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Jackley Says Talk to the Judge: Is That the Right Fight?

Friends of the blog, friends of the rule of law, you helped make the challenge to Annette Bosworth's petition happen. You deserve to have a part in the discussion of what step to take next. You're already having that discussion here. Let's promote that discussion with a post of its own:

Last week, with your help, I filed a legal challenge to the Bosworth petition. The Secretary of State rejected the challenge while leaving key legal questions unanswered. He referred one question from that challenge to the Attorney General, but the Attorney General offered no firm response on the merits of any point of the challenge. The only thing he made clear is that (1) the Secretary of State has exclusive jurisdiction over election matters and (2) the Secretary's rejection of the petition challenge is reviewable only by the courts.

So, do we commit to spending money ($70 for a legal filing at the Hughes County Courthouse) on asking the court to review SOS Gant's decision? Who's willing to put their name on such a filing? Who's willing to donate some fast lawyer time tonight to ensure that the civil filing as the right legal verbage? Who's willing to fax or drive that filing to the Hughes County Courthouse by 5 p.m. tomorrow? Who's willing to take time off work to appear at a court hearing in Pierre to defend the people's right to have their laws enforced?

And who's willing to face the retribution that the political machine has made clear it's willing to dish on those who dare question their authority?

I set that time deadline rather arbitrarily, but it matters: ballots are to be printed and in the hands of the county auditors by April 16, next Wednesday. The Spellerberg pool challenge shows that when a Republican lawyer files a challenge, the court can turn a filing into a hearing in 24 hours. We're talking here about a filing that the Republican machine may fight to delay until it's too late for the ruling to matter.

Can we make this court challenge happen? Do you want to make this court challenge happen? Or are our resources better spent supporting candidates and blogs that will fight inaction, subjective enforcement, and other violations of the public trust? What is the best recourse for citizens interested in the integrity of the petition, the ballot, and democracy?

43 Comments

  1. larry kurtz 2014.04.08

    Would Pat Duffy do it, Cory?

  2. Jessie 2014.04.08

    Cory,

    If those who worked on the challenge decide to go ahead, I can get it to the courthouse as I live only two blocks away. Just tell me which office and what I have to do when I get there.

    I am not trained in legalese and I have a tendency to lose my temper at the worst possible moment (M. Michael Rounds may still remember me with great distaste after his Christmas tree lighting speech at the Capital a few years ago.) So I'm not the best person in Pierre to present a calm and dignified aspect when folks are being, in my opinion, idiots.

  3. Michael B. 2014.04.08

    Is all of the effort going to change the outcome of the election?

    You went above and beyond what anyone else would do already.

  4. WestRiver 2014.04.08

    Cory, just let me say a few things.

    I am a Republican (as I am sure you know and don't hold it against me) and I reject Annette's petitions and wanted nothing more than to see that SD's finest would stand against her complete lack of integrity; but, alas it seems the Haber-Bosworth team gets another free one for now. I say, for now, because, I think you should stand down. Not because I don't believe in the cause; you cannot believe otherwise; but, simply because I don't think that the courts, the AG, or the SOS are going to do anything until the primaries are over. Let her get her name on the ballot by petitions that were signed under false oath. Let her continue to dig herself deeper in every part and portion of her life; because, in this case, I believe the end justifies the means. If the SOS, the courts, or the AG go after any candidate right now it'll just look like a witch hunt; they're not going to put themselves in that place. They have no idea how many Bosworth supporters there are out there and they aren't going to take the chance of losing the votes of any of them when it's their turn to get reelected. So, when the Primary lists another Republican candidate, which it will, (she is never going to win the Primary vote), then and only then will they do something. Do not think for one minute that all you've done in exposing her lack of integrity not only as a candidate, but as a Mother, a physician, an employer, etc. is going unnoticed. They are taking notes, they are talking to each other, and they are building an ironclad case. Just look at yourself as their (unpaid) investigator, because you've never done anything but dig up the facts. That's something no one can argue with; (you would have made an excellent attorney) you don't embellish the truth, you just give them well-researched facts and ask the public to decide and research further for more facts themselves. Not everyone gets a candidate's sins exposed in the biggest newspaper in the state over and over again, and once even two full pages and the TV and radio stations. You've done your duty and I am sure you will continue to do so. I can tell you that word has spread of all of her lies past and present and soon it's going to be all over for them. At first, they dabbled in civil law, which would only mean they wouldn't really be hurting as you can't get blood from a turnip; but, now, you've exposed criminal offenses and she's not a big enough player for them to let her be swept under the rug. She and Chad both will pay for their sins, including ones I am sure you've yet to uncover. So, just because you don't take it to court now, don't take it as a loss; just get ready to fly back home soon so you and I can have front row seats at their trials in the near future!

