WIN v. Warheit
WIN v. Warheit is a lawsuit decided by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 2000. The case is sometmes referred to as Washington Initiatives Now v. Rippie.
The plaintiffs, WIN--or "Washington Initiatives Now"--filed the lawsuit against Melissa Warheit in her official capacity with the Washington Public Disclosure Commission.
WIN v. Warheit is considered to a significant victory for initiative rights. In the decision, the Ninth Circuit overturned a Washington state statute that required the disclosure of the names and addresses of people who circulate petitions, and the amounts paid to them. The court ruled that these requirements violated the U.S. constitution. In so doing, the court overturned a lower court decision.
The court ruled that the law it invalidated served to intimidate petition circulators. When the Ninth Circuit overturned the law, it was the first time that they had ever invalidated a Washington election law.
