Judge Orders Jon Husted To Attend Ohio Early Voting Hearing

[cal04]

It isn't just the Obama campaign that is upset over Ohio's decision to ignore a federal court order instructing them to reinstate early voting during the three day period before the November election. The federal judge who issued the decision seems pretty perturbed too, ordering Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted to show up to a Sept. 13 hearing in-person.

"This Court hereby ORDERS that Defendant Secretary of State Jon Husted personally attend the hearing," U.S. District Judge Peter Economus wrote in an order Wednesday afternoon.

Husted had authored a memo stating he wouldn't schedule early voting hours during the three day period before the election until an appeals court ruled on Economus' decision. The Obama campaign said Wednesday that the state of Ohio “appears to believe it can issue (a stay) on its own authority.”

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/judge-orders-jon-husted-to-attend-ohio-early

[liberal N proud]

1. I hope he throws him in jail for contempt.

[librechik]

14. +1000 n/t

[Panasonic]

2. I hope the judge finds him in contempt and orders the arrest of Husted if he doesn't bother to show

up.

And order the reinstatement of the two Democratic commiteemen that Husted fired.

[Blue Idaho]

5. That is exactly why you order someone to appear before the bench.

Throw his contemptible civil rights violating ass in jail!

[Flashmann]

3. Oh PLEASE,PLEASE,PLEEEEEEEEASE

Defy that court order....I'm on my KNEES for cryin out loud.....I'm BEGGIN'!!!

[Zalatix]

25. Let the PIG COPS give him the 99% treatment on the way to prison!

[hobbit709]

4. As a lawyer friend of mine says

you never want to piss off a Federal judge. They have powers that regular judges have wet dreams about.

[abumbyanyothername]

11. As a lawyer

and more importantly as an American who believes in the rule of law, I find the whole idea behind this post nauseating.

The judge's powers are defined by Constitution and statute, refined by Court rules and in no way is the judge in a position to impose capricious sanctions on a state official.

Even if the state official is a sanctimonious asshole.

[longship]

15. Capricious? Please define in context.

Isn't Husted refusing to obey a court order forbidding the implementation of these draconian, arbitrary, and illegal voting rights games?

Isn't that contempt?

If not, why not?

Thanks. I think we'd all like to understand this.

[jberryhill]

19. No he is not

He has been ordered to implement early voting three days before the election.

What is it that he has been ordered to do TODAY, which he is not doing TODAY?

He is not in contempt TODAY.

He cannot be in contempt until November.

Now, he has expressed an intent not to do anything until an appeal is heard, but given the nature of the case, that will be in short order.

But if a judge orders me to do something at the beginning of November, I can say "Screw that judge" right up until the day I better get my ass doing something.

[longship]

20. Simple. Thanks. My Dumb!

[jberryhill]

21. So....

It is kind of odd that a federal judge is ordering a governor to court when the governor has violated no order.

[longship]

26. Isn't Husted the SOS?

Just saying.

Yes, why is Husted's presense required?

[jberryhill]

27. Woops, right

What's really going on in a procedural sense is rarely illuminated by news reporting. I'll take a look at the docket later.

[abumbyanyothername]

32. The implication in the post I was replying to

Was that the federal judge had these awe-inspiring powers that should make anyone afraid to dare to utter a single syllable disagreeing with one.

As an officer of the court, I object to trivializing our federal judicial system in such language.

FWIW -- I also oppose the hate, kill and pillage the opposition politics of some people on DU.

Or as I like to say, just because your opponent is lying, cheating and stealing doesn't exempt you from your duties of honesty, fairness and justice.

[hobbit709]

33. My friend meant it in the context of doing something either stupid or underhanded in court

Things like ignoring a court order, trying to pull a fast one with the rules, etc.

[11 Bravo]

6. Judge to Husted: Get your sorry ass in here, son! First I'm going to read you the part of ...

the United States Constitution delineating the powers of the judiciary; then I'm going to take that same copy of the document, fold it five ways, and shove it up your flabby ass!

[Flashmann]

7. Ahhhhh

Thanks for the visual....No sarcasm....Really...Thanks!!

[hifiguy]

8. Judges really, REALLY frown on contempt of court.

They take it as a personal insult and as an insult to their office. This dipshit is halfway into the soup already. He'd better show and be ready for a dressing down in open court.

