In a somewhat bizarre argument - namely that they enjoy sovereign immunity and are apparently by implication above the U.S. Constitution - Bob "Rolex Bob" McDonnell and Ken "Kookinelli" Cuccinelli have asked that the lawsuit filed against them in U.S. District Court in Norfolk be dismissed. I have yet to see a copy of the filing, but from the coverage in the Richmond Times Dispatch, McDonnell and Kookinelli would apparently leave the other defendant in the action, the Clerk of the Norfolk Circuit Court to his own devices. Here is what the Virginia Constitution says about the responsibilities of the Governor in relevant part:
Article V Section 7. Executive and administrative powers. The Governor shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed.
As for the Attorney General, the Code of Virginia states in part as follows:
2.2-500. Attorney General to be chief executive officer; duties generally. The Attorney General shall be the chief executive officer of the Department of Law, and shall perform such duties as may be provided by law.
2.2-513. Counsel for Commonwealth in federal matters. The Attorney General shall represent the interests of the Commonwealth, its departments, boards, institutions and commissions in matters before or controversies with the officers and several departments of the government of the United States.
Despite these provisions McDonnell and Cuccinelli seemingly are claiming that they have nothing to do with the states anti-gay marriage laws. Here are highlights from the Times Dispatch article:
Gov. Bob McDonnell and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli have filed to be dismissed from legal action against them as representatives of the state in a federal lawsuit brought by a gay couple from Norfolk who were denied a marriage license.
Court records show that McDonnell and Cuccinelli asked the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Norfolk to dismiss the plaintiffs’ suit on grounds of sovereign immunity.
In his complaint, Solicitor General E. Duncan Getchell Jr., who represents McDonnell and Cuccinelli in the case, cited the 14th Amendment because “limitations on eligibility to marry in Virginia” are “enforced by withholding a marriage license as happened in this case.”
Getchell continued that neither the governor nor the attorney general has “any proximity to, responsibility for, or a special relationship with the laws of marital eligibility. As a consequence both should be dismissed on the ground of sovereign immunity.”
I'm sure the Clerk of the Norfolk Circuit Court will be thrilled to learn that he apparently has the burden of defending Virginia's anti-gay laws under the Taliban Bob/Kookinelli theory to the case. Once I see the pleading, I will post an update.
1 comment:
OK, so let those two out of the case, and let's hope the clerk decides to not defend the law, and issues the license. Oops!
So, then when Bob and Kookie try to step back in, hopefully, a smart judge will tell them they asked to leave the room, so they're out for good.
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