Bilovsky v. Deukmejian
Bilovsky v. Deukmajian is a 1981 decision in the California court of appeals. The plaintiffs were Walter Bilovsky and Raymond Weisberg. The plaintiffs had circulated California Proposition 5 (1978), a measure that would have required the establishment of smoking and no-smoking sections in restaurants and other public places. Proposition 5 failed and as a result, the plaintiffs in 1980 sought to qualify a similar measure for the 1980 ballot.
In order to assist with the 1980 effort, the plaintiffs wanted to contact, through mail, the people who had signed the 1978 petition--to invite them to events, ask for donations and ask them to sign the 1980 petition and ask their friends to do so.
The California Attorney General issued an advisory opinion saying that Section 29770 of California elections code, this was impermissible. The plaintiffs appealed.