  5. Jeff Barth 2014.04.08

    Cory,
    I have $100.
    The AG should at least go after those false circulators' oaths. Is that not a crime? Have the AG and the SOS not sworn to uphold the law? What would a judge think about their oaths?
    Jeff

    PS - Not kidding about the $100. jb

  6. Jeff Barth 2014.04.08

    Westriver.
    Well said.
    I was typing while you were posting.

  7. Douglas Wiken 2014.04.08

    Let's set up a web page or another blog titled something like "Corrupt South Dakota" and start off with a list of the names and addresses of all those who signed petitions that were circulated by someone other than Bosworth or whoever was certified as such.

  8. Caitlin 2014.04.08

    Cory, call my office number: 605-202-0281.

  9. DeejayBeejr 2014.04.08

    I agree with Michael B. Will it change anything? I know we hate to see Bosworth/Haber win anything, but they won't win the election. If anything, this outted her as having a thin skin and elementary school temperment. She will lose the election, and right after, the powers that be will go after her for every crooked thing that has been exposed, and she will lose her practice and her non-profit, if they aren't lready gone. And in the meantime, we can have more fun with her on the blog!

  10. Douglas Wiken 2014.04.08

    Sort the names of signers out by community and get the local Democratic Party to question the signers about who actually circulated the petitions. Maybe some of the grass-roots Republicans are honest.

  11. Steve Kant 2014.04.08

    I am in favor of continuing the fight. I have no legal background. I do not live near Pierre. I will however pledge to pay for 2 hours of legal fees if that helps.(up to $300)

  12. Douglas Wiken 2014.04.08

    Below is contact info for SD Demos. They should be getting local Democrats to contact Republicans who signed the petitions. I just left a message to that effect there. A few dozen more would not hurt. Let us see if the SD Demos can get up on their back legs.
    Contact

    South Dakota Democratic Party

    335 N. Main Ave, Suite 200
    Sioux Falls, SD 57104
    (MAP)

    Mailing Address
    PO Box 1485
    Sioux Falls, SD 57101-1485

    tel. 605.271.5405

    Email us at info@sddp.org

  13. Steve Hickey 2014.04.08

    It's not too much to ask to get an official ruling on the petitions signed during the Philippine trip. I've asked around and the only way to press this is to challenge the ruling. That's seems easy enough and I have talked with Cory about the best way for me to help- whatever, dollars and my name for what that's worth. It's been driving me batty that we have a Christian candidate spouting her devotions online while sticking it to employees, venders, fake FB friends, spurious fundraising and now petition fraud. Good grief. Makes last years robocall lawsuit look like child's play. I don't care a bit about waiting until after the primary or the politics of this, Republican or Democrat. It's about the integrity of the process and it should not be this hard to get a ruling. All my petitions got tossed out once because they all said "June, 2012" and not "June 6, 2012." I had to go after all new signatures. I learned there is no wiggle room in election law.

  14. mike from iowa 2014.04.08

    Justice delayed is justice denied!! South Dakota cannot afford to wait. Hells bells,we attacked Iraq with less provocation than wingnuts in your state have provided.

  15. Lanny V Stricherz 2014.04.08

    Cory, I think that is up to you and those who did the work on finding the errors to decide whether to proceed or not. I think that it is pretty evident that you can raise enough money to support the challenge financially.

