On October 4, Washington state Green Party candidate Marilou Rickert won her lawsuit against the state, over whether a candidate may be punished for making an untrue statement. She had run for the legislature in 2002 and had said that her Democratic opponent, Senator Tim Sheldon, had voted to close a facility for the developmentally challenged. Actually he had voted not to close it. The Washington State Public Disclosure Commission fined Rickert $1,000 for making the untrue statement, despite her testimony that she believed her statement had been true when she made it. She acknowledged that she had made an error of fact.

The State Supreme Court held that the law under which she was prosecuted violates the First Amendment. The case is Rickert v State of Washington, 77769-1. She had also won in the State Court of Appeals on September 7, 2005. Thanks to Rick Hasen of electionlawblog for this news.