Birther challenge in Georgia proceeds

In a ruling issued earlier today Georgia judge Michael M. Malihi denied a the motion to dismiss a ballot challenge from from a collection of Georgia voters. Farrar v Obama will proceed. Malihi found the arguments presented by Obama counsel Michael Jablonski insufficient. According to Judge Malihi, Georgia residents have the legal right to challenge the eligibility of candidates that appear on the Georgia presidential preference ballot, citing Georgia Code Section 21-2-5(b) “which authorizes any elector who is eligible to vote for a candidate to challenge the qualifications of the candidate by filing a written complaint with the Secretary of State within two weeks after the deadline for qualifying”.

Early comments from Birther sources indicate that they are ecstatic over this ruling and the hope that it brings for them to finally have their day in court. Orly Taitz, one of the attorneys in the case, is “ready to cry.”  For three years birther attorneys have been doing the wrong thing. Now that they have done the right thing, it appears that they will have their day in court. I personally hope things move along quickly.

It has been my opinion that exactly this sort of case (a ballot access challenge in the primary season) was the most likely avenue for judicial review of birther claims. This is in line with the paper written by Charles Gordon discussed on this site before.

Further reading:

About Dr. Conspiracy

I'm not a real doctor, but I have a master's degree.
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50 Responses to Birther challenge in Georgia proceeds

  1. J. Potter says:

    And much hilarity will ensue!

    Well, maybe. Reads as if the response was either weak, or so long as the plaintiffs met the deadline, there were no grounds to dismiss. The judge was probably muttering and rolling his eyes as he dictated this one! Can’t wait to read the transcripts. Especially the determination of the statutory and constitutional requirements of the office. And just how far will the plaintiffs be allowed to ramble in presenting their case?

  2. Obsolete says:

    OHHH NOESSSSSS!!!1!!1
    Thay got us!
    Birthers will win 2012

    Or not.

  3. nbc says:

    As is the case with the celebrations when Judge Carter finally granted personal jurisdiction after instructing Orly how to properly serve, this will be another instance of a short lived success. There appear to be two probable paths forward

    1. The defense submits a properly certified COLB or long form, or a verification in lieu of certification showing President Obama’s place of birth and date of birth and the Judge grants a motion for declaratory or summary judgment.

    616-1-2-.15 Summary Determination.

    2. The case will go to a full hearing

    616-1-2-.38 Discovery. Amended.

    Discovery shall not be available in any proceeding before an Administrative Law Judge except to the extent specifically authorized by law. Nothing in this Rule is intended to limit the provisions of Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50 or Rule 37.

  4. One question, was Orly admitted pro hac vice in this case? She’s not licensed to practice law in Georgia.

  5. BTW, I think this is the BIGGEST BIRTHER STORY of 2012!

  6. J. Potter says:

    Dr. Conspiracy: BTW, I think this is the BIGGEST BIRTHER STORY of 2012!

    Sure is! LOL

    Thanks for linking Orly’s reaction! Priceless! Unforunately, I assume this must be heard prior to Blue primary in GA, which is in …. March. So it should only boil for a few weeks. Man, if this hearing was set farther in the future, the resulting popcorn bill might bankrupt the anti-birther legions. Geometrically-expanding birther speculations might crash the interwebs.

    She sure makes it sound like she is practicing law in GA. And she’s listed as counsel for plaintiff …. good question, Doc. She was sanctioned in Georgia (right?) … she’s racking up some great background there.

    Why is she having so much trouble leasing that office?

  7. J. Potter says:

    One last question …. who among the plaintiffs prepared the filing so it complied with statute? Met deadline, etc? Is this not a birther first? apparently comprehending a legal procedure?

  8. Wile E. says:

    Dr. Conspiracy:
    One question, was Orly admitted pro hac vice in this case? She’s not licensed to practice law in Georgia.

    That’s what she said….on November 29. The motion was apparently unopposed.

  9. bob says:

    Dr. Conspiracy: One question, was Orly admitted pro hac vice in this case?

    Yes.

    And Malihi may soon regret that decision.

