Opinion ID: 1723037
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: assembly

Text: Niska also claims that he is exercising his right of assembly by associating with Schmidt to give him legal advice. Consequently, Niska asserts that his conviction for violating § 27-11-01 violates his constitutionally protected right of assembly. The Supreme Court has long acknowledged as implicit in the right to engage in expressive activities protected by the first amendment a corresponding right to associate with others in pursuit of a wide variety of political, social, economic, educational, religious, and cultural ends. Roberts v. United States Jaycees,  U.S. , 104 S.Ct. 3244, 82 L.Ed.2d 462 (1984). However, the right to associate for expressive purposes is not absolute. Infringements on that right may be justified by regulations adopted to serve compelling state interests, unrelated to the suppression of ideas, that cannot be achieved by means significantly less restrictive of associational freedoms. United States Jaycees, supra. North Dakota has a compelling interest in regulating the practice of law within its boundaries. Goldfarb v. Virginia State Bar, 421 U.S. 773, 95 S.Ct. 2004, 44 L.Ed.2d 572 (1975); Salibra v. Supreme Court of Ohio, 730 F.2d 1059 (6 Cir.1984), cert. den.,  U.S. , 105 S.Ct. 295, 83 L.Ed.2d 230 (1984); cf., Matter of Adams, 102 N.M. 731, 700 P.2d 194 (1985). For the reasons discussed earlier, § 27-11-01 advances these state interests, in a manner unrelated to the suppression of ideas, which cannot be achieved by means significantly less restrictive of constitutional rights. Niska cites a line of Supreme Court decisions which uphold under the first amendment the right of members of an organization to assist one another in asserting common legal rights. NAACP v. Button, 371 U.S. 415, 83 S.Ct. 328, 9 L.Ed.2d 405 (1963) (NAACP advised individuals of civil rights claims and referred them to its affiliated attorneys); Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, supra (labor union advised injured members and their dependents to obtain legal assistance before settling claims and recommending specific lawyers to handle such claims); United Mine Workers v. Illinois St. Bar Assn., 389 U.S. 217, 88 S.Ct. 353, 19 L.Ed.2d 426 (1967) (labor union employed attorneys to represent members and their families in workmen's compensation claims); United Transp. Union v. State Bar of Michigan 401 U.S. 576, 91 S.Ct. 1076, 28 L.Ed. 339 (1971) (labor union assisted workers in filing damage suits under federal employers' liability act). These cases provide neither aid nor comfort to Niska's cause. In stark contrast to the cases cited, Niska did not recommend or refer Schmidt to attorneys; instead he sought, if not to supplant, then to supplement attorneys' services. Niska was not engaged in the type of collective activity protected by Button and its progeny. We conclude that § 27-11-01 does not violate Niska's right of assembly protected under the North Dakota Constitution or the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution. The sum of Niska's arguments appears to be that he claims a constitutional right to practice law. Niska clearly has no such right. Attwell v. Nichols, 608 F.2d 228 (5 Cir.1980), cert. den., 446 U.S. 955, 100 S.Ct. 2924, 64 L.Ed.2d 813 (1980); Bailey v. Board of Law Examiners of State of Texas, 508 F.Supp. 106 (D.C.Tex.1980). Section 27-11-01, as applied in this case, does not violate either the Federal or State Constitution. The judgment of conviction of the Morton County court is affirmed. ERICKSTAD, C.J., and VANDE WALLE, GIERKE and MESCHKE, JJ., concur.