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3rd Circuit Unanimously Rejects Trump Appeal in PA Case
US Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit ^ | 11/27/20 | Judge Bibas

Posted on 11/27/2020 9:53:45 AM PST by Alter Kaker

Free, fair elections are the lifeblood of our democracy. Charges of unfairness are serious. But calling an election unfair does not make it so. Charges require specific allegations and then proof.

We have neither here. The Trump Presidential Campaign asserts that Pennsylvania’s 2020 election was unfair. But as lawyer Rudolph Giuliani stressed, the Campaign “doesn’t plead fraud. . . . [T]his is not a fraud case.” Instead, it objects that Pennsylvania’s Secretary of State and some counties restricted poll watchers and let voters fix technical defects in their mail-in ballots. It offers nothing more.

This case is not about whether those claims are true. Rather, the Campaign appeals on a very narrow ground: whether the District Court abused its discretion in not letting the Campaign amend its complaint a second time. It did not. Most of the claims in the Second Amended Complaint boil down to issues of state law. But Pennsylvania law is willing to overlook many technical defects. It favors counting votes as long as there is no fraud. Indeed, the Campaign has already litigated and lost many of these issues in state courts.

The Campaign tries to repackage these state-law claims as unconstitutional discrimination. Yet its allegations are vague and conclusory. It never alleges that anyone treated the Trump campaign or Trump votes worse than it treated the Biden campaign or Biden votes. And federal law does not require poll watchers or specify how they may observe. It also says nothing about curing technical state-law errors in ballots. Each of these defects is fatal, and the proposed Second Amended Complaint does not fix them. So the District Court properly denied leave to amend again.

Nor does the Campaign deserve an injunction to undo Pennsylvania’s certification of its votes. The Campaign’s claims have no merit. The number of ballots it specifically challenges is far smaller than the roughly 81,000-vote margin of victory. And it never claims fraud or that any votes were cast by illegal voters. Plus, tossing out millions of mail-in ballots would be drastic and unprecedented, disenfranchising a huge swath of the electorate and upsetting all down-ballot races too. That remedy would be grossly disproportionate to the procedural challenges raised. So we deny the motion for an injunction pending appeal.


TOPICS: News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Pennsylvania
KEYWORDS: 1butbutsydneypowell; 2020; 3amatuerhour; 3rdcircuit; butbutkraken; davidbrookmansmith; dbrookssmith; donaldtrump; dubyajudge; fearpers; federalistsociety; itsover; judiciary; liberalfreepers; matthewbrann; matthewwbrann; michaelachagares; michaelchagares; nevertrumper; notrealitysettingin; obamajudge; pennsylvania; politicaljudiciary; realitysettingin; stephanosbibas; tds; thirdcircuit; trump; trumpjudge
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To: God_Country_Trump_Guns

I see you points. Thanx for the insight


281 posted on 11/27/2020 3:11:56 PM PST by thinden
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To: God_Country_Trump_Guns

Thank you for your negative input. However, I’ll stick with Rudy. I believe he has a bit more information to work with.

Welcome to FR, by the way.


282 posted on 11/27/2020 3:17:09 PM PST by Helen
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To: God_Country_Trump_Guns
said, "Since the Third Circuit Court of appeals (correctly, in my opinion) ruled against Rudy... I have exactly ZERO trust that Rudy can handle such a lawsuit... The new lawsuit (with new legal council) should allege pages and pages of facts, identify the witnesses and what they saw, and not be afraid to allege outright fraud."

I couldn't agree more. Even if we fail totally with this case we might get the republican Pennsylvania legislature to assign electors for Trump IF we can show through other means that this case was Fraud.

Once we show this was fraud and get one state the rest will create a domino effect

283 posted on 11/27/2020 3:23:36 PM PST by Steve Van Doorn (*in my best Eric Cartman voice* 'I love you, guys')
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To: Jamestown1630

The recourse is the ultimate power of the people — to vote the bastards out. It is the reason why the best government is the most local government. The framers felt this was the best way to keep the government to a minimum and responsive to the people.


284 posted on 11/27/2020 3:26:20 PM PST by gas_dr (Trial lawyers AND POLITICIANS are Endangering Every Patient in America: INCLUDING THEIR LIBERTIES)
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To: Steve Van Doorn

Yes. However, state legislatures are bound by state law to pick electors representing the will of the voters. I am not an expert of PA law, but I imagine state legislators have no discretion to examine whether fraud was committed in the election.

That is a decision for the judiciary.

Which is why it is critical that air-tight lawsuits be filed by competent counsel.

Let’s see what comes of the cases filed by Sidney Powell. But I really, REALLY want her to be lead counsel and attorney of record for DJT.

If she is only representing solo voters, she has an uphill fight because a court can say “OK, if your client was denied the right to vote, fair enough, we hereby decree that his vote shall count. But we are not going to throw away other votes.” This would be a meaningless victory. But I imagine that is the only remedy a single aggrieved voter is going to get. On the other hand, the aggrieved candidate can get a much broader judicial remedy.


285 posted on 11/27/2020 3:29:29 PM PST by God_Country_Trump_Guns
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To: gas_dr

‘Vote the bastards out’, when the election process is obviously riddled with fraud?

Good luck.


