Court rules English-only petitions in SoCal recall were unfair (9th Circus alert)

Associated Press via San Jose Mercury News ^ | 24 November 2005

[CounterCounterCulture]

Court rules English-only petitions in SoCal recall were unfair

Associated Press

SANTA ANA, Calif. - Petitions used for the 2003 recall of a Latino Santa Ana school trustee should have been printed in Spanish as well as English, an appellate court has ruled.

The trustee, Nativio V. Lopez, had come under fire for seeking exemptions to the state's English-only instruction requirements and was partly blamed for the district's lack of new school construction. He was recalled by 71 percent of voters.

The decision Wednesday by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals could be used to force election officials throughout the state to require multiple-language petitions for ballot issues, voting-rights advocates said.

[CounterCounterCulture]

I'm sorry, I can't help you. You think too logically. We are now under a judicial oligarchy and they know what's best for us, Constitution be damned.

[CounterCounterCulture]

Thanks for the Larry Elder column

christened Larry Lopez, he changed his name to Nativo to stress his Mexican roots.

He could really establish his Mexican roots by actually rooting himself in Mexico. Adios, Señor Lopez.

[DumpsterDiver]

Here's some more on Lopez:

Meet Nativo Lopez, the Latino Al Sharpton. He's changing California politics--for the worse.

LOPEZ'S ANIMUS isn't limited to Republican lawmakers. He's just as willing to go to war with corporations. Earlier this month, Lopez began a PR campaign against Ameriquest, claiming that the California-based mortgage concern "targeted poor people and minorities." What Lopez didn't mention is that, for the past two years, he and a new tax-exempt spin-off, Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana, have teamed up with American National Mortgage to offer mortgage services to Hermandad's pre-citizenship members. (If the goal is to make Hermandad a fully-licensed mortgage broker, then Lopez should check the law: according to federal Fair Housing Act, it's illegal to "advertise or make any statement that indicates a limitation or preference based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or handicap.")

Then again, it wouldn't be the first time the Lopez has run afoul of the law for his political activities. In November 1996, Lopez was busy getting out the Latino vote to elect Loretta Sanchez to Congress--in the process ousting the conservative Republican incumbent, Bob Doran. Dornan lost by less than 1,000 votes; Lopez and Hermandad registered 364 ineligible voters--non-citizen students in a citizenship class. A congressional inquiry issued subpoenas, but fraud charges were never filed (in part, because the 364 votes weren't enough to change the outcome).

More recently, California Attorney General Bill Lockyer issued a "Warning of Impending Tax Assessment" to Hermandad for non-compliance and threatened to revoke its tax-exempt status if it didn't make good on delinquent fees. (Hermandad allegedly has failed to file its IRS tax form or submit a state renewal fee since 1993.) Lockyer, who's running for state treasurer next year, issued his warning in early April and threatened action within 30 days, but has let the matter drift for nearly five months.

The list of controversies goes on. During his 2000 reelection bid, Lopez was accused of raising nearly $150,000 from architects with business before the school board. Two years later, an Orange County Register exposé alleged that Lopez received $100,000 in contributions to his nonprofit group, Citizens in Action, from Del Terra Real Estate Services--before that company received a no-bid contract to build schools in Santa Ana. That same year, the Register also reported that "a Santa Ana nonprofit has agreed to pay more than $600,000 to the U.S. Government to settle a case in which prosecutors alleged that Hermandad Mexicana Nacional leader Nativo Lopez wrongly diverted grant money meant for English classes for immigrants."

snip

The Weekly Standard
September 2, 2005

[Psycho_Bunny]

There was a time I thought the pun "9th Circus" was sort of cute and amusing.  But, that time is long past.

Circuses are places of enjoyment.  Places where families can feel at ease and laugh with one another.  And though I personally dislike clowns, they are professional humorists who aren't hurting anyone.

The 9th Circuit Court, on the other hand, is completely out of control; seemingly operating without any common sense or understanding of logical boundaries in human affairs.  Sure, they were sort of funny as they started to slip into the realm of anti-sense - back when their bizarre rulings were effecting narrow slices of the population - but now, after taking their first timid steps into absurdity, they feel comfortable and they've plunged head first into committing serious damage to this country on a regular basis.

