Gina Gershon:
One little letter can make such a difference.
Posted on 12/11/2009 4:46:19 PM PST by Sub-Driver
Judge stops ACORN funding ban By Eric Zimmermann - 12/11/09 06:21 PM ET
A federal judge today issued an injunction preventing the implementation of a congressional ban on funding for ACORN.
Judge Nina Gershon concluded that the ban amounted to a "bill of attainder" that unfairly singled out ACORN.
"[The plaintiffs] have been singled out by Congress for punishment that directly and immediately affects their ability to continue to obtain federal funding, in the absence of any judicial, or even administrative, process of adjudicating guilt," Gershon wrote in her decision.
Gershon said ACORN had demonstrated "irreperable harm" from the ban, while "the potential harm to the government, in granting the injunction, is less."
The decision noted that the ban had already prevented ACORN from receiving payment from contracts awarded before the ban took effect.
"The public will not suffer harm by allowing the plaintiffs to continue work on contracts duly awarded by federal agencies, which was stopped solely by reason of [the ban]," Gershon wrote.
In defending the ban, the Obama administration argued it interpreted the bill narrowly enough to allow payment of existing contracts. But Gershon found the legislation too broad.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, issued a statement criticizing Gershon's decision and noting that she was appointed by Bill Clinton.
"This left-wing activist Judge is setting a dangerous precedent that left-wing political organizations plagued by criminal accusations have a constitutional entitlement to taxpayer dollars," Issa said. "The Obama Administration should immediately move to appeal this injunction.”
You’re wrong. The judge made clear that they can be defunded ONLY IF they are found guilty of a crime. No court or review has found them guilty of a crime.
A complaint is not enough. There has to be a verdict.
Isn’t that the way it’s supposed to work? If an Act of Congress believed to be unconstitutional, an interested party can bring suit to have it struck down. That was what happened here, and the judge ruled that the law forbidding ACORN from receiving funds WAS unconstitutional. It constitued a Bill of Attainder, which are specifically forbidden in the Constitution.
Now this decision can be appealed to the Supreme Court.
If the Supreme Court upholds the lower court’s decision, then the only recourse would be to pass a Constitutional amendment which permits such Congressional decisions which prohibit specific groups from receiving funding.
ditto and I bet she didn’t get to pubbie campaign funds either
what a load of bull!
Of course “government can cancel contracts.” The agewncies that award them can cancel them at any time, following th rules that are already estbalished to prevent fraud, waste and abuse.
What Congress CANNOT do is pass a “Bill of Attainder” - that is, a specific bill singling out a specific group or organization for punishment. Passing a bill that names one organization as ineligible to compete for the same funds that other groups may try for is considered a Bill of Attainder, which the Constitution specifically forbids.
We must demand that any candidate who wants our support in 2010 must pledge to impeach this corrupt, hard-left judge!
How? The congress is run by Democrats. The executive branch is run by Democrats.
If I still considered the courts guardians of justice and freedom, this might mean something.
Or congress could just remove, one by one, every bit of Acorn funding from the budget, without stating that they are not allowed to receive funding.
But that would be hard work, involving actually reading the bills they passed.
Gina Gershon:
One little letter can make such a difference.
The charges are not made by just anybody-—these are ACORN insiders making the charges.
Moreover, the charges of massive wrongdoing. (even if not acted upon by Ohaha/Holder wimps) open the door to the ACORN snake pit.
From the charges mentioned, I can see about 100 single-spaced typed pages of crimes........one crime per line.
So an organization is attainded if you DON’T give them contracts?! They are not being fined, they are not being imprisoned. Just not getting any new contracts. WTF
So Congress can't simply decide to defund anyone it chooses? It's our money. Congress represents us. If we don't want them to fund ACORN, then they need to stop. It's politics, not law. Judicial branch is attempting to improperly impose its will on legislative branch.
Nice to hear from you again EV.
Are their any liberal women that are not dogs?
Article 1 Section 9-10.
read the comments at the bottom of the article here.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1209/30504.html
There is one with Obama’s picture that is a liberal. The comment is so far off it must be a joke or a paid blogger from Holder’s basement.
The problem is that the money is specified as “ACORN funding.” It is normally money earmarked for some program like housing or rental assistance, and various organizations can apply for grants that are then disbursed to their clients.
The bills that have been declared unconstitutional are the ones that forbid ACORN from taking part in the application process, or that forbid them from receiving money even if they submit a qualifying application.
Of course, once ACORN is actually convicted of a crime in any court of law, then they can be precluded from receiving money. Since they haven’t been found guilty of anything yet, there is no recourse at the present time.
I’d wager most porn stars are liberal. Kind of goes with the territory.
the judge is a big lib, from Chicago, mmmmmm
wonder if a call was made to her and how lucky were ACORN that this case was given to a very liberal judge.
ARF
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