[longship]

9. Contempt charge coming soon.

The judge will ask the SOS to implement his order. If the SOS refuses, judge will tell him that he has no choice but to hold him until he complies with the court's order.

Why else would he be required to personally attend? He otherwise could send a surrogate lawyer.

Husted could find himself behind bars. It is not nice to ignore a federal judge's order.

If he doesn't show, I would bet that federal marshalls would get involved to compel his presense.

Am I wrong about this?

[Flashmann]

12. Am I wrong about this?

I don't think so....

Bailiff!!....Whack his peepee!!!

[DontTreadOnMe]

31. Bailiff!!....Whack his peepee!!!

too funny

[socialindependocrat]

10. I hope the judge asks him to explain his logic

They have already shown the figures of the number of voter fraud cases versus the number of people who have voted.

The states that are initiating the new requirements are all Repugs

Then, he fires two of his staff for voting against the restrictions.

It seems like a waste of energy to have to fight this crap one state at a time.

I asked my AG to take it up with his AG group (if there is one) to see if it could be
knocked out by a general admission of illegality. There must be a simpler way.

I don't think that laws should be enacted until there is a judicial review for the legality of the law.
They put these things into effect and then it takes forever to rescind the stupid things when they're
proven to be illegal or unconstitutional.


What a messed up system!

[Auggie]

13. Hey, Husted ... ignore it. Show the Judge what a tough guy you are ...

... you asshole.

[DonRedwood]

16. +1

kr

[kestrel91316]

17. Uh oh. Husted will decline to appear, and a bench warrant will be issued, and

will try to defy the judge's order in person and will go straight to jail for contempt.

A girl can dream, right?

[FarPoint]

18. May I suggest you post it in the Ohio Forum too...

It is your original post....I don't want to steal it.

Fabulous news!

[FarPoint]

22. Al Sharpton has this coming up on the next segment

any minute now .....PoliticalNation MSNBC.....

I've met Husted....he is an arrogant snob.

[DonCoquixote]

23. GOOD

The only thing many of these clowns fear is being put in jail with the people they have screwed over.

[Flashmann]

24. OOOoooohhhhhh!!!

Another delicious visual!!!

[avebury]

28. K&R nt

[CatWoman]

29. here's the rest of the story:

Obama Camp Fights Ohio’s Move To Ignore Early Voting Ruling

The Obama campaign filed a motion on Wednesday asking a federal court to force the state of Ohio to obey its decision to restore early voting in the three days before the November election.

The motion was filed in response to an announcement from Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, who said Tuesday that he wouldn’t set early voting hours until an appeals court ruled on a decision made by U.S. District Judge Peter Economus last week. Economos found that the “public interest is served by restoring in-person early voting to all Ohio voters.”

In its filing Wednesday, the Obama campaign pointed out that Ohio had not sought an actual stay of Economus’ decision, and instead “appears to believe it can issue [a stay] on its own authority.” The Obama campaign said Husted’s memo does not “identify the legal basis for this extraordinary action,” and argued that the memo conflicts with a well-established principle that orders based on a court decision are to be respected until an appeals court rules on the matter.

“Plaintiffs respectfully request that the Court act as appropriate and necessary to enforce its Order issued August 31, 2012,” lawyer Donald J. McTigue writes in the motion.

Mitt Romney’s campaign has previously attacked the Obama campaign for filing the lawsuit, falsely accusing it of trying to take away early voting rights from members of the military who were exempted from the law. Judge Economus ruled that restoring the early voting hours that were in effect during the 2008 election “places all Ohio voters on equal standing.”

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/09/obama_campaign_ohio_early_voting.php?ref=fpb

[rocktivity]

30. I don't recommend a run for the border, Mr. Husted

They've probably been alerted. Instead, here's the address of the nearest Canadian embassy:

600 Renaissance Center, Suite 1100
Detroit, MI 48243-1798
Tel: [phone]

And just so that you have a backup plan, here's the address of Ecuador's!

500 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 1510
Chicago, IL 60611
Tel: [phone]

rocktivity

[mojo2012]

34. Husted's Marching Orders

Maybe Husted's more afraid of the Tea Party and billionaire backers for failing to complete his mission than he is of the federal judge