IMPORTANT NOTICE:
Hearing: Motion for Discovery of records showing relevance to eligibility
Location: Federal Court building in Santa Ana, CA
Time/Date: 8:00 AM Pacific Tuesday, September 8th 2009
Judge: David O. Carter
The U.S. Justice Department is urging a federal judge in California to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the constitutional eligibility of Barack Obama to hold the office of president.
The highly anticipated hearing tomorrow morning before Judge David Carter features attorney Orly Taitz and numerous plaintiffs, as well as a document that one person has sworn is the original birth certificate of Obama from Kenya – not Hawaii, where the administration maintains Obama was born.
In a motion filed Friday in Santa Ana, Calif., attorneys for the government did not directly address the merits of Taitz's claims, but instead focused their efforts on technical procedures, suggesting the matter can't be decided in court and that the dozens of plaintiffs cannot demonstrate they have been injured by having Obama in the Oval Office.
As a last minute surprise, the DOJ filed a motion to dismiss, which seeks to dismiss this action on various grounds, starting with,
The Constitution’s commitment to the Electoral College of the responsibility to select the President includes the authority to decide whether a presidential candidate is qualified for office because the examination of a candidate’s qualifications is an integral component of the electors’ decision-making process.
To back up this point in their object the DOJ references the Federalist Papers No. 68.
As footnote the DOJ has is as follows,
Explaining this provision of the Constitution, Alexander Hamilton stated that: “the people of each State shall choose a number of persons as electors, equal to the number of senators and representatives of such State in the national government who shall assemble within the State, and vote for some fit person as President.” [emphasis added]. See Federalist Papers, No. 68.
This would have been a great point except that California is one state of 27 states that PROHIBITS the electors from choosing a “fit” candidate for President
California State Law - § 6906
§ 6906. The electors, when convened, if both candidates are alive, shall vote by ballot for that person for President and that person for Vice President of the United States, who are, respectively, the candidates of the political party which they represent, one of whom, at least, is not an inhabitant of this state.
They made their own argument moot and in fact is highlighting the need for judicial review because California along with the other 26 states have denied the electors of their states with the opportunity to exercise the power the DOJ says they have. In fact the total number of states that mandate that the Electors vote for the winner totals 281, clearly enough to win the election with.
The DOJ calls upon the courts lack of jurisdiction by referring to the case of Corrie v. Caterpillar, 503 F.3d 974, 980, 982 (9th Cir. 2007) In this case the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the lower courts assertion that it lacked jurisdiction under the “political question.” The Appeal was correctly affirmed because it interfered with the Presidents authority to conduct foreign policy decisions. This however is not a political question but a constitutional question as Article III, Section 2 provides the Court with jurisdiction.
Section 2. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority;--to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls;--to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction;--to controversies to which the United States shall be a party;--to controversies between two or more states;--between a state and citizens of another state;--between citizens of different states;--between citizens of the same state claiming lands under grants of different states, and between a state, or the citizens thereof, and foreign states, citizens or subjects.
