You can find the Ninth Circuit’s opinion in Alaska v. Alaska Independence Party (yes, that Alaska Independence Party), here. The opinion begins:

Alaska requires political parties to nominate candidates for the state’s general election ballot in a state-run primary, in which any registered member of a political party may seek the party’s nomination. Nominees are then chosen by the vote of party-affiliated voters and any other voters whom the parties choose to let participate. The Alaska Independence Party (“AIP”) and the Alaska Libertarian Party (“ALP”) contend that these laws burden their associational rights in violation of the First Amendment because they force them to associate with candidates who, they claim, are not members of their party or are not ideologically compatible with the party. We hold that Alaska’s primary system is justified by compelling state interests and is therefore facially constitutional.

This opinion is potentially very important in considering the question whether Congress would have the power to outlaw presidential caucuses and require presidential candidates to be chosen in direct primaries. It’s an issue I recently wrote about for the Northwestern University Law Review‘s “Colloquy” (soon to be reprinted in the law review itself).