On March 15, U.S. District Court Judge Mark Goldsmith, an Obama appointee, heard arguments in Rhodes v Snyder, e.d., 2:17cv-14186. The issue is whether Michigan must hold a special election to fill the vacant 13th district U.S. House seat, or whether it can wait until November. The seat has been vacant since December 5, 2017, when Congressman John Conyers resigned.
At the conclusion of the hearing, the judge asked the state to submit a brief of five pages or less by Monday, March 19, explaining what burden the state would suffer if a special election were held in the next few months. The voter-plaintiffs who want the election as soon as possible then have until Wednesday, March 21, to respond. This outcome seems to show that the voter-plaintiffs will win the case. The state’s chief argument had been that the lawsuit should be dismissed because the plaintiffs took too long to file the case.
Here is the previous brief of the voter-plaintiffs. UPDATE: here is an article about the hearing.
How STUPID is the appointed HACK judge ???
The obvious *burden* is the $$$ cash to pay for any special election.
Conyers seat has not been vacant since 2016, right? Vacant since December 5, 2017, right? “Me too!” movement was the cause of the resignation, which took place in 2017.
Thank you, Rich. You’re right. I just fixed it.