    Having said that, I think that it would be a lot more fun to have her in the primary
    1. to see how few votes she would get
    2. to poke fun at the two RINOs in the primary, Rounds and Rhoden and asking why they were not challenging her duplicity. It is pretty obvious, as I have posted on Madville in the past that Nelson could not challenge her as the only other real conservative in the Republican primary, because the party would be throwing mud all over him. You know come to think of it, the way that Republican voters treat mud slingers, (like they did Barnett and Kirby in 2002) maybe that would not be such a bad idea, Mr Nelson.

  16. Roger Cornelius 2014.04.08

    Cory's exposure of Bosworth on many levels is not just about Annette, it is about exposing corrupt South Dakota politics.

    In the latest round we saw a Republican candidate's petition being challenged by a citizen, a Republican SOS that put on her on the petition despite numerous and obvious irregularities and an attorney declined telling a citizen "to get bent" and failed in his duties to follow the law and investigate. All in all, Republican politics as usual in South Dakota. The legislature makes laws that lack enforcement that are self serving and protective of Republicans.
    If Cory challenges this ruling in court, it may not change a thing and Bosworth will stay on the ballot, the general consensus is that Bosworth will lose the primary. That may well be the case.

    On the other hand if Cory challenges the ruling he will continue to expose Bosworth and the Republican Party for what they, corrupt and criminal. Keeping here name in the headlines and providing political fodder for her opponents.

    Cory has exhibited a citizens courage that we don't see often in South Dakota because Democrats are in the minority and say "Oh well, we don't stand a chance against Republicans".

    I'll go all "Mr Smith Goes to Washington", and say if not now, when? Every swing at the corruption in this state is worthwhile and will one step at a time erode their power structure.

    GO! CORY GO!!! I only wish there was more I could do to help.

  17. Disgusted Dakotan 2014.04.08

    Put me down for $100

  18. CD 2014.04.08

    I think this has to move forward. i truly believe that once in a court of law, there will be a HUGE ripple effect. I think most people do not believe she will win. That isn't the point. For me personally, I think that both her and her husband need to be held responsible to the harm, both monetarily and psychologically, that they have done to other human beings that completely trusted in them. To me, that is more important than preventing her from winning an election. At some point these scales will tip.

  19. Jim 2014.04.08

    As much as I would enjoy seeing your issue pursued, I am inclined to suggest you let her wallow in it for a bit. I think you are entitled to know from the AG the status of your complaint on the signatures collected during the mission trip, even if it is only "it is under investigation". Eventually the AG will have to charge, or notify you the investigation did not result in any charges. If that is the case, then the AG office has a real problem bc he already has enough evidence to convict. It just needs to get a person who signed that wasn't in the phillipines at the time. Part of me wants her around for the entertainment value. She deserves a commupance, and I believe in large part due to you excellent work, she will eventually get it. If I thought she had any remote chance of getting out of the primary, I probably would encourage the matter be pursued. With that said, pursuing it now is your right, and if you exercised, I certainly would not hold it against you.

  20. rick 2014.04.08

    This is no longer about Bosworth or about Madville Times. It's about Mike Rounds' appointed Attorney General mooning you, the people of South Dakota and his oath of office to protect and defend. Get a smart and tough attorney to complete the job of ripping Jackley's shorts off in court and exposing the sloppy filth and corruption that has run and exploited our state's government.

    Someone recommended Patrick Duffy, and he's well-versed on petition law and 12 times smarter than Jackley. Former legislator Caitlin Collier offered her number. Linda Viken has served on the state election commission and has ably shoved it to the jerks in Pierre in the past.

    Jackley and his pal Bosworth are on shaky ground. This is a bluff. They think nobody's going to pull the lever and expose them. I wonder if Gov. Dennis Daugaard wants to go down with the house of cards defending the RINO Heat Shield's Manchurian Candidate Bosworth.

  21. rick 2014.04.08

    Time is short, and Jackley knows it. Just like Rounds, he's running down the clock and betting you won't have enough time before ballots need to go to the printers.