  10. bernadineayers says:

    discovery

  11. Daniel says:

    bernadineayers:
    discovery

    COLB

  12. Daniel says:

    The really good part of this is that when the birthers lose, and they will, they’ll have to stop dripping and moaning about “not heard on the merits”.

    Not that they’ll actually stop, mind you, but it will give us one more thing to laugh about.

  13. nbc says:

    bernadineayers: discovery

    The GA Administrative Rules do not allow for much discovery..

    616-1-2-.38 Discovery. Amended.

    Discovery shall not be available in any proceeding before an Administrative Law Judge except to the extent specifically authorized by law. Nothing in this Rule is intended to limit the provisions of Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50 or Rule 37.

    Now what?

    And under the rules of evidence, the COLB would be sufficient evidence. Heck they could probably get a verification in lieu of certification…

    So many hopes and then they get smashed. Just like when Carter ruled on personal jurisdiction and somehow Orly understood this as waiving subject matter jurisdiction…

  14. Phil Cave says:

    The fact that the judge decided the plaintiff met the statutory requirements to file the complaint does not itself mean a decision on the merits, or that a decision on the merits will be favorable to the plaintiff.

  15. NBC says:

    Yes, but the birthers have never gotten this close before… So hopes are high… What a hangover this one will be.

  16. bernadineayers says:

    don’t think for a second birthers are happy about this.

  17. NBC says:

    bernadineayers: don’t think for a second birthers are happy about this.

    The birthers are ecstatic. Orly is in tears and people are already claiming that the Whitehouse is in disarray.

    Funny how predictable they can be. In the end, they will have to face up to the fact that the COLB is sufficient and there is no legal foundation for their claims of fraudulent certificates.

  18. sfjeff says:

    bernadineayers: don’t think for a second birthers are happy about this.

    Well Wash- tell us what Orly is telling you about this? Does she tell you she is happy, excited or sad and depressed.

    You and Orly are tight so fess up.

  19. Soebarkah says:

    We want full discovery so we can put this matter behind us. What does Obama have to hide by not releasing all the documents they want to see???

  20. G says:

    You’re likely to get all that is required or that you deserve: A COLB slapped down in front of the court and ruled as valid. FFAC and prima facie evidence and all that. End of Story there.

    Soebarkah:
    We want full discovery so we can put this matter behind us. What does Obama have to hide by not releasing all the documents they want to see???

  21. Majority Will says:

    Soebarkah:
    We want full discovery so we can put this matter behind us. What does Obama have to hide by not releasing all the documents they want to see???

    Who is we? What are you hiding????

  22. AnotherBird says:

    Soebarkah:
    We want full discovery so we can put this matter behind us. What does Obama have to hide by not releasing all the documents they want to see???

    Talk about being obsessed with trivialities.

  23. JPotter says:

    Soebarkah:
    We want full discovery so we can put this matter behind us. What does Obama have to hide by not releasing all the documents they want to see???

    All of the documents birthers want (but do not need (much less have a right to demand)) to see? That’s a very different standard than what the court review is going to cover: “meet[ing] the constitutional and statutory qualifications for holding the office being sought.” And they won’t have time for “but what about…”s. Get over it, dude, you’ll never see his childhood birthday cards, ticket stubs from flights to countries he never visited, letters to lovers he never had, or his diploma from Hogwart’s. Demanding irrelevance makes you irrelevant!

  24. sfjeff says:

    Soebarkah: We want full discovery so we can put this matter behind us. What does Obama have to hide by not releasing all the documents they want to see???

    Translation: We want to be able to go on a fishing expedition to find something to damage Barack Obama, because in 3 years we haven’t been able to find so much as a parking ticket or a tardy slip ourselves.

  25. bernadineayers says:

    sfjeff: Well Wash- tell us what Orly is telling you about this? Does she tell you she is happy, excited or sad and depressed.

    You and Orly are tight so fess up.

    be nice man

  26. bernadineayers says:

    NBC: The birthers are ecstatic. Orly is in tears and people are already claiming that the Whitehouse is in disarray.

    Funny how predictable they can be. In the end, they will have to face up to the fact that the COLB is sufficient and there is no legal foundation for their claims of fraudulent certificates.

    you are wrong colonal sanders…. you are also very mean.

