In Re the Nomination Petitions & Papers of Stevenson, 40 A.3d 1212

This appeal concerns the constitutionality of Pennsylvania Election Code §2911(d) residency requirement for nomination-paper affiants in Stevenson’s 134th district race.
Objectors challenged Stevenson’s nominating papers on signature grounds and a broader claim that §2911(d) violates the First Amendment.
Stevenson argued §2911(d) is unconstitutional as applied to circulators, citing Morrill v. Weaver’s federal district-court injunction.
Commonwealth Court previously upheld §2911(d) and struck Stevenson's nominating paper due to a nonresident affiant, then the Pennsylvania Supreme Court remanded for non-constitutional signature issues and reserved the First Amendment question.
On remand, the Commonwealth Court sustained the signature challenges and Stevenson sought relief in this Court, while the First Amendment issue remained in reserve.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ultimately held Morrill’s permanent injunction precludes enforcement of §2911(d) in Pennsylvania and that the Morrill judgment is binding, with residual jurisdiction relinquished.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Is Morrill binding on Pennsylvania courts to negate §2911(d) enforcement?	Stevenson says Morrill controls; §2911(d) unenforceable.	Commonwealth argues Morrill lacks binding effect on state courts.	Yes; Morrill binds and §2911(d) unenforceable.
Does Morrill have preclusive effect in this state case?	Morrill should not be given preclusive effect against nonparties.	Morrill’s final federal injunction should govern to prevent conflicting orders.	Yes; Morrill has preclusive effect to bar enforcement.
Should the moot First Amendment issue be decided given mootness in remand?	Issue moot but of great public importance and capable of repetition.	Moot but capable of repetition; albeit with need for review.	Issue addressed under mootness exception due to public importance and repetition potential.

Morrill v. Weaver, 224 F. Supp. 2d 882 (E.D. Pa. 2002) (federal injunction barring §2911(d) enforcement; First Amendment burden on circulators)
Buckley v. American Constitutional Law Foundation, Inc., 525 U.S. 182 (U.S. 1999) (petition circulation is core political speech; strict scrutiny for burdens)
Initiative and Referendum Institute v. Jaeger, 241 F.3d 614 (8th Cir. 2001) (state residency requirement broader than necessary; fraud prevention not narrowly tailored)
Delaware Valley Citizens' Council for Clean Air v. Commonwealth, 755 F.2d 38 (3d Cir. 1985) (federal judgment in consent-decree context binding on state officials; comity)
Embry v. Palmer, 107 U.S. 3 (1883) (full faith and credit to federal judgments in state courts)
Stoll v. Gottlieb, 305 U.S. 165 (1938) (principles of comity and finality of judgments)