Appellate court removes Barr from Louisiana ballot - Case sent to US SC.

[Bob Hubbard]

Now it gets interesting.

Appellate court removes Barr from Louisiana ballot
September 27th, 2008 by Jason Pye
The Firth Circuit Court of Appeals has removed Bob Barr from the Louisiana ballot. Shortly after the lower court decision, the state filed an appeal to the federal appellate court.

We are appealing directly to the United States Supreme Court today. You can read the 17 page appeal here.

It is very difficult to work in a system that has been co-opted and monopolized by Republicans and Democrats. They will do whatever they can to ensure that they have no competition.

Some excerpts from the appeal.

On the Louisiana case…
September 27th, 2008 by Jason Pye
I was looking over the appeal to the Supreme Court on the Louisiana ballot access case (you can read it here). This section of the petition is just excellent:

The Secretary of State took an emergency appeal to the Fifth Circuit on September 25, 2008. The following day, the Fifth Circuit entered its Order staying the injunction. In its Order, the Fifth Circuit found, contrary to the District Court’s findings, that the Secretary of State’s Office was effectively open during Hurricane Gustav. See Attachment 1 at 4. Notwithstanding that the Secretary of State’s web page announced that it was closed from September 2 through September 7, see Exhibits attached to the Complaint, much of the State had been ordered to evacuate, New Orleans was a disaster-area closed under threats of martial law, Baton Rouge was flooded, and all state offices were closed, the Fifth Circuit concluded that the Secretary was open ‘enough’ to satisfy the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

According to the Fifth Circuit, Petitioners should have ignored the Governor’s executive order closing all state offices, remained in Louisiana during Hurricane Gustav contrary to executive orders, and filed their qualifying papers by the required date. That only one political party successfully made its way to Baton Rouge on September 2 to file its papers did not prove that filing was nearly impossible. Rather, it proved to the Fifth Circuit that filing in the face of Hurricane Gustav was possible. Petitioners, too, should have gathered their electors from Louisiana’s four corners, flouted Louisiana’s evacuation, and made their way to Baton Rouge. Never mind that the Secretary’s Office had announced that it would be closed. Petitioners should have guessed that the Secretary would remain open.

If nothing else, according to the Fifth Circuit, Petitioners could have used the United States Mail (which was not running) or Federal Express (which was not picking up or delivering) to file their papers. They could have phoned in their papers, even though witnesses testified that the Secretary did not answer its phones on September 2, 2008. In sum, the Fifth Circuit concluded as a factual matter—contrary to the findings of the District Court—that Petitioners unreasonably reacted to Hurricane Gustav and unreasonably took the Secretary of State at his word. They should have ignored Gustav and the Secretary of State and come to Baton Rouge on September 2.
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That is well written.

and this

DJ Says:
September 27th, 2008 at 6:21 pm I dunno, Jason, I thought this was the best part:

If the Fifth Circuit’s Order is allowed to stand, moreover, elections officials will be emboldened to ignore federal court proceedings and plow ahead with printing ballots. Print ballots as fast as possible in order to tie the hands of the federal courts. That is the message that seems to come from the Fifth Circuit’s Order.

In the current controversy, for example, Louisiana must accept some responsibility should it incur added cost in correcting its ballots. As noted by the District Court, Respondent knew before it began printing its ballots that Petitioners were seeking access. Petitioners made it clear to Respondent before the ballot-printing process began that they were filing this action in federal court. Even assuming that the Respondent did not have notice until the day the case was filed, he still, according to the District Court, had time to stop the presses. Judge Brady held a telephonic status conference the day after the suit was filed and immediately scheduled a hearing for September 22, 2008. The Respondent can hardly claim he was surprised by the District Court’s Order. Respondent chose to take a risk, print the ballots, and hope for success before the District Court. If he is harmed, it is his own fault.
​

That was the last major section of the brief, and you know it’s almost always good to save the best for last.

and another comment. Makes sense to me.

It was also mentioned in the brief that Governor Jindal, via powers granted by the Legislature to the Governor to extend deadlines following the lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina, extended all deadlines to September 12 by Executive Order. The brief goes further to imply that apparently every other office and branch of government in the state rightly adhered to Governor Jindal’s order other than the office Secretary of State Jay Dardenne.

By virtue of Governor Jindal’s Executive Order alone the timeliness of Bob Barr’s certification is indisputable; and the fact that the Louisiana Secretary of State ordered the ballots to be printed with knowledge of both this and the fact that the Libertarian Party of Louisiana had made its intentions of filing suit in federal district court clear is deplorable. That the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals would overlook all of this by reversing the district court’s decisions makes one have to wonder just what sort of kangaroo court is being operated over there in the Fifth Circuit.

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[Bob Hubbard]

Louisiana Update

September 29th, 2008 by Jason Pye

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia ordered a response from the state of Louisiana by Wednesday afternoon at 5pm. Our reply is due at 5pm on Friday.

We are still holding out hope on this.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iNxTApa2sQRu0Xx99P3jt2bEXw7gD93GIIFO0

 

[Cryozombie]

Wow. I hope he wins.

 

[tshadowchaser]

I guess removing someone from the ballot is a good way of fixing the election and determining its outcome

 

[Bob Hubbard]

yup.