Rep. Mae Beavers' lawyer defends 2 homes

Pot calling the kettle black?

Matt Kisber has no residence in his district (Madison County), he owns no property there. He has a mailing address at his parents house here in Jackson, but he lives in Middle Tennessee.

Joe Kent has a tiny apartment in his district and lives in an $300,000 home in Nashville with his wife.

John Ford doesn't even live in his district if I remember correctly, you only have to live in Shelby Co not your district.

Lawmakers who own large farms seem to also take federal subsidies.

EWG Farm Subsidy Database http://www.ewg.org/farm/

I see Stratton Bone received $5,075.83 in farm subsidies from 1996-2001.

While I don't think Beavers is really in line with the spirit of the law, the law nevertheless seems to support her contention. That said, the law (as described in the article) seems to permit her interpretation because of the legal principle of lenity, which means that if a law is ambiguous, it must be interpreted in favor of the citizen. It's a bit of a stretch, but District Attorney General Tom Thompson's comments help her argument.

At the request of state Democrats, authorities are investigating whether Beavers was truthful when she declared the apartment her legal residence in election filings. State law is less than precise in defining residency for election purposes. It cites eight principles to determine residency, including one that says a person doesn't ''lose residence if, with the definite intention of returning, the person leaves … for temporary purposes, even if for years duration.''

This is not necessarily all that helpful to Beavers, depending on what the other seven principles state. The quoted section leads me to wonder when this law was passed and just how it was beneficial to big and little Al Gore. Wouldn't it be ironic if this was enacted for their benefit?

District Attorney General Tom Thompson, who this week asked the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to look into the matter, said the issue was honesty, not politics. Falsifying information on an election document is a felony punishable by up to six years in prison and a fine of $3,000. ''Mae Beavers is a former court reporter,'' Thompson said. ''She's knows the importance of the oaths she takes. And based on the records I've seen, I'm not sure where she lives. … She doesn't seem to live in the apartment.''

This one comment alone destroys any possibility that Beavers could be found guilty if prosecuted.

A former neighbor who lived in the apartment directly below Beavers in 1998, Steve Cantrell, said he was under the impression she had lived at the complex with her husband for several years.

This helps Beavers, a lot!

Beavers' lawyer said the house was always intended as an investment. However, public records show that in 1998, shortly before she and her husband began construction on the home on Hunters Place, Beavers signed a notarized statement to the Wilson County building inspector that said: ''I Mae Beavers do hereby certify that the single family residence that I am constructing at Hunters Place is being constructed for my own personal residence and not with the intent to sell or lease the property and that I shall be responsible for construction.''

This is a non-issue. In most states, you have to certify that a house is to be your residence in order to do the construction without a permit. The purpose is to prevent people from building houses and then immediately selling them after construction. Since the permit and construction started four years ago, one can hardly say she was attempting to violate the law. Besides, people change their minds all the time. The fact that it was up for sale last summer helps her.

All in all, this whole situation is about nothing more than politics.

State Rep. Mae Beavers has lived for the past two years at a suburban home outside her legislative district, neighbors said yesterday, and building records show that she once certified the home as her ''personal residence.''……………….//………………. However, the Republican lawmaker also maintains an apartment inside the district that she considers her ''legal residence,'' her attorney said.

''The law makes a huge distinction in legal residence and habitation,'' Green said. ''You can spend the night in different places, but the key thing is where you declare your legal residence and where you intend to stay permanently….

Huge distinction indeed. A normal person’s home is their legal residence and apartments, hotel rooms etc their habitation. Why bother with the charade of even renting an apartment and just rent a PO BOX and claim that to be her residence.

Any politician, regardless of party affiliation, that has to resort to this type of chicanery should not be trusted with the affairs of government that impacts the electorate. Fire the bitch.

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.