Nevada Comm. on Ethics v. Carrigan

Disclosure: John Elwood, a regular contributor to the blog, serves as counsel to the petitioner. Although Amy Howe, the editor of the blog, served as a judge on one of John’s moots before the argument, Goldstein, Howe, & Russell was not otherwise involved in the case.

Holding: The Nevada Ethics in Government Law, which prohibits a legislator who has a conflict of interest from both voting on a proposal and from advocating its passage or failure, is not unconstitutionally overbroad.

Judgment: Reversed, 9-0, in an opinion by Justice Antonin Scalia on June 13, 2011. Justice Kennedy filed a concurring opinion. Justice Alito filed an opinion concurring in part and concurring in the judgment.