Both sides have argued. Now we wait for the decision.

Both Attorney General Larry Long and the Sutton legal team have made their arguments to the South Dakota Supreme Court. Now it's time for the waiting game to begin as we start the vigil waiting for a signal on whether the Sutton groping allegations can be resolved or not.

Check out the latest at Argus Leader.com:
In Wednesday’s filing, Long called Circuit Court Judge David Gienapp’s actions in stopping potential Senate hearings “truly extraordinary” and asked the Supreme Court to allow the proceedings to take place.

Long also argued that Gienapp doesn’t have the authority to stop the Senate from acting.

The Senate, Long wrote, “is unaware of any assignment by the chief justice to expand the circuit court’s jurisdiction beyond the Third Judicial Circuit.”

Long’s response came one day after Sutton’s lawyers contended the Senate has no constitutional authority to expel a member unless that person has been convicted of a serious crime. Sutton has not been charged or convicted of any crime.

Attorneys Michael Butler and Patrick Duffy also said the Senate can’t simply act to deprive voters of their elected representative without judicial oversight.

Duffy on Wednesday said there are fundamental differences in how both sides see the case.

“We’ve got two briefs; both say polar opposite views of the power of the Senate,” Duffy said. “We’ll wait to see what the court says, because that’s what the law is.”
Read it all here in the Argus Leader.

Comments

Anonymous said…
This would be a good time for us to join together and pray for our Supreme Court. We should pray that they think clearly, walk in integrity and ask for God's wisdom in deciding this important matter before our state.
Anonymous said…
Yes.
Anonymous said…
Considering the power and responsibility it holds, I would suggest we ALWAYS include the Supreme Court in our prayers.
Anonymous said…
Was the Senate going to expel Sutton? I thought they were just going to hold a hearing to investigate the matter. After all, "the seriousness of the charge requires they investigate." It seems the court has already convicted him and determined he would be expelled.
Anonymous said…
It’s my understanding that the Senate’s base argument is that they have the right to discipline one of its own. Of course, in order to reach that stage of the game they need to hold hearings on the matter. IMO, Sutton is as afraid of the hearings as he is of the possible outcome of them (expulsion). Makes me wonder what he’s hiding, because it seems to defy basic logic that anyone accused of such a thing wouldn’t embrace the opportunity to clear his name in public (and quickly), and move on for the sake of himself, his family, and the State of South Dakota.
Anonymous said…
Tip

You should ask Sutton - his lawyers are the ones who cried foul over expulsion. That's their stated reason for asking Judge Gienapp to stop the hearing - because they read the law as saying the Senate has no right to expel Sutton.

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