A hearing was held on January 26, 2012, in the Georgia Administrative Court room of Judge Michael Malihi for considering the eligibility of President Obama to appear on the Georgia 2012 Presidential Ballot.
The judge could have made a decision based on default because Obama was not there to prove his eligibility. The hearing was ignored by President Obama, his lawyers, and most of the mainstream media.
This is the third report by this writer for Examiner.com regarding the lawsuit brought against the President’s eligibility to be on the Georgia Ballot.
It was reported by Bob Unruh of World Net Daily that the judge considered granting a default judgment because President Obama did not appear. However, this was not what those attorneys who brought the case wanted. They wanted a definitive decision based on the facts; and for them to be recorded as part of the court records for any future appeals.
Not appearing may have been a big mistake on Mr. Obama’s part as often times appeal judges do not wish to hear evidence that was not presented in the original hearing.
There was no dispute in this case that President Obama was born on American soil; (however, many citizens even dispute that based on reported conversations with his Kenyan Grandmother who said he was born in Kenya.)
According to this complaint, he was born of one parent who was American and one who was subject to the United Kingdom.
If the Constitution requirement is that a candidate for US President be that of a “natural born” citizen – and the determination is that both parents must be either born in America or be a naturalized citizen and the child born in America – then President Obama would not qualify.
The lead attorneys representing the plaintiff in this case were J. Mark Hatfield and Van R. Irion of Liberty Legal Foundation. They said they were under no edict from the judge to remain silent about the hearing; so they felt it was prudent to let the public know that the Judge had considered ending the hearing by default since the President failed to answer a legal subpoena.
In Georgia, state law requires “every candidate for federal” office who is certified by the state executive committees of a political party or who files a notice of candidacy “shall meet the constitutional and statutory qualifications for holding the office being sought.”
The Judge determined that Georgia Law allows any citizen to challenge a candidate’s qualifications to be on the state ballot.
The groups bringing the complaint are: David Farrar, Leah Lax, Thomas Malaren and Laurie Roth, represented by Taitz. Liberty Legal Foundation represented David Weldon. Carl Swensson and Kevin Powell were represented by J. Mark Hatfield.
A man by the name of Cody Judy, a Democrat who wishes to run against Obama, also raised a challenged.
When Mr. Judy was asked how the Democrat Party felt about Mr. Obama not appearing, he said, “ As far as the Democrat Party is concerned I am embarrassed about Obama’s behavior...Obviously not all Democrats boycotted the hearing, I was there represented; and I feel representing the Constitution for the Democrat Part.” The decision before the Judge now is to decide over the next week as to whether or not President Obama documented his eligibility to the satisfaction of the court.
Bob Unruh of World Net Daily covered the story more extensively and you can read more about the hearing here. After that decision is made then the Judge’s recommendation will be sent to Georgia Secretary of State, Brian Kemp. In a letter to President Obama, Mr. Kemp had encouraged the President to appear less it be at “his own peril” in the decision making process.
The complaining attorneys explained to the judge that a ruling would be necessary; or it would have rewarded Obama for failing to respond to the subpoena.
In the last Presidential election John McClain led the state; but there is a heavy following of Obama in the larger cities like Atlanta.
Many questions arise if the case is found to be against President Obama; and his name does not appear on the Georgia Ballot. Will it go to higher courts? For sure!
If Obama wins then will that be the end of it? If he loses how will this affect his name on the ballot of all the other states?
If Georgia wins, and his name is not on the Georgia ballot – but still on all others will it make a difference in the outcome of the election? Georgia has 16 electoral votes – an increase of one since the 2010 census and their increase in population. Would Obama supporters be able to write in his name and if so, would their votes count if he has been DENIED the right to have his name there?
World News Net reports the following on the case:
“That President Obama’s attorneys didn’t show respect for the court, the citizens, the secretary of state, and the statutes of Georgia reveals the true character of the administration as being completely and utterly against state’s rights,” said attorney Leo Donofrio. “The federal government is growing out of control with every administration and this action today is a loud announcement that this administration is going to do what it likes, and you can imagine that their response to this judiciary would be exactly the same if this had been the U.S. Supreme Court.”
He said if Georgia does decide to keep Obama off its state election ballots, he won’t appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, “because if he were to lose there, his entire administration would be void, including his appointments to the Supreme Court.”
“If Obama were to appeal in Georgia, only this election is in play, and only as to Georgia’s ballots, but if he loses in Georgia, appealing to the SCOTUS brings in his entire eligibility, and the legitimacy of his current administration,” Donofrio warned.
“My personal belief is that if the U.S. Supreme Court held that he was ineligible, he might simply ignore the ruling, and test the will of the nation, just as he is testing the will of the state of Georgia,” he said.
“If the judge’s recommendation – and I’ve been told that it’s going to be to disqualify Mr. Obama as a candidate – is followed by the secretary of state, Mr. Obama has got a real problem,” said Gary Kreep of the United States Justice Foundation.
His organization pursued several of the lawsuits over Obama’s occupancy of the Oval Office to the U.S. Supreme Court, which has not accepted any eligibility cases.
“He’s thumbed his nose at the court. He’s thumbed his nose at the secretary of state in Georgia. He’s thumbed his nose at the people and said, ‘I’m above it all. I’m above the law,’” Kreep said.
Mario Apuzzo, who also shepherded a case to the Supreme Court, said Obama, by not showing, “actually failed to meet his burden of proof, to show that he is eligible and should not be placed on the ballot.”
“For him to just ignore due process here is really telling a lot,” he said, noting, “This decision will have a ripple effect.”
“He’s not above the law. That’s a very important thing here. He’s a private person running for office, so he had no business not showing up. So the court can enter the judgment, and then the secretary of state does what he wants with it. And this will have a ripple effect for other secretaries of state, for other states, for the public. Also for any case that could be pending in the Supreme Court, where the issue of Mr. Obama’s eligibility is implicated,” he said.
Source number one:
Source number two:
If you would like to be kept informed regarding this case, you can subscribe and each forthcoming article will be automatically forwarded to you inbox. You don't won't to miss a single future article as this issue continues. Atlanta News You Can Use articles
Comments