UPDATED: In Legal News
The GOP continues to win in court on election related cases. It sometimes requires appeals, but they're success rate is excellent.
UPDATE: We see in these developments the importance of the emphasis Trump and McConnell have put on flipping Circuit Courts of Appeal. No matter what the capriciousness of Obama judges at the District level, the GOP now has recourse at the Circuit level--without any need for the SCOTUS to get involved, although that may eventually happen. Thus, this evening we learn that the 11th Circuit overturned a Dem attempt to dispense with a requirement to have mailed ballots postmarked. Notably, Barbara Lagoa was one of two Trump appointees on the three judge panel who overturned the District court injunction.
This is excellent: Federal Court: Sandmann’s Libel Suits Against NYT, ABC, CBS, & Rolling Stone Can Proceed .
As Ed Morrissey says, however, those libel suits probably won't proceed for long--because all those media companies will be scared witless at the prospect of Lin Wood conducting discovery. They'll all be settling, and that right quickly:
Note especially the reference to discovery, the process by which attorneys for each side can demand documentation and depositions. That’s what these media outlets want to avoid most. For one thing, that battle is absurdly asymmetrical. How much discovery can these media outlets get from a teenager? On the other hand, Wood can use that process to depose everyone up the managerial chain, right up to the top of the outlets, and use the depositions to wage public war on them.
And they know that’s exactly what Wood will do, too, which is why this fight won’t last much longer with any of these media outlets. They’ll start cutting checks and negotiating for bilateral gag agreements rather than take that risk. If this gets in front of a jury, they’re almost certain to lose anyway. If any rational heads are in charge at these outlets, this will be over by Thanksgiving — if not Halloween.
And this one is quite enjoyable:
#NEW #Bolton Judge Lamberth denies former NSA John Bolton’s motion to dismiss government’s lawsuit against him, in which DOJ claims Bolton disclosed classified information in his book, "The Room Where It Happened." Judge Lamberth found, “the government sufficiently alleges that Bolton breached his prepublication review and predisclosure consultation obligations" + “sufficiently alleges that Bolton breached his nondisclosure obligations.”NOTE: Count 3 - government entitled to “constructive trust” over royalties.