Georgia Birther Hearing Proceeds Without Obama, Without Effect

A hearing to determine whether President Barack Obama is eligible to be on the primary ballot in Georgia took place on Thursday, with the defendants, Obama and his legal team, notably absent.

Georgia Deputy Chief Judge Michael Malihi subpoenaed the president last week after refusing to hear his legal team's challenge to the case, but neither Obama nor his lawyers ever planned on showing up.

Instead, Obama attorney Michael Jablonski wrote a letter to Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp, a Republican and the ultimate arbiter on the question of Obama's ballot eligibility, telling him that he expected Kemp to throw out the "baseless, costly and unproductive" case.

Kemp responded, telling Obama's counsel that they would skip the ballot hearing "at your own peril."

The true nature of the "peril" Obama might face, however, began to play out during Thursday's proceeding.

The complaints being presented at the hearing are based off various claims that Obama is either beholden to an 1875 Supreme Court ruling that determined "natural born citizens" were people born in the United States to parents who are both U.S. citizens, or that he is using fraudulent documents to prove his eligibility.

California attorney Orly Taitz, queen bee of the birthers and a proponent of the latter belief, stood before what Jay Bookman of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution described as "100 people ... most of them older white Americans" to argue her plaintiff's case.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Judge Malihi was forced to cut her off during her closing arguments, when she attempted to serve as both lawyer and witness.

In the end, no groundbreaking arguments, testimony or evidence were presented at Thursday's hearing, perhaps a testament to the tired nature of these challenges. Taitz is one of the most seasoned veterans of the birther movement, and the fact that she was even granted a hearing came as her first "victory." She was fined $20,000 last year by a Georgia judge for filing frivolous lawsuits of the same nature.

Even with the decision by Obama's legal team to completely ignore the supposed merits of the case, Bookman writes that Secretary of State Kemp is likely left with only one choice:

At any rate, the final decision is Kemp's. Regardless of what Malihi recommends, Kemp does not want to become the Republican secretary of state who ruled Barack Obama off the ballot in Georgia. Becoming a birther hero would not begin to compensate for the lasting infamy such a step would bring him, especially because such a ruling would be challenged in state or federal court and almost immediately overturned on any number of reasons. Kemp would then look like a fool and put an end to any further political ambitions he might have. I doubt that’s the course he will choose to take.

While Kemp, Malihi and the plaintiffs watched the case unfold, Obama was in Las Vegas, expanding upon an energy blueprint that he had unveiled at his State of the Union address.

Comments

[cofirefly]

12:29 AM on 05/02/2012

I for one believe Joe Arpaio informant to be real. The evidence is over bearing that fraud is being committed. Why will President O not turn over the documents, because we will know the truth. Once and for all I like to see the truth come out by the courts or a independent committee on this. But this will happen when he will not present his evidence of a birther. Without proof I will never be a believer.

[Will737]

11:41 AM on 05/07/2012

No one really cares if you are a believer. The only real question, based on your post, is whether or not you are a danger to yourself or others.

[tannenbaum]

12:35 AM on 08/06/2012

You are wrong. I care. Just because someone can't construct sentences as well as you is no reason to suggest they are insane.

This case actually raised two questions, including whether states can be forced to accept any candidate from a political party for presentation on state ballots even when the candidates do not meet the required qualifications.
The other is the key, “Are all individuals born on U.S. soil Article II ‘natural born citizens,’ regardless of the citizenship of their parents?”
According to a statement from Van Irion, chief of Liberty Legal, the case that stems from a Georgia dispute “is the first to present the U.S. Supreme Court with a substantive ruling on the definition of natural born citizen under the Constitution.”
“All other cases to reach the Supreme Court on this issue had been dismissed on purely procedural grounds. Liberty Legal Foundation’s case is an appeal from the Georgia courts’ substantive ruling,” he explained. “The Georgia courts refused to dismiss our case based upon procedural grounds. The Georgia courts reached the substantive issue, 'what is a natural born citizen'.
“ the ruling does allow us to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to address the definition of natural born citizen, instead of simply addressing a procedural issue,” the explanation said.
“Now the U.S. Supreme Court has an opportunity to address the definition of natural born citizen, our substantive issue.”

