Judge Skewers Kinder's Claim That Obama Administration Blew Through Deadline
Earlier today, Judge Rodney Sippel denied the motion from Lt. Governor Peter Kinder and attorney Thor Hearne demanding an immediate response from the Obama Administration to their complaint about the federal health care law. Kinder has repeatedly alleged that the DOJ's response is long overdue -- but since his legal team did not serve the US Attorney for the Eastern District as they were required, the clock never started running for the feds. From today's order:
Plaintiffs do not cite any legal authority that would permit me to disregard the express requirements of Rule 12(a)(2) and shorten the amount of time the United States Defendants have to file an answer once the United States Attorney has been served. The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provide a framework for the fair and orderly adjudication of a case, and I cannot ignore them simply because Plaintiffs ask me to do so. As with any motion, such a request must be supported by relevant legal authority and facts. Because neither has been provided by Plaintiffs to date, the motion will be denied without prejudice and may be renewed if properly presented and briefed.
Because Kinder didn't serve the proper US Attorney until November 16, a response from the defendants is not due until January 18.
The full order can be found below the break.
When these facts were first reported here at Fired Up!, Kinder accused me of lying, tweeting that my post was "100% false." I'm sure that he'll tweet an apology any minute now to correct the record, along with a press release announcing today's ruling for all of the news outlets who covered his premature whining in November.
