Posted on 10/19/2008 7:42:40 PM PDT by NoobRep
So, why is it taking so long? What is the judge waiting for?
It has been 59 days since Philip Berg's lawsuit against Barack Obama fell into my lap as I read through the day's civil cases in the Clerk's Office at the USDC Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Hurricane Ike was bearing down on the Gulf coast, the GOP was preparing for their convention in Minneapolis, and John McCain was still a week away from naming Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate and was down in the polls further than he is now.
Service was completed quickly on the Federal Election Commission, but not so quickly on Obama and the DNC due to a mixup on some level. Obama was served at his Washington, D.C. office on September 4. Since then, there have been almost a dozen pleadings filed by both parties and intervenors as well.
And, as the fourth of November looms large, people are wondering why the Hon R. Barclay Surrick--a Clinton appointee and, according to campaign finance records, possibly a republican--has not yet handed down a decision in the case.
Before I get to the conjecture, two quick facts -- first, Judge Surrick is well within his discretion to take as much time as he needs and, second, no judge likes to be overturned. Furthermore, I know a few people who have clerked for Judge Surrick in the past, and by all accounts he is careful, deliberative, extremely fair, and likes to write his own opinions and orders. Perhaps it was that careful and deliberative nature which contributed to his decision not to toss Berg's suit either at the moment it first appeared on his desk or at the hearing for the [denied] temporary restraining order. Regardless, the case is still open, and you want to know why.
Of course, there's the chance that the judge doesn't want to render a decision until after the election so as to avoid media attention. Other than that, I have a few guesses, three of which I'm prepared to share:
My first guess, and possibly the safest, is that these things simply take time. Judge Surrick's reputation for being deliberative and fair is no mistake, and he will likely send down an order soon dealing with all open pleadings at once.
My second guess, still fairly safe, is that Judge Surrick is waiting until after October 21, when the answer to the original complaint is due from the Federal Election Commission (which gets the extended 60 days to file because of its status as a government agency), before handing down a decision on discovery, on the motion to dismiss, or anything else.
My third guess, hardly as safe, is that Judge Surrick knows that it takes a certain amount of time for an appeal to get started in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, and is waiting until past the proverbial point-of-no-return relative to Election Day before handing down a decision on any or all of the pending pleadings. That way, whatever the decision may be, it will be more apt to affect the election in one way or another.
Berg has a couple of options as well.
First, he can wait, which I can only imagine is frustrating and difficult as the primary concern from which his action arose was the avoidance of a "constitutional crisis." Remember, please, that even in the days following the filing of the suit, Berg was hoping to make an immediate impact and was hoping that Obama could be enjoined from campaigning prior to the Democratic National Convention in Denver.
Second, he can file a petition for a writ of mandamus, essentially asking a higher court to order that the district court and Judge Surrick render a decision in the case. He could feasibly file the petition with the Third Circuit or even the U.S. Supreme Court. While this could push things along quickly, I cannot imagine that a judge enjoys having a lawyer go over his or her head.
Personally, while every fiber of my being makes me believe that Berg's case will be dismissed for lack of standing, I get this unexplainable, nagging, sneaking, itching suspicion, like a hair standing up on the back of my neck, that Judge Surrick will come down on Berg's side and grant the motion for expedited discovery. There is a standard for voter standing, of course, but even that standard has undergone some changes over the years, most famously I would imagine in the White Primary Cases.
If rules never changed, the casebooks in my home office-slash-guest room would be a whole lot thinner and I wouldn't be up as late reading. Standards adapt, tests become more and less inclusive. The sneaking suspicion is probably wrong and the feeling on the back of my neck probably nothing, but I won't know for sure until that order comes down.
In the meantime, keep checking here for updates. My contacts at the courthouse should ensure that I--and therefore you--get the information as soon as it becomes available.
Morning Calpernia :)
Would you be able to put up a thread on this? I have to run to work. :(
Things are heating up and the pot better boil quickly as we are running out of time.
bump
Ok, I’ll freep you the link so you won’t miss it.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2111080/posts
Breaking news thread for post 60
I went through all of that just to be put on hubby’s health insurance policy when we got married.
I guess it’s easier to become president instead.
So if he suspends his campaign does he get to keep the 150 million he raised last month?
If a voter doesn’t have standing who does?
Thanks for the "GREAT NEWS" ping!
Amazing graphics bump.
>>>So if he suspends his campaign does he get to keep the 150 million he raised last month?
Huh, I don’t know. I do know that you and I should start running for office. Sounds lucretive.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but thought he never officially married the 1st or the 4th wives.
Wife 1= KenyanKezia -tribal, no paperwork
Wife 2= Anne of Kansas, (Divorce exists although marital records are mysterious)
Wife 3 = Ruth of Harvard- I assume legit USA marriage
Wife 4 = Another Kenyan concubine
If it is relatively inexpensive to do, why not do it in every state that can go on record and get it elevated in the news.
I would suspect that as a Constitutional lawyer, he would have been aware of the impact of the bastard versus non-bastard status of his birth.
This is why the little darling would have mentioned he was “unable to find proof of his parents marriage and related marital records.” If they were married in Kenya or a Hawaiian unfiled ceremony he would be able to bury the fact.
It seems that he set up an ‘Out’ for himself to still claim elligibility if his Kenyan birth were discovered.
Maybe Grandma D doesn’t agree with the unmarried status of Anne and the bastard status of Barry and that is her main bone of contention.
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