Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Prediction: RON opponents to lose court battle
With yesterday's approval by the Secretary of State's office (and various county boards of election) of the Reform Ohio Now petitions, the Republican-led opponents to this election clean-up effort are spinning the story that tomorrow's hearing in the Franklin County Court of Appeals is a big deal.
Sorry, it isn't.
The hearing all pomp and circumstance, primarily for Kenny Blackwell sake, we have to figure. It's fluff and strutting stuff, that Kenny could have easily done away with. But far be it from Blackwell to miss an opportunity - especially with all the national media watching - to be on a a big stage.
The backstory to all this is that every attorney, quasi-attorney and capital square denizen knows that 1) the court of appeals has no jurisdiction, and ( less importantly) 2) has no desire to be sucked into this mess.
The jurisdictional thing is clear. Quoth any reader of the Ohio Constitution:
But, you might be thinking, "Well, Hypothetically Speaking, if you are so smart, why hasn't the that election whiz Don McTigue and the rest of the RON braintrust attempted to use this provision to get the matter thrown out of court?"
Friends, the explantion to this is in the very next sentence of the Ohio Constitution:
Thus, the easy thing for Blackwell to do on Thursday when he appears in court would be to immediately ask the court to dismiss the case on jurisdictional grounds. But like we said, in Blackwell's world a podium is a terrible thing to waste. So look for theatrics and a big show about the meaning of the various petition and election-related statutes - but watch the court act later Thursday or Friday to excuse themselves on the jurisdictional issue.
Sorry, it isn't.
The hearing all pomp and circumstance, primarily for Kenny Blackwell sake, we have to figure. It's fluff and strutting stuff, that Kenny could have easily done away with. But far be it from Blackwell to miss an opportunity - especially with all the national media watching - to be on a a big stage.
The backstory to all this is that every attorney, quasi-attorney and capital square denizen knows that 1) the court of appeals has no jurisdiction, and ( less importantly) 2) has no desire to be sucked into this mess.
The jurisdictional thing is clear. Quoth any reader of the Ohio Constitution:
The Supreme Court shall have exclusive, original jurisdiction in all cases challenging the adoption or submission of a proposed constitutional amendment to the electors.Simple. Straightforward. No wiggle room. Period. End of story.
But, you might be thinking, "Well, Hypothetically Speaking, if you are so smart, why hasn't the that election whiz Don McTigue and the rest of the RON braintrust attempted to use this provision to get the matter thrown out of court?"
Friends, the explantion to this is in the very next sentence of the Ohio Constitution:
No such case challenging the ballot language, the explanation, or the actions or procedures of the General Assembly in adopting and submitting a constitutional amendment shall be filed later than sixty-four days before the election.If you look at our little RON counter in the left sidebar you will notice that there are now fewer than 64 days left before the Nov. 8 election. If the RON coalition or Blackwell had acted earlier, Dick Finan and his Ohio First group would have had the opportunity to refile with the Supreme Court. (Why didn't Finan do this in the first place? Because he knew he'd lose. His only chance - a long shot - would be in the court of appeals. Nevertheless, the Statehouse steno pool has fallen for his hype, as they are often want to do.)
Thus, the easy thing for Blackwell to do on Thursday when he appears in court would be to immediately ask the court to dismiss the case on jurisdictional grounds. But like we said, in Blackwell's world a podium is a terrible thing to waste. So look for theatrics and a big show about the meaning of the various petition and election-related statutes - but watch the court act later Thursday or Friday to excuse themselves on the jurisdictional issue.
