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SEIFFE:  Bruno V. Clout - Round II

Wednesday, October 1, 2008 

By Ralf Seiffe

Too bad our friend Bruno Behrend didn’t decide to be a full-time lawyer.  He’s now undefeated, in his two cases, winning this round in the election case we reported here last week.  Bruno is representing clients suing the Secretary of State over the language regarding the call for a Constitutional Convention that must be on the November ballot.  Bruno’s case asserts that the language should be struck because it is misleading and inaccurate.  The judge agreed and ordered the parties to come up with a remedy. 

Today’s hearing had representatives of the Secretary and others election officials in court to ask the judge to dismiss the case.  Worried that there is not enough time to remedy the ballot’s deficiencies, the Secretary’s lawyers asserted the doctrine of laches, which would squash the case based on delay in bringing suit.   This flimsy position evaporated when evidence showed that the offending language was added long after election commissioners certified the Con Con referendum. Indeed, it appears that Bruno’s suit was filed less than a week after the bad language first was displayed on the Internet. 

The day after Behrend filed suit, the Chicago Bar Association also filed with an expanded case.  Lt. Governor Pat Quinn intervened with his own supporting objections and he was in court this afternoon, arguing his own points, effectively.  Of the eight Bar Association counts, the judge dismissed five and let three stand.

Ralf Seiffe advises business start-ups and product launches from Chicago, Illinois and is a political analyst and columnist for the Illinois Leader and Illinois Review.

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