On March 8, the 11th circuit issued a 26-page opinion in Grizzle v Kemp, 10-12176. The decision upholds a 2009 Georgia law that says no one can run for local school board if the candidate has an immediate family member serving as the local school superintendent or as a principal, assistant principal, or system administrative staff in the local school system.

“Immediate family member” means a spouse, child, sibling, or parent or the spouse of a child, sibling, or parent. The lower court had issued an injunction against the law, but the 11th circuit reversed that. The basis for the 11th circuit decision is the 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision Clements v Fashing, which ruled there is no fundamental right to be a candidate. Some courts have declined to follow Clements v Fashing because it has no majority opinion. There is an opinion signed by 4 justices, and an opposing opinion also signed by 4 justices, and then a single justice wrote separately. However, the candidate-plaintiffs in Clements v Fashing did lose the case, so one can say that it upholds the idea that the right to be a candidate does not exist. Thanks to Bill Van Allen for the news about the Grizzle decision.