  27. bernadineayers says:

    that’s so binary… this is a night to cherish whatevr side were on..stop… this is what democracy looks like

  28. G says:

    YEP. That is all this ever was…

    sfjeff: Translation: We want to be able to go on a fishing expedition to find something to damage Barack Obama, because in 3 years we haven’t been able to find so much as a parking ticket or a tardy slip ourselves.

  29. Majority Will says:

    From the Democratic Party of GA:

    “Attacking families who receive government aid has been a theme among many of the Iowa GOP candidates.

    Santorum told a mostly-white audience he doesn’t want to “make black people’s lives better by giving them somebody else’s money,” even while CBS points out that nationally, 39% of welfare recipients are white, 37% are black, and 17 percent are latino.”

    Newt Gingrich said President Obama is a “food stamp president” and that ‘really poor children’ have bad work habits and no knowledge of how to make an income ‘unless it’s illegal.'”

    (https://www.facebook.com/georgiademocrat)

  30. G says:

    Well, what I feel NBC got wrong here is assuming that a group of such wishfully delusional people are capable of “facing up” to any reality anymore at all.

    They simply live in the bizarre scary pretend worlds in their own heads now. No real world ruling, no matter how definitive will sink in through their protective bubble of “lalalalalalala I can’t hear you…” denial.

    A certain portion of these already obsessed die-hards will stick to their delusions no matter what. See prior examples from history: The Flat Earth Society. Yep… still around…400 years after Galieo.

    They will simply continue to ignore anything they don’t “want” to hear, which is why efforts to appease delusional crazy people are primarily a waste of time in the first place.

    A good portion of them will probably continue to rock back and forth muttering “any…day…now…” for the rest of their lives, regardless.

    bernadineayers: you are wrong colonal sanders…. you are also very mean.

    NBC: Funny how predictable they can be. In the end, they will have to face up to the fact that the COLB is sufficient and there is no legal foundation for their claims of fraudulent certificates.

  31. bernadineayers: don’t think for a second birthers are happy about this.

    Happy about what?

  32. bernadineayers says:

    Dr. Conspiracy: Happy about what?

    ******

    the whole situation. if any of this comes true, it’s a terrible thing. there is no joy in this. orly is certainly entitled.to feel good about her dedication, but this is not a high five proposistion.

    to me this has been about filling in the so many blanks about obama. i think one way or another, it’s going to be resolved this month. there is no reason obama wouldn’t want to show the original, since he’s already posted it on the people’s website. whitehouse.gov isn’t his personal site, like you and i pay for our sites, right ? since there is so much controversy continuing to build in an election year… you do the math man.. obama october surprise ? he’s running out of villians to parade in front of the cameras.

  33. bernadineayers says:

    Majority Will:
    From the Democratic Party of GA:

    “Attacking families who receive government aid has been a theme among many of the Iowa GOP candidates.

    Santorum told a mostly-white audience he doesn’t want to “make black people’s lives better by giving them somebody else’s money,” even while CBS points out that nationally, 39% of welfare recipients are white, 37% are black, and 17 percent are latino.”

    Newt Gingrich said President Obama is a “food stamp president” and that really poor children’ have bad work habits and no knowledge of how to make an income unless it’s illegal.’”

    (https://www.facebook.com/georgiademocrat)

    those numbers are relative right… to percentage of population ?

  34. Majority Will says:

    bernadineayers: there is no reason obama wouldn’t want to show the original

    You might as well be a brick wall, scott.

  35. Daniel says:

    bernadineayers: the whole situation. if any of this comes true, it’s a terrible thing. there is no joy in this.

    If birthers are unhappy about it, why did they invent it?

  36. Daniel says:

    bernadineayers: to me this has been about filling in the so many blanks about obama. i think one way or another, it’s going to be resolved this month. there is no reason obama wouldn’t want to show the original, since he’s already posted it on the people’s website. whitehouse.gov isn’t his personal site, like you and i pay for our sites, right ?

    I assume then that you’ve demanded the same “filling in the blanks” from every other President in history, none of whom we know as much about as Obama? No? Well then I guess your “concern” has very little to do with transparency….

