I think our consensus was that Congress certifies the Electors and not their votes.
So let’s say a known non-NBC (so ignore Obama/Birther for now) gets elected but insists on taking the oath of office? Who has standing in a lawsuit? The VP-elect? A person affected by a law signed by the “President”?
Well, it’s ultimately a political question. The eligibility of candidates for office is really up to the voters.
That said, other candidates might have had standing, under the theory of “competitive standing”. Had Orly and her ilk filed suit on behalf of Keyes, et al before Obama was sworn in, they might have gotten somewhere.
By the same token, once there are candidates for the 2012 presidential election, they’ll probably have standing.
Sounds like Oily’s strategy should be to have someone run as President in their state election (or as a Dem in a primary) then have them file suit. Any volunteers?
Obama will be traveling through a couple of states tomorrow to promote some of the ideas he talked about in the State of the Union speech, and his team apparently plans to ignore the order. Apparently the judge can then refer the case to a county superior court judge who can decide to enforce the order, hold the president in contempt, or throw the whole thing about because it’s moronic. (Speaking of which, the judge in this case was appointed by Zell Miller, which explains a lot.) Your guess as to which one is going to happen.
I’ve been sorry for decades that we didn’t get to see Nixon do the perp-walk thing. I guess I’ll settle for Obama.
Do you suppose he’ll get out on bail?
I doubt it. Since Air Force One is waiting, he would be a considerable flight risk.
Know nothing of the credibility of this, but supposedly this is a recap of today’s court proceedings:
Judge Malihi has stated that he will enter a “DEFAULT JUDGEMENT” against Obama.
Wow. This should be fun.
If this was Clinton he would have had some Arkansas State Troopers whack this Orly Taint already, making it look like a suicide done in a park near the White House.
I’m kind of hoping that Obama has a General named Sherman to send down to Georgia to straighten out this whole misunderstanding.
Its all cow excrement
http://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-politics-elections/no-ruling-in-birther-1318374.html
There can’t be a default judgment. Obama (via his attorney) has appeared to answer the complaint.
I dunno, but he has lots of tanks named Sherman.
Even if nobody had appeared, default judgment would not be the ruling. To start with, it is an administrative law court not a civil court. It is not a suit seeking damages or payment. The President could not be in default.
At most the judge would find in favor of the petitioner.
The judge noted that the hearing was required by law, and in many cases with administrative proceedings they are required by statute. But, no matter what the judge’s personal feelings or how cranky he may be, he knows that he is going to dismiss this mess. To do otherwise would guarantee his reversal on appeal, his almost universal condemnation in the legal world as a buffoon, and it might cost him his job (but I have no idea how administrative judges are employed in GA.) There is no controversy here other than catering to small groups of loons and there is no legal authority to do as the petitioners ask.
A suit does not have to seek money damages for a default judgment to be entered. The defendant simply has to fail to appear.
A finding in favor of the petitioner on the basis of the respondent’s failure to appear is a default judgment.
This commentary on the spectacle sums it up nicely:
My favorite quote:
Somebody should tell him that administrative tribunals aren’t part of the judicial branch.
Ah, so nice to have Georgia back in the laughingstock limelight.
The big question is…was there gold fringe on the flag in the courtroom??
So if Obama’s lawyer follows through on his threat and boycotts the hearing, and the judge says “Since they didn’t come, I find in favor of the plaintiff,” does that really mean Obama’s name won’t be on the ballot in Georgia?
Can Obama appeal the decision, and if he does, what if anything does his prior failure to appear mean for that appeal?
Plausibly, though it depends on exactly what the petitioners actually asked for.
Yes. Decisions of Georgia ALJs may be appealed to the referring state agency (presumably the Secretary of State in this case) and from their to the Georgia Superior Courts (the GA equivalent of circuit or general-jurisdiction courts).
His prior failure to appear won’t mean anything unless the ALJ refers the matter to a superior court for sanction proceedings, which he won’t.