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Wood v. Moss

Location: Oregon
Court Type: U.S. Supreme Court
Status: Closed (Judgment)
Last Update: May 27, 2014

What's at Stake

Whether plaintiffs are entitled to a trial on their claim of viewpoint discrimination based on detailed allegations that anti-Bush demonstrators were treated less favorably than pro-Bush demonstrators by the Secret Service during a 2004 presidential visit to Oregon.

During a presidential visit to Oregon in 2004, the Secret Service kept anti-Bush demonstrators several blocks further from the President than pro-Bush demonstrators. Ten years later, the merits of that claim have still not been resolved. Instead, the two issues before the Supreme Court are whether the detailed allegations in plaintiffs’ complaint present a “plausible” claim of viewpoint discrimination, and whether the defendants are entitled to qualified immunity because their actions did not violate clearly established law. The lower courts ruled against the defendants on both grounds and ordered the case to trial. The ACLU is representing the plaintiff demonstrators.

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