On March 15, the 5th circuit refused to rehear Libertarian Party v Dardenne, 09-30307. Earlier the 5th circuit had ruled that the dispute is moot. Oddly, though, another panel of the 5th circuit had ruled a few weeks earlier that a similar lawsuit from Mississippi is not moot. The Mississippi case involved Brian Moore’s being kept off the ballot because of late paperwork. The Louisiana case involves Bob Barr, Brian Moore, and Ted Weill (Reform Party 2008 presidential candidate) being kept off the ballot because of late paperwork.
The 5th circuit did not explain why it won’t rehear the case. The Libertarian Party will probably ask the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.
Pingback: Fifth Circuit won’t rehear Libertarian ballot access case from Louisiana | Independent Political Report
The panel made clear what they regarded as the distinction between the two cases. In Mississippi, the SOS made clear that he intended to observe regular business hours for his office in the future. That is, the same events could reasonably be expected to repeat.
The federal court then decided to let the Mississippi courts decide whether the legislature intended for the SOS to use a lick of common sense, or to leave a loophole to be exploited by clever lawyers.