286 posted on 11/27/2020 3:30:43 PM PST by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
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To: Alter Kaker

I have no doubts as to the reality that The Democrat Organized Crime Party stole this election. I fully believe Donald Trump was re-elected, if only legal ballots had been counted. Unfortunately, it seems The Democrat Organized Crime Party is too entrenched in the Deep State, and have been given plenty of time to cover their tracks. On the Republican side there seems to be total ineptness and incompetence to deal with the forces that have imposed themselves upon us. I suspect every legal move will run into a solid concrete wall, due to a lack of concrete evidence to put on display to the courts. Republicans should have seen this coming months ago, and should have been prepared to strike hard at the very moment the fraud was taking place. By the time the strike force went in, it was too late. It’s hard for me to believe something more could not have been done by the Fed early on in this process, even as the fraud was being committed. When duly sworn observers were not allowed to view the count, the Feds should have been sent into to enforce observance if that was a legally feasible option. I don’t know all the legalities, but with a Federal Election on the Ballot, it would seem to me that there could have been some type of Federal intervention when these cities stopped the counting early in the evening. At this point, only God Almighty can turn this around, for the legal moves attempted by Trump and others are failing at every turn. The so-called evidence can’t even seem to move beyond Conservative, Constitutional Courts at this point. God have mercy with Divine Intervention to save this nation from these evil Despots.


287 posted on 11/27/2020 3:30:52 PM PST by evangmlw
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To: Hostage

Uhhh the link is in the thread title in red.


288 posted on 11/27/2020 3:32:47 PM PST by xkaydet65
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To: NELSON111
“ The Campaign never alleges that any ballot was fraudulent or cast by an illegal voter,"

There in lies the rub. Remember that what is not expressly prohibited is allowed. In the rush to protect the right to vote in the era of contagion, mail in and early voting by drop box was expanded with little forethought for integrity. Did the Democrats take advantage of loopholes and banked Biden votes until needed?. Where the Republicans simply out worked and caught flat footed?

289 posted on 11/27/2020 3:34:16 PM PST by buckalfa
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To: God_Country_Trump_Guns
said, "But I really, REALLY want her(Sidney Powell) to be lead counsel and attorney of record for DJT."

After this MAJOR screw up by Rudy this is the best course to take.

290 posted on 11/27/2020 3:35:21 PM PST by Steve Van Doorn (*in my best Eric Cartman voice* 'I love you, guys')
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To: buckalfa
A lot of 'Republicans' simply don't care.

Sidney Powell:

'My intent has always been to expose all the fraud I could find and let the chips fall where they may–whether it be upon Republicans or Democrats.'
291 posted on 11/27/2020 3:41:41 PM PST by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
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No matter who was representing Trump, the Court would have ruled against them. Giuliani is great.


292 posted on 11/27/2020 3:41:58 PM PST by TakebackGOP
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To: Jamestown1630

Well, its better than your solution to have big brother and 9 tyrants in black robes rule my life...either figure it out or stop whining, but looking for government to save you is like the woman and the snake. You are surprised when the snake bites you.


293 posted on 11/27/2020 3:49:11 PM PST by gas_dr (Trial lawyers AND POLITICIANS are Endangering Every Patient in America: INCLUDING THEIR LIBERTIES)
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To: TakebackGOP
You might want to learn how Giuliani screwed up this case. He allowed idiotic early case ruling that 100 feet is close enough to observe the count. The supreme court rightfully will not see this case when it comes to them.

Rudy is a great guy but he made huge mistakes that we simply can't live with

294 posted on 11/27/2020 3:58:33 PM PST by Steve Van Doorn (*in my best Eric Cartman voice* 'I love you, guys')
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To: genesismt

Thank you, genesis, for clarifying what’s going on.

Now it makes sense.


295 posted on 11/27/2020 3:58:52 PM PST by poconopundit (Hard oak fist in an Irish velvet glove: Kayleigh the Shillelagh we salute your work!)
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To: Steve Van Doorn

What do you mean he allowed it?


296 posted on 11/27/2020 4:05:11 PM PST by TakebackGOP
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To: gas_dr

You are suggesting a losing proposition, if what we’re hearing about all of the fraud in our election system is true - and I think that anyone who has been paying even a little attention, and possesses a modicum of intelligence, KNOWS that Biden did NOT win this election.

I’m not willing to trust the future to more elections like this. We need a house-cleaning; and as things stand, voting alone is NOT going to do it when the entire election system has been corrupted. Only very courageous State legislatures consisting of enough honest people - and those black-robed ‘tyrants’ - can save us right now. And NOW is when it matters.

Did you see how many thousands of people turned out for Trump’s many rallies? and the tiny handfuls that turned out for Biden?

If you believe that Biden’s status as the presumptive ‘president elect’ is the result of a fair and honest election - or that more of such will save the Republic - there are people who would really like to sell you some valuable real estate.


297 posted on 11/27/2020 4:06:55 PM PST by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
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To: Jamestown1630

I do not believe that it was fair or proper, but I am for people regaining their own power as the just consent of the governed, not for waiting for the USSC to overstep and take care of us.

Enjoy your dependency. Too bad you dont believe in the republic or Americanism.


298 posted on 11/27/2020 4:12:18 PM PST by gas_dr (Trial lawyers AND POLITICIANS are Endangering Every Patient in America: INCLUDING THEIR LIBERTIES)
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To: Helen

God Country Guns Trump Newbie - Yup


299 posted on 11/27/2020 4:13:32 PM PST by Gasshog (Per yard signs, Biden came in 3rd -- behind Trump and Garage Sale.)
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To: God_Country_Trump_Guns

so is there a work around? new filing with new plaintiffs with standing? sidney powell atty?
was penn where the big gun trump lawyers dropped out due to doxing?


300 posted on 11/27/2020 4:16:30 PM PST by rolling_stone ( EAT )
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