The following article just in from RAW STORY which has been doing an incredible job with updates on the Ohio problems.
I knew there was more to the suit than just a "technicality" as many other previous reports stated.
He has a personal interest in the case. How can we have fairness?
12/16/2004
Ohio Chief Supreme Court judge throws out election challenge case in which he is named
Filed under: General-- site admin @ 11:56 pm Email This
Ohio judge tosses election case in which his election is challenged
By Larisa Alexandrovna | RAW STORY Staff Writer
Ohio Supreme Court Justice Thomas J. Moyer, who ran on the Bush-Cheney ticket, declined to recuse himself from a case in which he is also one of the named parties, RAW STORY has discovered.
The case, filed by 40 Ohio citizens, alleged fraud in the state's presidential election and the election of the Chief Justice--Moyer. Moyer threw out the challenge Thursday, saying, "Ohio law allows only one race to be challenged in a single complaint."
RAW STORY spoke with two separate legal experts not associated with the case who declined to be named for concern of their professional careers. A leading Ohio attorney said that "he had never heard of such a case, but even if this law exists somewhere, several ethical codes are most certainly and directly violated."
Ohio DR8 of the Ethics Code notes that one must not "use his public position to obtain, or attempt to obtain, a special advantage in legislative matters for himself or for a client under circumstances where he knows or it is obvious that such action is not in the public interest."
Another lawyer said she felt this to be "the ultimate conflict of interest." Justice Moyer beat Democratic candidate C. Ellen Connolly for Ohio Supreme Court Justice in November.
A prominent Cleveland attorney, who again declined to be named, citing a personal relationship with the judge, stated "that knowing Judge Moyer personally, I doubt he would do something so unethical. Clearly there is a mistake because he has the highest integrity and standards."
The source also noted that "he was not familiar with the particulars of this case."
This particular case echoes a case in March in which U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia refused to recuse himself from a case addressing whether the White House was legally required to turn over documents relating to Vice President Dick Cheney's 2001 energy task force.
The conflict of interest regarded to a Cheney-Scalia hunting trip which transpired three weeks after the court agreed to hear the case.
Supreme Court justices, unlike other judges, have the power to decide whether to remove themselves from cases, CNN noted at the time. The justices have wide discretion since their decisions cannot be appealed.
The article, however, does not discuss
whether the same rule applies to state Supreme Courts.
The AP article which reported that Moyer had dismissed the case failed to state that Moyer was a elected Republican official running on the Bush/Cheney ticket for the 2004 election, and that he was also directly named in the suit. An earlier AP article did note this information and suggested a conflict of interest on behalf of the reporter, who calls the plaintiffs "dissidents."
The Associated Press has repeatedly referred to those who are challenging the Ohio election and recount as "dissidents."
The plaintiffs could not be reached for comment.
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