After some apparent initial non-responsiveness to my lawsuit seeking to overturn Initiated Measure 24, Attorney General Jason Ravsnborg has apparently chosen Assistant Attorney General Stacy R, Hegge to defend the unconstitutional prohibition on out-of-state residents’ contributions to South Dakota ballot question committees:
The state’s first acknowledgment in U.S. District Court of this lawsuit comes on the same day that my counsel filed a new batch of documents, including the brief explaining how IM 24 violates the First Amendment, the Dormant Commerce Clause, and the Equal Protection Clause and justifying our call for an immediate injunction of the enactment of IM 24, which is scheduled to take effect this July 1:
…and this letter to Judge Charles B. Kornmann noting the Attorney General’s failure to respond to direct communication from the plaintiffs’ attorney and asking for a hearing on preliminary injunction within the next three weeks, as soon as next week, but by April 12 if possible (leaving all parties concerned time afterward to finish their tax returns and hide their Easter eggs):
I’m ready to make my case and avert the imminent harm to free speech. I look forward to the opportunity to do so at the Court’s earliest convenience.
My money is on Mr. H schooling Mr. Ravnsborg’s lackey. Where will these legal debates take place?
Mr. Ravnsborg seems to be rivaling Jason Gant for diligence and competence.
Well done Cory. Excellent lawyers, and expensive, all around. Grdz like trump castigates real lawyers. Jason meet grdz. You two will be very happy together
AG Oaf makes his presence unknown. He may do for Gant what Frantic Flaccid Fool has done for GWB.
Turns out Ravnsborg put the admissions of service in the mail earlier this week. They arrived by post today, and plaintiffs have acknowledged such receipt in a letter to Judge Kornmann. The State also says the law gives them until April 10 to reply to our motion for preliminary injunction unless ordered by the court to appear sooner. Counsel for the defense says she can be available to appear starting April 1.
Grudz, right now it sounds like we will hold hearings in Aberdeen. Come join us.
Probably your attorney knows this, but Judge Kornmann used to lobby for the South Dakota Mining Association and was involved with this group in opposing the 1988 initiatives on surface mining (maybe also the 1990 initiative). He has experience in funding an initiative campaign (against initiatives) not only with out-of-state money, but with foreign money.
I always liked Kornmann, except for his position on mining issues. He was a good liberal on most other issues.
I do know that he had some pretty cuckoo ruling on some issue I was tangentially involved in. I can’t remember what it was now, but it was either on a corporate hog farm issue or a hazardous waste issue on the reservation. But he also had some good rulings on the beef checkoff.
That’s really interesting, Donald. I’ll be curious to see if Judge Kornmann mentions that personal experience during the hearing in questions or in his rulings.