Miller v. Lieutenant Governor Craig Campbell et al

Filing 41

MOTION to Expedite Shortened Time re Second Motion for Preliminary Injunction by Joe Miller. (Attachments: # 1 Proposed Order)(Van Flein, Thomas)

Miller v. Lieutenant Governor Craig Campbell et al

Doc. 41

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Thomas V. Van Flein

John Tiemessen
Clapp, Peterson, Van Flein, Tiemessen & Thorsness LLC 711 H St., Suite 620 Anchorage, Alaska 99501-3454 Phone: [phone] Facsimile: [phone] E-mail: [e-mail] Michael T. Morley 616 E St. N.W #254 Washington, D.C. 20004 Phone: [phone] Facsimile: [phone] E-mail: [e-mail] Application for pro hac vice admission pending Attorneys for Plaintiff Joe Miller UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF ALASKA ) JOE MILLER, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) ) LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR CRAIG ) CAMPBELL, in his official capacity; ) and the STATE OF ALASKA, ) DIVISION OF ELECTIONS, ) ) Defendants. ) ___________________________________ ) Civil Action No: 3:10-cv-252 (RRB)

PLAINTIFF'S MOTION TO SHORTEN TIME ON PLAINTIFF'S SECOND MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION

Plaintiff's Motion to Shorten Time on Plaintiff's Second Motion for Preliminary Injunction Miller v. Campbell, Case No. 3:10-CV-252 (RRB) Page 1 of 3

Dockets.Justia.com

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Plaintiff Joe Miller, by and through undersigned counsel, hereby moves this Court, pursuant to D. Ak. LR 7.2(c), for an Order shortening the briefing and argument schedule for Plaintiff's Second Motion for Preliminary Injunction, filed concurrently herewith. As this Court is aware, Plaintiff's first Motion for Preliminary Injunction has been fully briefed. The instant Motion raises closely related constitutional issues that have arisen since that filing, which also threaten to impact the results of the 2010 general election for U.S. Senate. Plaintiff respectfully requests an expedited briefing schedule for this Motion so that this Court can consider both injunction requests concurrently, and hopefully adjudicate them before Defendants certify the results of the election. The underlying motion raises a single issue, under the Equal Protection Clause, U.S.

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Const., amend XIV. Plaintiff Miller's claim is not complex--Defendants have instituted an arbitrary and discriminatory policy by conducting hand counts and personal reviews of ballots rejected by automatic tally machines in which the voter attempted to vote for a write-in candidate, but not of similarly situated ballots in which the voter attempted to vote for a candidate whose name was pre-printed on the ballot. This discriminatory policy gives voters who unsuccessfully attempted to vote for a write-in candidate a "second bite at the apple," and a much greater chance of ultimately having their votes counted, than voters who attempted to vote for a candidate whose name appeared on the ballot. Particularly given the brevity of Plaintiff's supporting memorandum of points and authorities, and the fact that the State already has researched and briefed Equal Protection issues in connection with this case, requiring the

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State to respond in an expedited fashion would not present an undue burden.
Plaintiff's Motion to Shorten Time on Plaintiff's Second Motion for Preliminary Injunction Miller v. Campbell, Case No. 3:10-CV-252 (RRB) Page 2 of 3

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An affidavit of Plaintiff Joe Miller is filed herewith in support of this Motion. Dated this 19th day of November, 2010. Respectfully submitted, /s/ Thomas V. Van Flein Thomas V. Van Flein CLAPP, PETERSON, VAN FLEIN TIEMESSEN & THORSNESS LL 711 H St., Suite 620 Anchorage, Alaska 99501-3454 Phone: [phone] Facsimile: [phone] E-mail: [e-mail] Attorney for Plaintiffs
Certificate of Service: The undersigned hereby certifies that a true and exact copy of the foregoing was served this 19th day of November 2010 via: ( ) First Class Mail ( ) Hand-Delivery ( ) Facsimile ( ) E-Mail (X) ECF to the following listed individual(s): Michael Barnhill Sarah Felix Margaret Paton-Walsh

By: /s/ Thomas V. Van Flein__ Thomas V. Van Flein

Plaintiff's Motion to Shorten Time on Plaintiff's Second Motion for Preliminary Injunction Miller v. Campbell, Case No. 3:10-CV-252 (RRB) Page 3 of 3