Judge to hear arguments in 'Troopergate' case

[cal04]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080930/ap_on_el_pr/palin_troopergate

A judge in Alaska is set to hear arguments this week on whether he should halt an abuse-of-power investigation of Gov. Sarah Palin by the Alaska Legislature.

Anchorage Superior Court Judge Peter Michalski has scheduled a hearing for Thursday in a lawsuit filed by five Republican lawmakers. They say the investigation has been tainted by partisan politics since Palin has been nominated as the GOP's vice presidential candidate.

The legislators want to block the state Legislative Council's investigation into whether Palin acted improperly when she fired Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan this summer. Palin denies that she pressured Monegan to fire a state trooper who had gone through a bitter divorce with her sister.



The Honorable Peter Michalski Anchorage Superior Court Appointed by Governor Sheffield to Superior Court January 1985
Bill Sheffield December 6, 1982 December 1, 1986 Democratic


Same-sex marriage in Alaska
An Alaska judge this week declared that the choice of a partner is a
fundamental right protected by the constitution, and that gay and lesbian
marriages must be allowed unless the state can prove a "compelling" interest
in prohibiting them. Superior Court Judge Peter Michalski found merit in a
case filed by gay couple Jay Brause and Gene Dugan, who were denied a marriage
license in 1994, and rejected the state's request for its dismissal. Alaska
is expected to appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court. The couple
claim they are entitled to marry by the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of equal
treatment under the law and the Alaska state constitution's strong privacy
rights. "Compelling state interest" is the highest standard of proof the law
can require, one the Hawai'i state attorney general failed to meet in
defending marriage discrimination there.
http://www.qrd.org/qrd/media/radio/thiswayout/summary/newswrap/1998/518-03.02.98

[texastoast]

1. Did the grand jury ever get their witnesses?

Or did they just thumb their noses at the subpoenas and get away with it?

It's just too hard to keep up with that woman. So much drama.