Why courts are dismissing 'Stop the Steal' lawsuits so quickly and decisively.

[Nevilledog]

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David French
@DavidAFrench
Out from the paywall -- Why are Trump and Trump-allied attorneys losing case after case so quickly and decisively? I took a look at the merits of the big cases here and found them...frivolous and embarrassing:

The Kraken Is Lackin’
Why courts are dismissing ’Stop the Steal’ lawsuits so quickly and decisively.
frenchpress.thedispatch.com
9:48 AM · Dec 10, 2020

https://frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/the-kraken-is-lackin

Ok, let me begin with an apology. I’ve violated the First Commandment of The Dispatch—“Thou shalt not write clickbait headlines.” But in my defense, I got my inspiration not from a clickbait website but rather from—of all places—PBS. Its writeup of a Georgia federal district court’s decision to dismiss Sidney Powell’s “kraken” lawsuit is entitled, “Judge Finds ‘Kraken’ Election Challenge Lacking, Dismisses Lawsuit.” My headline is just a bit more down-home and direct.

Now, on to the main event. We’re in the midst of a strange and disturbing phenomenon. At the same time that the Trump campaign and his allies are experiencing a wave of defeats in court—including at the hands of Republican appointees (including Trump appointees and judges on Trump’s shortlist for SCOTUS)—many Trump supporters are increasingly convinced that the election was stolen.

And what is helping convince them? The exact claims that are being tossed out of court on a daily (and sometimes hourly) basis. So I thought it would be worth taking a bit of time to explain why these cases are being tossed and why some folks still find them so very convincing, even when they lose.

First, let’s break this down as simply as possible. To prevail in a case, at a minimum you have to present 1) a valid legal claim; 2) filed on a timely basis; 3) supported by admissible evidence; that 4) seeks lawful relief.

Time and again, the Trump and Trump-allied cases clearly and obviously fail to meet multiple prongs of this test. Take the so-called “Kraken” cases. These are the cases filed by Sidney Powell in multiple states that allege extreme levels of fraud and vote manipulation and seek to overturn the elections in each state.

*snip*

[ScratchCat]

1. The "crux" is #2

You can't challenge election laws after the votes have been cast and certified. Its because of #4 - there is no lawful relief after votes have been cast and certified. The general premise is the voters acted in good faith and voted under the laws that the State legislature approved and passed, and no court is going to disenfranchise voters for following the law. Especially when lacking #3.

Its such a joke that a first year law student could craft a rebuttal in an hour.