[wordsalad12]

10:19 AM on 02/15/2012

How is Orly's senate campaign going? Is this an experiment to see how a disbarred lawyer/dentist/activist might run a campaign from the confines of a pyschotherapy institution?

[MSMSucksCom]

05:04 PM on 02/14/2012

I question ulterior motives here.

Might this "judge" kept the case going because he wanted to get his name in lights, his proverbial 15 minutes of fame?

I mean, this guy was a state administrative law judge. In most states anyone can be an administrative law judge. All it takes is provision in the law to have governmental hearings heard by "ALJs" and bingo, people off the street become what I call "judges in name only."

What is a state ALJ? Well... do you have a claim for unpaid wages? Was your license suspended by the DMV? Is your right to be on a ballot being challenged through the state's elections? All these matters are heard by state administrative law judges.

Bottom line: State ALJs are insignificant. They have few powers, usually limited to deciding limited issues, they cannot jail you, find you in contempt (which is why people did not show to this guy's kangaroo court), their decisions have little affect, and if a decision is more than advisory, such can be appealed to real Judges and real courts.

People and the media should not be giving this any weight nor when the ALJ would not dismiss the case to count it as some kind of win in real court by Taitz.

Oh, remember when that "judge" sued the dry cleaners for millions because it lost his favorite pair of pants? Well guess what, that was an administrative law judge. LOL.

[IWantTofu]

03:51 PM on 02/14/2012

So what is this identical cousin theory again? It's President Obama was born in Kenya, but he has a cousin who looks like him, born at the same time, and given the name Barack Hussien Obama, born in Hawaii. And President Obama took over this twins identity so that he could be president of the United States.

You couldn't sell that as a plot for a Saturday cartoon.

[IWantTofu]

03:00 PM on 02/14/2012

It's time for Orly to be disbarred. She has demonstrated that she doesn't have the temperment nor the legal skills to be a competant lawyer.

[MSMSucksCom]

05:21 PM on 02/14/2012

I am saddened and shocked that California's State Bar has yet to take action against her.

Under California law, a Judge (court) is required to notify the Bar any time an attorney is sanctioned for more than $1000 (non-discovery violations). This is so the Bar can investigated the attorney's conduct that resulted in a Judge sanctioning the lawyer.

As near as I can tell, Teets has violated a number of Bar rules, including filing frivolous claims.

So why the Bar has not provided notice on its site that something is being done, that's beyond me. Perhaps the Bar's lawyer discipline division is filled with GOP staff or they don't have anyone left to do the work (budget cuts).

[IWantTofu]

02:42 PM on 02/14/2012

The major problem is that Orly and many other tea bagging birthers are confusing speculation with evidence.

[justlw]

01:41 PM on 02/07/2012

Kemp issued his final decision. Can you stand the suspense? What could it have been?

Link to the press release: http://bit.ly/wc0XrY

[justlw]

01:40 PM on 02/07/2012

Cleanup -- this is a comment that has been superseded by a more coherent one.

HP: Please delete this post.

In case they don't delete, here's a link to a birther-related video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX5jNnDMfxA

[justlw]

01:38 PM on 02/07/2012

Hi. This post was originally made with a very bad link to Kemp's decision. I have since entered a post with a better link.

HP: please delete this post.

In case it is not deleted, here's a quick joke to fill the space.

   Q: What's green and sticky?

   A: A green stick.

[IWantTofu]

02:43 PM on 02/14/2012

What is long, hard and wet and filled with seamen?

A submarine.

[Haight]

03:22 AM on 02/07/2012

Hey you birthers who kept telling me last week that this was the end, Obama was going down, nothing can save him now. The ones who kept saying he'll be going to prison when this is decided, he'd be proven the fraud he is, we'll have to look for another candidate yeah you. Remember how I said come back after it's decided so we could point at you and laugh?
Well "points" Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[almchrl13]

02:46 AM on 02/07/2012

Isn't Orly really that comic from Mad TV who played the little boy Stuart.
That's a really bad wig, too.

