Posted on 12/26/2008 7:12:14 AM PST by St. Louis Conservative
Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson recently told supporters that he plans to run for Governor in 2010. So voters might be interested in how the AG has treated critics of government while serving as the state's top law enforcer. The case of Paul Jacob is instructive.
A veteran political activist, Mr. Jacob is the former head of U.S. Term Limits and the current head of Citizens in Charge. A year ago, he and two fellow grassroots organizers, Rick Carpenter and Susan Johnson, were indicted on criminal conspiracy charges. Mr. Edmondson's office alleges that they attempted to defraud the state by hiring people from out of Oklahoma to gather signatures for a ballot initiative that would impose spending limits on lawmakers.
If convicted, the "Oklahoma Three" face 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine. But a conviction is unlikely given that last week the Tenth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down as unconstitutional Oklahoma's law that bans nonresidents from circulating petitions. Despite the ruling, Mr. Edmondson has refused to drop the case and says he will appeal.
Mr. Jacob maintains that he and the other defendants never broke the law and were acting in good faith. "The Attorney General's office is well aware that the people who pursued this petition drive on the ground went to state officials first, asked them what the rules were and followed their advice," said Mr. Jacob in an interview. "And they were told that as long as someone is residing in the state for the duration of the petition drive, that's residency."
The Oklahoma ruling follows decisions this year in the Sixth and Ninth Circuits that have overturned similar residency requirements in Ohio and Arizona. All three rulings have been unanimous.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Edmondson is one of the big political names in OK, but quite a few of them have been defeated.
bttt and ping
A lot of conservative OK people won’t know about what Edmondson did to these conservatives, and it will be hard to explain to them; So, they will back another Edmondson out of name recognition. It makes quite a few voters fell smart just to recognize a name on the ballot.
He sounds like a typical prosecutor... get the conviction no matter what the law says... LOL...
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
What if there should be a Constitutional Amendment such that NO ATTORNEYS should be allowed to MAKE LAWS?
Good Idea?
When I read this, an image of Elliot Spitzer came to mind. Same type of hoopla.
IIRC, Oklahoma is now the most Republican state in the USA. Residents need to acquaint this goon with what happened to a goon named Nifong.
Hopefully Mary Fallin wins the governorship in 2010.
She’s in Congress now. Is she even going to run for Governor ?
I hope that incompetent Tom Cole doesn’t get the nod.
Jeez what a silly law.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.