Preminger

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

STEVEN R. PREMINGER and SANTA 

CLARA COUNTY DEMOCRATIC

CENTRAL COMMITTEE,

Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. No. 04-16981 ANTHONY J. PRINCIPI, as Secretary of Veterans Affairs and in his  D.C. No.

CV-04-02012-JF

personal capacity; ELIZABETH FREEMAN, as Director of the Palo OPINION Alto Health Care System and in her personal capacity; HELEN GIRTON; SACHA POULENZ; and

MYREL WILLEFORD,

Defendants-Appellees.  Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California Jeremy Fogel, District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted May 9, 2005—San Francisco, California

Filed August 25, 2005

Before: Michael Daly Hawkins and Susan P. Graber, Circuit Judges, and James V. Selna,* District Judge.

Opinion by Judge Graber; Concurrence by Judge Selna

*The Honorable James V. Selna, United States District Judge for the Central District of California, sitting by designation.

11533 PREMINGER v. PRINCIPI 11537

COUNSEL

Michael M. Markman, Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe LLP, Menlo Park, California, for the plaintiffs-appellants.

Owen P.…