Ohio Attorney General Seeks To Sanction Vote Challenge Attorneys

[Algorem]

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro has asked the Ohio Supreme Court to sanction four lawyers who handled a legal challenge, later withdrawn, to last year's presidential election in Ohio.

The motion targeting Clifford Arnebeck, Robert Fitrakis, Susan Truitt and Peter Peckarsky was filed Tuesday on behalf of Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, Ohio's top elections official, said Kim Norris, spokeswoman for Petro.

The motion said the 37 protesters filed a "meritless claim" for "partisan political purposes" and said "a contest proceeding is not a toy for idle hands."

"Instead of evidence, (the lawyers) offered only theory, conjecture, hypothesis, and invective," Petro's office wrote. It said the challenge was filed "only for partisan political purposes." http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/cleveland/index.ssf?/base/news-14/110614945025321.xml&storylist=cleveland

[Frances]

What about the challenges in Washington state?

What a difference it makes when Republicans are in power.

[liberal N proud]

1. I am sure that was a directive from KKKarl Rove to make sure

that no one challenges them in the future.
Democracy is dead in the United States of Amerika

[Mitt Chovick]

18. Not Rove, Just Gubernatorial Politics at play

AG Petro is trying to get to the right of SoS Blackwell in order to win the GOP Primary for the next governor race. It won't work because Blackwell is the hero of the wingnuts.

[princehal]

2. Oh geeze

Give me a freaking break!

[Andy_Stephenson]

3. What

BULLSHIT!

[farmbo]

4. This blatent "late hit" by the Ohio GOP may be a tactical blunder

Cliff Arnebeck et. al. may finally be entitled to the hearing with nominal discovery rights which they've been hoping for since November.

To the Ohio AG: You feed pigs, but you slaughter hogs.

[Andy_Stephenson]

6. Looks like my work

in Ohio is not done.

[johnaries]

8. Go, Andy! Go!

:yourock:

[blackspade]

9. good point.

If it allows Arnbeck and Co. to show how the suit had merit It may expose these turds for the thieves that they are.

[Jeff in Cincinnati]

10. Oops...

Good plan, force your opponents to offer up all the evidence against you after the case has been rendered moot.

Memo to Jim Petro: THANKS!

[Edgewater_Joe]

14. Only If Given A Full Hearing

And it WOULD be fun if in trying to prove the case had no merit they wound up proving that it had plenty of merit.

Open up a defense fund for these guys. I can throw 'em a sawbuck.

[Democracy Died]

5. Ohio Supreme Court should SANCTION Blackwell as well as Petro

and immediately disbar Petro for even *LISTENING* to Blackwell.

Fuck them. Ohioans - your mission is to EXPOSE BLACKWELL FOR THE FAKERY HE IS!

[nodictators]

7. "Meritless," "Woeful" ???

In totalitarian Ohio it's justice by name-calling.

Or, maybe the contest lawyers didn't submit their briefs on 80-pound paper?

[Pithy Cherub]

11. Pure retaliation for telling the truth out loud!

Blackwell must have realized his * given halo was made of fool's gold and is trying to redeem it for a reputation restore procedure...

[spotbird]

12. Petro is running for governor.

This is nothing but a meritless claim filed for partisan political purposes, without evidence.....

Petro and Blackwell will racing to out Nazi each other, right now its a race of who can be the most unethically partisan.

[Supersedeas]

13. filed on behalf of the irrepressible SoS Keeeeeennnnnyyyy Blaaackwell

this is his moment in the Rovian spotlight.

[daleo]

15. Intimidation pure and simple

The old Soviet Union would have been proud of how well the U.S. government has learned from its example.

On edit - I guess Kruschev was right when he said "we will bury you". People just didn't understand how he meant it.

[merwin]

16. Am I wrong, or doesn't the Ohio Supreme Court have the right

to dismiss meritless claims themselves?

[Judi Lynn]

17. Ohio's GOP Attorney-General Launches Revenge Attack on Election Protection

Published on Wednesday, January, 19, 2005 by the Columbus Free Press (Ohio)
Ohio's GOP Attorney-General Launches Revenge Attack on Election Protection Legal Team
by Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman

COLUMBUS -- In a stunning legal attack, Ohio's Republican Attorney-General has moved for censure against the four attorneys who sued George W. Bush et. al. in an attempt to investigate the Buckeye State's bitterly contested November 2 election.
(snip)

"Instead of evidence, Contesters offered only theory, conjecture, hypothesis and invective," the attorney general's January 18th memo in support of the suit said. "A contest proceeding is not a toy for idle hands. It is not to be sued to make a political point, or to be used as a discovery tool, or be used to inconvenience or harass public officials, or to be used as a publicity gimmick."

But Cliff Arnebeck says it is has been Petro and Ohio's partisan Republican Secretary of State, J. Kenneth Blackwell, who have stonewalled the election challenge legal proceedings. Both have refused to submit any evidence to the court to refute the allegations in the election challenge case - claiming George W. Bush did not win a majority in Ohio - and Petro's office has also refused to allow any Ohio public election official to be deposed.

"Their cage has been rattled and they popped their cork," Arnebeck said. "The chairman of the Ohio Republican Party is going berserk because he can't stand the fact we are not going away. We are still pursuing the legal investigation and the legal interrogations. They are just besides themselves because they cannot withstand cross examination."
(snip/...)

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0119-12.htm

[Supersedeas]

19. but revenge is not 'politically' motivated