Justice Alito issued the following order in the case brought in PA by the GOP:
Order issued by Justice Alito: All county boards of election are hereby ordered, pending further order of the Court,
to comply with the following guidance provided by the Secretary of the Commonwealth on October 28 and November 1, namely, (1) that all ballots received by mail after 8:00 p.m. on November 3 be segregated and kept
“in a secure, safe and sealed container separate from other voted ballots,” and (2) that all such ballots, if counted, be counted separately. Pa. Dep’t of State, Pennsylvania Guidance for Mail-in and Absentee Ballots Received
From the United States Postal Service After 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 3, 2020 (Oct. 28, 2020); Pa. Dep’t of State, Canvassing Segregated Mail-in and Civilian Absentee Ballots Received by Mail After 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 3, 2020 and
Before 5:00 p.m. on Friday, November 6, 2020 (Nov. 1, 2020). Until today, this Court was not informed that the guidance issued on October 28, which had an important bearing on the question whether to order special treatment of the ballots in question, had been modified.
The application received today also informs the Court that neither the applicant nor the Secretary has been able to verify that all boards are complying with the Secretary’s guidance, which, it is alleged, is not legally binding on them.
I am immediately referring this application to the Conference and direct that any response be filed as soon as possible but in any event no later than 2 p.m. tomorrow, November 7, 2020.
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At best, it is disingenuous. It can also be called dishonest.
Here's the problem, under PA state law, the contested ballots have to be counted by a specified date. The prior SCOTUS order in the case required that the contested ballots be sequestered to allow further SCOTUS review.
The PA Sec. of State has issued a directive requiring both that the ballots be sequestered (thus following the SCOTUS order), but also be counted (thus assuring compliance with PA state law).
The attorneys for The Lincoln Project have now responded to the threats of a defamation lawsuit by the attorney for Ivanka and Jared. As I predicted, quite aside from the obvious First Amendment hurdles any such claim would face,
the damages issue is particularly problematic. Here's the killer from the LP's lawyers at fn. 8:
The Second Circuit has held that 'a plaintiff's reputation with respect to a specific subject may be so badly tarnished
that he cannot be further injured by allegedly false statements on that subject." In one of the seminal libel-proof -plaintiff cases, the U.S. District for the Southern District of New York held that mobster John "Boobie" Cerasini had a reputation so "tarnished"
I have posted the DOJ's lawsuit against Ms. Wolkoff, former aide of Melania Trump. One question leaps to mind: Did the guys who signed off on this lawsuit actually go to law school?
If they did, they would have learned in the first semester course on contracts that a contract cannot be gratuitous. Yet, they seek to enforce a document entitled "Gratuitous Service Agreement" and which provides, in part, that
Wolkoff is "not an employee of the Federal government for any purpose."
Perhaps they should read Fed.R.Civ.P. 11(b) which provides, in pertinent part, that by signing the complaint they certify
The Trump campaign lost another attempt to suppress voting, this time in Pennsylvania.
As set forth by the Court, there were three claims presented: "First, whether the use of so-called “drop
boxes” for mail-in ballots is unconstitutional, given the lack of guidance or mandates that those drop boxes have security guards to man them.
Second, whether the Secretary’s guidance as to mail-in ballots—specifically, her guidance that county election boards should not reject mail-in ballots where the voter’s signature does not match the one on file—is unconstitutional.
I have uploaded two federal cases dealing with the '20 election.
The first is a case from Florida dealing with the breakdown of the Florida registration process. slnews.us/pbgl101020a
The second is a case from Texas ordering Texas to suspend its "single voting location" rule. slnews.us/pbgl101020b
The Florida opinion is more interesting. The relief sought was denied because the Court felt that the wrong could not be remedied.
However, the opinion makes it clear that: "In the end, this case is not about Floridians missing registration deadlines. This case is also not a challenge to a state statute. This case is about how a state failed its citizens.
The NIH defines "encephalopathy" as follows: "Encephalopathy is a term for any diffuse disease of the brain that alters brain function or structure. Encephalopathy may be caused by infectious agent (bacteria, virus, or prion), metabolic or mitochondrial dysfunction, brain tumor
or increased pressure in the skull, prolonged exposure to toxic elements (including solvents, drugs, radiation, paints, industrial chemicals, and certain metals), chronic progressive trauma, poor nutrition, or lack of oxygen or blood flow to the brain.
The hallmark of encephalopathy is an altered mental state. Depending on the type and severity of encephalopathy, common neurological symptoms are progressive loss of memory and cognitive ability, subtle personality changes, inability to concentrate, lethargy, and