manager’s supervision shall be a candidate for mayor or city council member or engage, directly or indirectly in sponsoring , electioneering, or contributing money or other things of value to any person who is a candidate for mayor or city council. All such persons shall retain the right to vote as they choose and to express their opinions on all political subjects. Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be removed in the manner provided by the personnel code. The provision was adapted from a model charter drafted by the National Civic League. It was designed to protect city employees from undue coercion by local candidates for public office. The City Manager, Rick Humprey, stated in his deposition that the provision has been important in maintaining a degree of impartiality for city government in what has been a somewhat volatile political environment. [Humprey Deposition (Hump. Dep.) at ]. Plaintiff’s husband, John Brunell, is employed as a city firefighter in Gayson. The couple has lived in the city since . Prior to moving to Gayson, plaintiff was active in city politics. She previously worked on the campaign of a councilwoman in the town where she used to reside. She has also made telephone calls on behalf of local political candidates. [Brunell Depostion...