20-1814 viewpoint discrimination under any First Amendment test with which we might view the claim, we affirm the district court’s grant of summary judgment for Governor Evers. Because we have found no evidence of 2 No. MacIver Institute for Public Policy, Inc., alleged that they were denied access to a press event held by Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers’ office based on the viewpoint espoused by the organization. _ ARGUED OCTODECIDED AP_ Before MANION, ROVNER, and SCUDDER, Circuit Judges.
_ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. TONY EVERS, in his official capacity as Governor of the State of Wisconsin, Defendant-Appellee. MACIVER INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY, INC., et al. In the United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit _ No. There is no evidence of viewpoint discrimination under any First Amendment test.
The press conferences were non-public fora and the criteria that the Governor used to accept or exclude media were reasonable. The Seventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment in favor of Governor Evers. MacIver sued, citing the First and Fourteenth Amendments. According to the Governor, MacIver is not included on the list because MacIver Institute “is not principally a news organization” and “their practices run afoul of the neutral factors.” The Governor’s Office distributed guidance for determining how media would be granted access to limited-access events, noting that the “most important consideration is that access is based on neutral criteria.” The factors were adapted from standards used by the Wisconsin Capital Correspondents Board and the U.S. MacIver requested the criteria used to determine which journalists would be allowed access. Hundreds of other media personnel were also not invited to the small event. MacIver reporters learned of an invitation-only press and, although not invited, sent an RSVP.
The original list was based on newspaper circulation, radio listenership, and TV viewership. The Governor’s Office maintains a media advisory list to notify members of the media of events. Some of Wisconsin Governor Evers's press events are open to the public, and others are limited to subsets of the media of varying size.
MacIver, a “think tank that promotes free markets, individual freedom, personal responsibility, and limited government,” sponsors a “separately branded” MacIver News Service.