Moss v. Bush
Encyclopedia
Moss v. Bush was a lawsuit
filed by 37 Ohio
voters challenging Ohio's certified electoral college votes in the 2004 U.S. presidential election. It was filed on 13 December 2004, and dismissed at the plaintiffs' request following the acceptance of Ohio's votes by the U.S. Congress and Senate on January 6, 2005. The suit was headed by Cliff Arnebeck
of the The Alliance for Democracy.
Following the dismissal, Arnebeck's group filed a motion to intervene in a federal case brought on Election Day by the Ohio Democratic Party against Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell
. That motion was opposed by the Ohio Democratic Party and ultimately denied.
and his running mate, Dick Cheney
, the candidates on the Republican Party ticket. The plaintiffs alleged that there had been widespread systematic election fraud that altered the outcome of the election. On that basis, the suit asked the courts to set aside the certified results, and, possibly, award the state's electoral votes to John Kerry
and his running mate, John Edwards
, the candidates on the Democratic Party ticket. If successful, shifting Ohio's 20 electoral votes in the 2004 presidential election would have had the effect of shifting the overall election from Bush to Kerry. The case was ultimately dismissed.See generally 2004 United States presidential election, results.
seeking to prevent Ohio's electors from meeting or casting their vote before completion of the Election Contest.
On 16 December 2005, Justices' Thomas Moyer and Maureen O'Connell
, in separate opinions, dismissed Moss v. Bush I without prejudice to refiling the action as two separate cases. Both Justice Moyer and Justice O'Connell ruled that Ohio election law did not permit Contestors to challenge the election of two different officials in a single Petition.
On 17 December, the case was refiled, with it now referring only to the election of Ohio's electors for the presidential electoral college. A request was also made that the Court declare the Kerry-Edwards
presidential ticket the rightful winner of Ohio's electoral votes.
On 12 January 2005, Moss v. Bush was dismissed at the contestors' request.
On 19 May 2005, Chief Justice Moyer denied the motion for sanctions. Justice Moyer concluded that, although "[t]he contestors indeed made multiple allegations in the complaint that are, at best, highly improbable and potentially defamatory, inflammatory, and devoid of logic" (Paragraph 4), and "[d]espite the apparently scurrilous nature of most of these allegations," (Paragraph 16), sanctions were not appropriate under Ohio law for two reasons. First, Justice Moyer concluded that unlike civil litigation, the election contest statutes of Ohio do not permit sanctions for meritless charges. (Paragraphs 17-24). Second, because the contestors dismissed their suit before evidence was gathered, Justice Moyer concluded that even if sanctions were permitted by law, there was not enough evidence before the Court to issue sanctions. (Paragraph 25).
.
On 28 December 2004, Justice O'Connor issued an order stating that under Ohio Rule of Civil Procedure 9(b), the Contestors were required to plead the alleged acts of fraud in the election for Chief Justice with greater particularity. She ordered that Contestors do so by 7 January 2005, allowed their opponents until 14 January 2005 to respond, and stayed any discovery proceeding pending those pleadings.
On 12 January 2005, Moss v. Moyer was dismissed at the request of the Contestors.
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
filed by 37 Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
voters challenging Ohio's certified electoral college votes in the 2004 U.S. presidential election. It was filed on 13 December 2004, and dismissed at the plaintiffs' request following the acceptance of Ohio's votes by the U.S. Congress and Senate on January 6, 2005. The suit was headed by Cliff Arnebeck
Cliff Arnebeck
Cliff Arnebeck is the Chair of Legal Affairs Committee of Common Cause Ohio and a National Co-Chair and attorney for .Together with AfD founder Ronnie Dugger, Cliff Arnebeck launched the ....
of the The Alliance for Democracy.
Following the dismissal, Arnebeck's group filed a motion to intervene in a federal case brought on Election Day by the Ohio Democratic Party against Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell
Ken Blackwell
John Kenneth Blackwell is an American politician and activist who served as the mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio from 1979 to 1980 and Ohio Secretary of State from 1999 to 2007. A Republican, he was the first African-American to be the candidate for governor of a major party in Ohio. In 2006, Blackwell...
. That motion was opposed by the Ohio Democratic Party and ultimately denied.
Details of the case
The case challenged Ohio's certification of its electoral votes, which had been awarded to George W. BushGeorge W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
and his running mate, Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....
, the candidates on the Republican Party ticket. The plaintiffs alleged that there had been widespread systematic election fraud that altered the outcome of the election. On that basis, the suit asked the courts to set aside the certified results, and, possibly, award the state's electoral votes to John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
and his running mate, John Edwards
John Edwards
Johnny Reid "John" Edwards is an American politician, who served as a U.S. Senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004, and was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and 2008.He defeated incumbent Republican Lauch Faircloth in...
, the candidates on the Democratic Party ticket. If successful, shifting Ohio's 20 electoral votes in the 2004 presidential election would have had the effect of shifting the overall election from Bush to Kerry. The case was ultimately dismissed.See generally 2004 United States presidential election, results.