    AS far as “showing the original”, it has been explained to you, ad nauseum, with objective evidence to prove, that Obama has no say in the original. That you continue to spout that “concern” even after repeated refutations, says more about you than it does about Obama.

    Once again you have shown yourself disingenuous and duplicitous; in short, a concern troll

  37. bernadineayers says:

    Daniel: If birthers are unhappy about it, why did they invent it?

    invent what ?

  38. bernadineayers says:

    Daniel: I assume then that you’ve demanded the same “filling in the blanks” from every other President in history, none of whom we know as much about as Obama? No? Well then I guess your “concern” has very little to do with transparency….

    AS far as “showing the original”, it has been explained to you, ad nauseum, with objective evidence to prove, that Obama has no say in the original. That you continue to spout that “concern” even after repeated refutations, says more about you than it does about Obama.

    Once again you have shown yourself disingenuous and duplicitous; in short, a concern troll

    look man, i don’t have to like your pat answers. dude you really need to look up “concern troll”. he sure did come out of nowhere.

  39. nbc says:

    bernadineayers: you are wrong colonal sanders…. you are also very mean.

    The truth does hurt but is it mean… I am not sure.

  40. nbc says:

    Soebarkah: We want full discovery so we can put this matter behind us. What does Obama have to hide by not releasing all the documents they want to see???

    He has released them. Now what?

  41. nbc says:

    bernadineayers: to me this has been about filling in the so many blanks about obama. i think one way or another, it’s going to be resolved this month. there is no reason obama wouldn’t want to show the original, since he’s already posted it on the people’s website. whitehouse.gov isn’t his personal site, like you and i pay for our sites, right ?

    He cannot grant access to the original. As to filling in the ‘many blanks’ I believe that whenever a gap is filled you point to two new gaps being formed… I sincerely doubt that you really have any specifics about these ‘gaps’ and ‘blanks’… And why should the President give in to your curiosity? Other presidents never have been held to a similar standard…

  42. bernadineayers says:

    nbc: The truth does hurt but is it mean… I am not sure.

    from the waterboy… adam sandler

  43. nbc says:

    bernadineayers: you do the math man.. obama october surprise ? he’s running out of villians to parade in front of the cameras.

    Yeah he did capture most of the top of Al Qaeda, did he not… Someone had to do it…

  44. nbc says:

    Taitz again: Taitz told WND she will present the decision to a court in Hawaii, where she is arguing to have access to Obama’s original birth documentation as it exists in the state, which for many years allowed relatives of babies to simply make a statement and register a birth, even though the child may not have been born in Hawaii.

    ROTFL… She will present the decision of a court in GA to not grant a motion to dismiss as what?… As to here hypothetical scenario, we already know that he was born in a hospital as certified by a physician.

    Of course, Orly is still clueless about the legal procedures. If she wants to argue facts not in the original motion, she needs to file an amended motion and schedule another hearing… Will she ever learn?

  45. bernadineayers says:

    nbc: He cannot grant access to the original. As to filling in the many blanks’ I believe that whenever a gap is filled you point to two new gaps being formed… I sincerely doubt that you really have any specifics about these ‘gaps’ and blanks’… And why should the President give in to your curiosity? Other presidents never have been held to a similar standard…

    i love when we post together…

    why should the president give in to my curiosity….

    that has a real ben franklin ring to it, i’ll look for some examples in american history.

  46. bernadineayers says:

    nbc: Yeah he did capture most of the top of Al Qaeda, did he not… Someone had to do it…

    or as biden calls them, friend.

  47. James M says:

    nbc: He has released them. Now what?

    He still doesn’t have the kindergarten records he wanted. But we don’t negotiate with pedophiles, do we?

  48. James M says:

    Majority Will:

    Santorum told a mostly-white audience he doesn’t want to “make black people’s lives better by giving them somebody else’s money,” even while CBS points out that nationally, 39% of welfare recipients are white, 37% are black, and 17 percent are latino.”

    I can only assume he means to give the 39% what’s been going to the 37%.

  49. Majority Will says:

    James M: I can only assume he means to give the 39% what’s been going to the 37%.

    Bachmann was a tax lawyer. She can help him with the math.

  50. nbc says:

    bernadineayers: or as biden calls them, friend.

    Huh?

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