[anastasia2657]

04:56 PM on 02/06/2012

What the peril of his not appearing? Was it contempt of court? Apparently not. The only evidence presented is that Obama was not a citizen, natural born or otherwise. Yet, no contempt order, no default order, and a verdict in Obama's favor? That is what I call being "above the law" Is Obama God?

[justlw]

05:43 PM on 02/06/2012

You'll have to ask Kemp what the "peril" was in his mind when he said that. Perhaps he thought that plaintiffs might possibly have had a case. That turned out not to be so.

Others who were served subpoenas and didn't show up include Sheriff Joe Arpaio (we know this because Orly posted Arpaio's reply, which was, in a nutshell, "Don't haveta. No, thanks."), and, rumor has it, Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp.

None of these people are "above the law." They were served bogus subpoenas, and rightfully ignored them.

According to Malihi's posted decision:

"...despite the Defendant's failure to appear, Plaintiffs asked the Court to decide the case on the merits of the arguments and evidence. The court Granted Plaintiffs' request."

No contempt order, because there was no contempt.

No default order, because that's what the Plaintiffs asked for and got.

A verdict in Obama's favor: go read the decision to see why.

[Shawn McManus]

08:44 PM on 02/06/2012

The Peril is not being on the ballot in the Presidential election this November.

[bdaved]

08:03 PM on 02/06/2012

And that evidence was determined to be of no probative value. It takes more than evidence just being presented, you know.

[anastasia2657]

06:25 AM on 02/07/2012

Evidence that has no probative value? Evidence that his social security number on his selective service record is not his? A birth certificate that an expert says is riddled with forgeries? This has no "probative" value? Do you know what "probative" means? You do at least say one thing astute. You say, "it takes more than evidence." This has certainly become patently clear.

[mdadna]

02:52 PM on 02/06/2012

Obama is well-served by having Orly lead the birther charge. If you can't win a case where the defendant and his attorney don't even show up, when can you win?

[justlw]

12:01 PM on 02/06/2012

More on Orly's focus on Malihi. She now asks:

"did Malihi cross paths with Obama in Boston MA and in CA?
They are two Muslim men of the same age. "

This has now moved from comical to sad to creepy.

[KellyMBray]

10:19 PM on 02/06/2012

The threshold for disbarment must be high in California.

[Will737]

10:30 AM on 02/07/2012

Sad to say, it is high all over the place. I have several "brother attorneys" in Missouri who are really nothing but criminals hiding behind a law license.

[Will737]

07:29 AM on 02/06/2012

NO FEDERAL COURT. Birthers can't go to the federal courts because if they did they might get a $20,000 fine like Federal Judge Clay Land of the Middle District of Georgia Federal District Court assessed on Orly. NO GEORGIA SUPERIOR COURT. The Georgia Superior Court judge Jerry Baxton decided that the GA Sect. of State does not have the power to review Presidential Candidates. Terry v. Handel. IMO that is correct. The idea that a GA Sect. of State has the power to add to the US constitution's requirements is just mistaken. The rule of construction that applies is that courts will hold statutes constitutional if they can find a reasonable interpretation of the statute that allows it Though some might think that distinquishing between candidates and electors is a stretch, that is the only interpretation of GA 21-2-5 that allows that statute to be consitutional. The GA Supreme Court refused to review that decision. NO SECRETARY OF STATE. S of S Kemp referred the matter to an administrative judge. Malihi appears to me to have made the two mistakes of ignoring Terry v. Handel, and of refusing to quash subpeonas which were not even properly served. But then in a "hearing on the merits" he followed Ankeny, an Ind. Court of Appeals ruling judged that the phrase "natural born citizen" includes anyone born in the US, even to alien parents so long as those parents were subject to our laws (eg. not diplomats).