Litigation
Following the November election, Ohio's electors were scheduled to meet and cast their votes for President Bush on 13 December 2004. On that same day, various Ohio citizens (the "Contestors") filed an Election Contest Petition alleging fraud in the conduct of the Ohio election and a Motion for Temporary restraining order and Preliminary injunctionPreliminary injunction
A preliminary injunction, in equity, is an injunction entered by a court prior to a final determination of the merits of a legal case, in order to restrain a party from going forward with a course of conduct or compelling a party to continue with a course of conduct until the case has been decided...
seeking to prevent Ohio's electors from meeting or casting their vote before completion of the Election Contest.
On 16 December 2005, Justices' Thomas Moyer and Maureen O'Connell
Maureen O'Connell
Maureen C. O'Connell is the County Clerk of Nassau County, New York, an adjunct faculty member of the Adelphi University School of Nursing, and a member of the School of Nursing Advisory Boards of Nassau Community College, Molloy College, and State University of New York at...
, in separate opinions, dismissed Moss v. Bush I without prejudice to refiling the action as two separate cases. Both Justice Moyer and Justice O'Connell ruled that Ohio election law did not permit Contestors to challenge the election of two different officials in a single Petition.
On 17 December, the case was refiled, with it now referring only to the election of Ohio's electors for the presidential electoral college. A request was also made that the Court declare the Kerry-Edwards
John Kerry presidential campaign, 2004
The Presidential Campaign of John Kerry, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts and the nominee of the Democratic Party challenged Republican incumbent President George W. Bush in the U.S. presidential election on November 2, 2004. Ultimately, Kerry conceded defeat in the race in a telephone call to Bush...
presidential ticket the rightful winner of Ohio's electoral votes.
On 12 January 2005, Moss v. Bush was dismissed at the contestors' request.
Motion for sanctions
On 18 January 2005, Ohio's Secretary of State filed a motion for sanction against the plaintiffs, alleging that the claim in Moss v. Bush was meritless, did not meet the standards of evidence required by law, and was brought only for partisan political purposes.On 19 May 2005, Chief Justice Moyer denied the motion for sanctions. Justice Moyer concluded that, although "[t]he contestors indeed made multiple allegations in the complaint that are, at best, highly improbable and potentially defamatory, inflammatory, and devoid of logic" (Paragraph 4), and "[d]espite the apparently scurrilous nature of most of these allegations," (Paragraph 16), sanctions were not appropriate under Ohio law for two reasons. First, Justice Moyer concluded that unlike civil litigation, the election contest statutes of Ohio do not permit sanctions for meritless charges. (Paragraphs 17-24). Second, because the contestors dismissed their suit before evidence was gathered, Justice Moyer concluded that even if sanctions were permitted by law, there was not enough evidence before the Court to issue sanctions. (Paragraph 25).
Moss v. Moyer
On 20 December 2004, the case contesting "...the certification of the election of Thomas Moyer for the office of Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court for the term commencing in 2005." was refiled. The case is known as "Moss v. Moyer", Ohio Supreme Court Case No. 04-2106. Justice Maureen O'Connor was designated to preside over the matter by Governor Bob TaftBob Taft
Robert Alphonso "Bob" Taft II is an Ohio Republican Party politician. He was elected to two terms of office as the 67th Governor of the U.S. state of Ohio between 1999-2007. After leaving office, Taft started working for the University of Dayton beginning August 15, 2007.-Personal background:Taft...
.
On 28 December 2004, Justice O'Connor issued an order stating that under Ohio Rule of Civil Procedure 9(b), the Contestors were required to plead the alleged acts of fraud in the election for Chief Justice with greater particularity. She ordered that Contestors do so by 7 January 2005, allowed their opponents until 14 January 2005 to respond, and stayed any discovery proceeding pending those pleadings.
On 12 January 2005, Moss v. Moyer was dismissed at the request of the Contestors.
Moss v. Bush
- Moss v. Bush I case docket
- Moss v. Bush II case docket
- Second filing (pdf) (mirror) (filed 2004.12.17)
- Contestors' Emergency Motion for Expedited Hearing and Emergency Expedited Relief to Prevent Spoliation of Evidence and to Preserve Documentary and Electronic Evidence (pdf) (filed 2004.12.17)
- Order denying expedited hearing and asking two questions (pdf) (decided 2004.12.22)
- Justice Moyer denies motion regarding the affidavits and exhibits (pdf) (decided 2004.12.29)
- Justice Moyer refuses to recuse himself (pdf) (decided 2004.12.29)
- Depositions: (submitted 2004.12.31)
- Dr. Ron Baiman (pdf) - Professor of statistics, Institute of Government and Public Affairs, University of Illinois in Chicago
- Dr. Werner Lange (pdf) - Professor of sociology, University of Pennsylvania in Edinburg and part-time pastor
- Dr. Richard Hayes Phillips (pdf) - Professor, Doctor of Geomorphology, Master of History, Master of Geography, and Bachelor of Politics
- other briefs
Moss v. Moyer
- Moss v. Moyer case docket
- First filing (pdf) (filed 2004.12.20)
- Motion for admission pro hac vice granted (pdf) (decided 2004.12.27)