There’s a “HUGE” new lawsuit to report this morning out of Texas where the state has gone directly to the Supreme Court in an attempt to overturn the results of Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin:
???HUGE: Texas sues four states directly in the Supreme Court over election integrity!!https://t.co/IQI0G0G0vr
— Jenna Ellis (@JennaEllisEsq) December 8, 2020
Kayleigh McEnany thinks it’s “HUGE,” too:
? BREAKING ?
The state of Texas has sued Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania & Wisconsin over election irregularities!
This means Texas will have original jurisdiction to go directly to the Supreme Court‼️
HUGE ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/2LqpQ4Ym6y
— Kayleigh McEnany (@kayleighmcenany) December 8, 2020
The lawsuit is being brought by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and not the state’s solicitor general:
The Texas AG says he is filing a lawsuit against Wisconsin and other states in the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing the state ignored election laws by exploiting the pandemic.
He, like the Trump campaign, is seeking to "remand" the election to the GOP-controlled Legislature.
— Molly Beck (@MollyBeck) December 8, 2020
It’s the job of the solicitor general to argue cases just like this:
Notable that Texas Solicitor General Kyle Hawkins is not on the brief…SG being the job @tedcruz used to have, the guy who argues in court https://t.co/FLDx8LjbRb
— EricaGrieder (@EricaGrieder) December 8, 2020
And Law Twitter is noting that Paxton does have his own issues right now:
Texas AG Ken Paxton–who is under FBI investigation for using his office to benefit a political donor and whose top lawyers blew the whistle and resigned–is now trying to have Texas sue PA, GA, MI, and WI over the presidential election.
Insane.https://t.co/tWBfWAGlEF
— Josh Douglas (@JoshuaADouglas) December 8, 2020
According to reports, much of what’s in the Texas lawsuit has already been litigated and thrown out:
NEW: Texas Attorney General @KenPaxtonTX is asking to sue the states of Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia at the Supreme Court.
The lawsuit alleges things that have already been thrown out by other courts.https://t.co/WXJAFDvBa4
— Matt Largey (@mattlargey) December 8, 2020
Conservative law professor Jonathan Adler calls the suit, “really bad”:
So now Texas is trying to sue Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Georgia to challenge the election in the Supreme Court. The filing may not have all the typos and errors of a #kraken suit, but it's still really bad.https://t.co/HXtMqo71Hk
— Jonathan H. Adler (@jadler1969) December 8, 2020
And University of Kentucky law professor Josh Douglas says, “there is zero chance this will work”:
Why is Texas trying to sue these other states directly? Cause the Supreme Court has "original jurisdiction" over lawsuits between states. This is an attempt to go directly to #SCOTUS.
There is zero chance this will work.
— Josh Douglas (@JoshuaADouglas) December 8, 2020
Steve Vladeck, a law professor at the University of Texas, went as far as to call it the “craziest lawsuit filed” so far:
It looks like we have a new leader in the “craziest lawsuit filed to purportedly challenge the election” category:
The State of Texas is suing Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, and Wisconsin *directly* in #SCOTUS.
(Spoiler alert: The Court is *never* going to hear this one.) pic.twitter.com/2L4GmdCB6I
— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) December 8, 2020
More from Prof. Vladeck:
Although the Supreme Court has “exclusive” jurisdiction over disputes between states, it does not automatically hear all such cases.
Rather, states have to receive “leave to file,” which usually requires showing that there’s no other forum in which these issues can be resolved.
— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) December 8, 2020
Here’s the full (and insane) filing:https://t.co/nR6jXmEx05
— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) December 8, 2020
And as others have pointed out, it’s more than a little telling that Kyle Hawkins — the Texas Solicitor General, who represents the State before #SCOTUS — is not on the filings.
Good for him for refusing to associate himself with this utter and indefensible nonsense.
— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) December 8, 2020
Anyway, it takes five votes to grant a motion for leave to file — which isn’t going to happen.
And it’ll take some time. So chalk this up as mostly a stunt — a dangerous, offensive, and wasteful one, but a stunt nonetheless.
— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) December 8, 2020
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