  22. daleb 2014.04.08

    Id like to add, who ever does bring the challenge forward, if it loses they will get sued and Mr Arends probably charges $1000/hr...

    Also, before going forward, case law research needs to be done on what the rules of bringing forth evidence is, then it has to be presented in the right manner.

    So basically whoever does this is going to need to find a good lawyer, and not just a good one, but the right one. And they should either not have a dime to their name or be filthy rich.

  23. Jim 2014.04.08

    ...but then again, if gets another 351 signature in validated, she is off the ballot. I don't know if a court would throw out all signatures on a petition or only those gathered when the circulators were gone. It would be a lot easier if one bad signature would invalidate the entire petition, but don't know how that would be interpreted by the court.

  24. mike from iowa 2014.04.08

    I qualify as being completely broke,but I'd love to but heads with buttheads if only I was a Dakota citizen. I certainly could come up with a few choice words for those that neglect to do their jobs and still get taxpayer monies. I'd really enjoy a chance to question the gutless wonders at a press conference and to hell with decorum. These varmints don't rate respect as elected office holders.

  25. mike from iowa 2014.04.08

    Jim-I believe Powers over at "Another World Entirely" says that even if those names were invalidated,there are still enough for her to stay on the ballot. Signatures aren't the problem,it is the alleged illegal signing of the petitions and the notarization of the alleged illegal petitions that is the problem,as near as I can tell.

  26. Jim 2014.04.08

    Mike, if it is not going to remove her from tha ballot, then I would not pursue it. But the AG has a duty to prosecute these things, and in his letter he passes on that issue. Prosecuting the apparent offense does not require anything further, that starts with the AG and doesn't require a writ. Cory should press him for an answer on that.

  27. rick 2014.04.08

    Jackley and the Mike Rounds Machine believe none of this will be remembered in November. These people are incapable of shame. It's all about their personal political power grab. They think they're rubbing Cory's nose in the mud. They don't care that they are actually rubbing every self-respecting South Dakotans' noses in the mud.

    And maybe they've got a point. South Dakota is down to only one State Capitol reporter who is capable and seems to have a professional ethic. If nobody reports a crime being committed -- or sues to get the AG to do his job of stopping criminal activity, well, the crime never happened. Just ask Jackley.

  28. mike from iowa 2014.04.08

    Jim-if she is found to have committed a felony she will be removed from the ballot. If her lawyer is involved he could be disbarred. If it is found to be voter fraud there are state and federal charges. Just saying.

  29. caheidelberger Post author | 2014.04.08

    WestRiver, your words are hopeful and heartening. I'm still surprised that any SD GOPer would think that Bosworth has any real support in state and would measure the risk of alienating those strange few would cause them to ignore the law. But I guess a party doesn't become a monolith by ignoring marginal gains.

  30. Bree S. 2014.04.08

    Stace is gaining. :)

  31. caheidelberger Post author | 2014.04.08

    And everyone, there are a lot of good points to consider here. You are not making the decision easy. Daleb's warning about Joel Arends countersuing to punish citizen activism is dismaying but clear-eyed and practical. Is that risk worth it?

  32. Deb Geelsdottir 2014.04.08

    $50. Although I'm no longer a resident, I still love SoDak and want it to be a respectable state I can be proud of.

  33. Roger Cornelius 2014.04.08

    Cory,

    Should you decide not to pursue this in court, I certainly wouldn't blame you for not, a press release might serve your purpose.

    KELO, that Sioux Falls paper, the Rapid City Journal and other media outlets that covered the petition challenge owe you an opportunity to respond to the Bosworth camp.

    I know you could a press release justice by citing some of comments here, including the threat of Republican retaliation.

  34. Dave Baumeister 2014.04.08

    I know there is supposed to be a "debate" of all five candidates at the SD Newspaper Convention on Saturday. I do not know the format or how the questions are going to be asked, but I would strongly suggest you all talk to your local newspaper publishers and editors to find out more. Not just those at the Argus or Rapid City Journal, go to the smaller dailies and weeklies. Those people will all be there and all are really good at asking questions.

