This May Help Open Primary Challenge

The U. S. Supreme Court today handed down a ruling that bodes well for the Mississippi Democrats in their efforts to block Republicans from voting in Democratic primaries.* This ruling involves the method that New York’s political parties use to nominate candidates for trial judge.

From Justice Antonin Scalia’s opinion: “A political party has a First Amendment right to limit its membership as it wishes and to choose a candidate-selection process that will in its view produce the nominee who best represents its political platform.”

I got a kick out of this quote from the late Justice Thurgood Marshall: “The Constitution does not prohibit legislatures from enacting stupid laws.”

The high court's ruling reversed both of the lower courts. Justice Scalia's complete opinion is here.

*Mississippi Democratic Party v. Barbour is now in the 5th U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.