Calling them a "Circus" is just flat-out insulting to circuses.

[JOE43270]

My feelings exactly!

[festus]

Its high time the legislature excercised its right to set the jurisdiction of the courts by declaring the 9th circuit area to be a 5 foot square piece of earth and only able to rule on cases arising in that 5 foot area.

[Cobra64]

If you can't speak and read English you should have no right to vote.

You forgot to add pay taxes as part of your criteria to vote.

[clee1]

If you put that 5 square feet out in the middle of Death Valley, and require the 9th Circuit Court to meet there daily, I'd like your idea even more.

[Jack Black]

Indians were born here and might, plausibly, not have learned English. I don't think this is the case though.

[FairOpinion]

"The decision Wednesday by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals could be used to force election officials throughout the state to require multiple-language petitions for ballot issues, voting-rights advocates said."

==

Instead of that the CA Legislature should make a law, declaring English as the official language of CA.

[Borax Queen]

I was told everyone was assimilating so well because they are so grateful to be in America...

[Carry_Okie]

Bingo.

[Congressman Billybob]

This is another bullsh*t decision of the Ninth Circus Court of Appeals. The petitions to get any question on the ballot are merely to show that there is a necessary minimum of interest, so that the question should be voted upon. Doing the petitions only in English REDUCES the number of people who might sign the petitions.

So the fact that some people might not have been able to read the petitions is utterly irrelevant to the outcome of the election itself, once the matter (here, a recall) goes on the ballot. The Hispanic public official who was booted out of office by the voters was making a phony claim to hang onto office, and the Ninth Circuit bought that argument.

Too bad fenederal judges cannot be recalled from office. These clowns would be out of work in a New York minute.

Congressman Billybob

Latest column: "What If the French Had Pulled a 'Murtha' in 1781?"

[AZRepublican]

Remarkable ruling considering most of the voting rights act of 1965 is itself unconstitutional. The 15th Amendment only provided for:

The proposition [15th amendment] before the House is to change the Constitution of the United States that no State shall hereafter discriminate among citizens of the United States with the right of suffrage on account of family or race.

Were these citizens? Were they denied a right to vote because of race? Federal courts have no jurisdiction in this nor does Congress.

[DumpsterDiver]

the CA Legislature should make a law, declaring English as the official language of CA.

It already is, it's just that nobody notices. Here's an excerpt from California's constitution.

California State Constitution

Article 3
SEC. 6.

(a) Purpose.
      English is the common language of the people of the United States of America and the State of California. This section is intended to preserve, protect and strengthen the English language, and not to supersede any of the rights guaranteed to the people by this Constitution.

(b) English as the Official Language of California.
      English is the official language of the State of California.

(c) Enforcement.
      The Legislature shall enforce this section by appropriate legislation. The Legislature and officials of the State of California shall take all steps necessary to insure that the role of English as the common language of the State of California is preserved and enhanced. The Legislature shall make no law which diminishes or ignores the role of English as the common language of the State of California.

snip

And now for a trip down memory lane...

California State Archives: California State Constitution [of] 1849

We, the people of California, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, in order to secure its blessings, do establish this Constitution.

[Call the ACLU!!]

ARICLE XI
Sec. 21. All laws, decrees, regulations, and provisions, which from their nature require publication, shall be published in English and Spanish.

[acelatek]

Two facts come to mind. First, one must be a citizen of the US in order to vote. Second, the ability to read and write english is required before an immigrant can become a citizen. Assuming that those born and raised in this country already know english, why do we need ballots (or any other voting material) printed in any language other than english??

[NapkinUser]

"The decision Wednesday by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals could be used to force election officials throughout the state to require multiple-language petitions for ballot issues..."

God help Nevada, Idaho and Alaska.

[Unicorn]

BTTT BTTT BTTT BIG TIME.

I would think this would be shot down on appeal.

[Myrddin]

Petitions aren't about voting. They are about collecting enough signatures from the voting base to qualify to place an issue on the ballot. Not printing Spanish petitions just reduced the probability of getting enough signatures to qualify. Since it did qualify, the voters were able to vote on the issue. I'll bet the actual ballot was available in both English and Spanish. Griping about the petition is a non-starter.