  35. Donald Pay 2014.04.08

    I find the crimes Bosworth committed about the worst things you can do in a democracy, and the fact that idiot boy Jackley is behaving like a Soviet style apparatchik ought to disqualify this creep from office.

    Bosworth's crimes occurred in certain counties. I assume the petition issue is dealt with at the state level, but the fraud occurred in certain locales. Aren't there any county prosecutors where these fraudulent acts occurred who might be concerned with fraud? Why can't they investigate and file charges? If idiot boy Jackley won't do his job, maybe somewhere there is a state's attorney with some balls and integrity who will act against these crimes.

    Can folks file complaints in all those counties where the fraud occurred? Let's see just how far into the law enforcement-legal profession the rot goes.

  36. Neal 2014.04.08

    Continue to fight. Roger is right, it's about much more than just Bosworth at this point. It's about the entire establishment, who have collectively abdicated their duties in what can only be an orchestrated fashion. They think they are above the law. Imagine their shared glances and chuckles while passing one another in the hallways of the Capitol.

    The people assembled here appear to be the only ones who will do anything about it. Please continue to fight.

  37. Jackilope 2014.04.08

    If you proceed, I'll pledge to mail in $75. It is infuriating how you've been treated by SOS and AG. The moral of the story in SD is that if you are GOP, you can unapologetically get by with unethical and illegal antics. Shining a spotlight on the cockroaches does absolutely nothing. There needs to be major housecleaning done in Pierre.

  38. Lanny V Stricherz 2014.04.09

    divorce, I may not be the one to give this explanation, but will try.
    1.The blogger got copies of the filing affidavit petitions from SOS and posted them on the blog
    2.Various posters researched the signatures and found duplicates, some who were not registered Republicans and other miscellaneous infractions that disqualified the various signers
    3.It was also discovered that the filing candidate and her husband who had their signatures notarized as the collectors of the signatures were in the Phillipines at the time of the signatures on the affidavit of petition. (Also their attorney who was the one that notarized the said petitions knew they were out of the country.)
    4.Said candidate's name, as it appears on the affidavit of petition, does not appear on the Republican voting roles of her county of residence.
    5.Having gathered all of this information, the blogger, Cory, submitted a challenge to the Secretary of State.
    6.The SOS threw out some of the signatures that had been challenged but not all and ruled that the petitioner could be on the ballot, but also forwarded the notarized petitions gathered while the petitioner was out of the country, to the Attorney General for his opinion. Also forwarde to the AG, was the question of how could the petitioner be on the ballot when her name is not listed on the voter roles of her county of residence.
    7.The AG sent the questions back to the SOS, suggesting that it was out of his jurisdiction to rule, and that Cory would have to take the issue before a judge to get a ruling.
    8.That is the question, should he bother with both the possible costs, and the legal and financial ramifications,if he should lose the challenge in court?

  39. Les 2014.04.09

    I don't think there is any doubt of the monetary support Corey would receive, other than the fact, if he moves forward on this who will actually carry his life forward while they subpoena him at every move to break him down from his daily life. I think the November election could be a better reward as Rapid City has shown can be done.

  40. caheidelberger Post author | 2014.04.09

    No problem, Lanny! I've deleted the comment to which you were responding. That comment came from an automated spammer, trying to drive hits to his site. But your summary of the situation is good enough that it's worth keeping! You know the story! Tell your friends... and tell them to think about it when they vote in June and in November!

  41. Bill Dithmer 2014.04.09

    Save your money and clout for another fight. This campaign isn't going anywhere anyway. Right now it has all the fascination of a broken toy, it was fun to play with but now it needs to go to the dump.

    There may well come a time before election day that Cory can make a difference. This time it would only serve as a distraction from the real issues.

    The Blindman

  42. Bree S. 2014.04.09

    The Rapid City race is certainly a race Republicans should remember when it comes to tactics.

Comments are closed.