As noted late yesterday (scroll down 5), the Court of Appeals at 6 p.m. last evening granted the LaPlante/Republican Party's motion for a stay of the Vigo County court order. Here is the Terre Haute Tribune-Star's report today. Some quotes:
An appeals court has delayed its ruling on the House District 46 controversy, effectively allowing the Republican Party to take off Jeff Lee's name from the ballot for Tuesday's election.And here is a copy of yesterday's Court of Appeals order so that you may read it for yourself. (Thanks to the Indiana Clerk's Office for immediately responding to my request for this document.) Posted by Marcia Oddi at October 29, 2004 01:00 PMThe ruling means a Vigo County court's decision that Lee cannot be replaced on the ballot will not take immediate effect.
The Appeals Court of Indiana decided late Thursday to stay (put off ruling on) the matter, "pending further order of the court."
"The issuance of the stay ... (has) the effect of disenfranchising the fewest number of voters," reads the court's written ruling, and "allows the parties the full opportunity to develop their positions and present their arguments in court." * * *
"The Democrats' effort to deny a choice to the voters in House District 46 has been defeated," said Jim Bopp on Thursday, attorney for Indiana Republicans, "but at a cost."
That cost was the disenfranchisement (deprivation) of "thousands of voters who would've voted for LaPlante" by absentee ballot, he said.
Bill Groth, attorney for Indiana Democrats, responded by pointing out that the court did not rule for or against either side, but simply delayed ruling.
"It's important to remember that Jeffrey Lee was the choice of the voters and Brooks LaPlante was the choice of a dozen party leaders at a caucus," he said. He noted that two trial court judges ruled that Lee "had not moved at the time he said he moved" before the appeals court stayed the matter.