NV Supreme Court to hear oral arguments on Schmidt vs Kieckhefer

(Peter Hennessey) – Oral arguments in the case of Gary Schmidt (appellant) vs. Ben Kieckhefer (respondent) will be heard before the full panel of the Nevada Supreme Court.

The court order specifying the time and place is in the court document 15-23090.

Date: Wednesday, Sept 2, 2015

Time: 1:30 PM

Place: Nevada Supreme Court, 201 South Carson Street, Courtroom-Second Floor, Carson City

Case no.: 66528

Before: En Banc

Justices: Gibbons, Douglas, Pickering, Hardesty, Cherry, Parraguirre, Saitta

The case history is shown here.

This case involves the lower court’s restraining order, issued at Nevada State Senator Ben Kieckhefer’s request late Fridaynight immediately before the primaries in June 2014, against a TV ad that candidate in Senate District 16 Gary Schmidt was running at the time on Reno TV stations. The facts of the case are summarized in the court document 14-31048, which is downloadable from the link above.

Gary Schmidt has emphasized two important points about this case:

1. This is a clear example of prior restraint on political free speech, that is, a First Amendment issue, which is traditionally of the highest priority for the courts. And therefore,

2. The oral arguments are being heard “en banc“ which means that the entire court, all seven justices, are hearing it. This is unusual, as normally only a panel of three justices hears a case.

This case has not only attracted widespread interest, but the media have also universally criticized the district court judge’s decision.The media and the press are invited to hear the oral arguments.