Trust the court system in election challenges

7
846

I saw reported that Joe Biden has gained enough Electoral College votes to become the 46th President. I congratulate President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris on this victory.

I am also aware that President Trump and his campaign are launching legal challenges in several states to challenge the results of those states results. I fully support that effort.

I became a Trump supporter during the 2016 election season, and became a strong supporter during his first term. I found him personally objectionable, but thought he acted as I had hoped on many issues important to me. I think the country is far better off from his presidency, and hope that should Biden be President at the end of the coming court battle he will build on the successes achieved during the Trump administration.

During the campaign season, Hillary Clinton (and many others) demanded that Joe Biden not concede defeat should the Electoral College vote totals not give him the presidency. I think that is also good advice that President Trump should follow.

My belief is based, not on support of President Trump, but because this election has too many irregularities that call into question the result. Had these irregularities occurred if it named Donald Trump the winner, I would have the same concerns.

There any far, far too many conspiratorial theories, rumors, mis- and dis- information in circulation today about how the election was run. There are also many lies. And none of us have the ability to determine their falseness, or truth. We each certainly have our opinion of them, but we do not have any facts.

But there are enough reported irregularities to merit judicial review of this election. That is why I think it essential for the courts to review the election results.

I’ve been involved in the court system in one capacity or another since 1986. It is not immune to our human foibles, biases and weaknesses, and sometimes they are unfairly or even unjustly a factor in a court decision. But most of the time I think they are not.

As a result, I think our judicial system is overall worthy of our trust, even when we disagree with a particular outcome. My experience as someone whose life has been in the law has taught me to honor, respect and appreciate our legal system.

My guess is that folks will judge the outcome of the coming electoral legal battles based solely on whether their candidate ultimately won or lost. That has been true in every case in which I’ve been involved with.

It’s an impossible task to explain to someone upset with a verdict or ruling that the law was not on their side, or the facts to support or defend their allegations simply weren’t there. All they know is that lost. And those who win are equally indifferent to why.

The same dynamic will be present as the election results go through the court system. Someone will win, and not care why. Someone will lose, and not care why.

Every voter deserves to know that their vote counted, and whether the winner of the election is the result of lawfully and legally cast votes.

Our country, and you and I deserve no less.

Robert S. Black

Sharpsburg, Ga.

7 COMMENTS

  1. How’s the sound quality in that echo chamber you guys live in? HA HA HA! Impeach tne President? Who would do something that crazy? HA HA HA! Who would be so bold as to scream that an election was stolen? HA HA HA! Who would colude with Russian agents to spike a presidency? HA HA HA! You guys crack me up! You need to take a cognitive test..me thinks your memory is failing you!

  2. It’ time to put this silliness behind us. Like it or not, Joe Biden will become OUR 46 president on January 20, 2021. If he can’t do the job we’ll elect someone else that is unless a future Republican congress does something silly like impeachment.

    Let’s move forward with the upcoming US senate election.

  3. This is a well written letter from an attorney who demonstrates intellectual acumen. The only perplexing statement is, “There are enough reported irregularities to merit judicial review of this election.” Actually, there are virtually no significant irregularities in this election significant enough to overturn the results.

    The President and his supporters have cried “Wolf” so many times with no evidence of any threat, it seems that the populace would have tired of coming out with their pitch forks.

    Everyone deserves their day in court if they raise a realistic tort, but at some point a modicum of evidence must be presented. Throwing imagined malfeasance against the wall to see if anything will stick does not meet this standard. How many courts must rule against these unfounded accusations before reasonable people will accept the electoral results?

    • Things have gone beyond any common sense, logic and reason; and landed squarely on their motives of creating an air of mistrust which they will exploit for future political gains. And true to their hypocritical stances and elevated posturing, these “lame duck supporters” are actually advocating for more governmental control while minimizing state’s rights. Truth is indeed, stranger than fiction, when dealing with the new GOP.

      • I must agree. Besides your apt description of the flip-flop on states rights, the new GOP embraces populism, eschews free trade and open markets, and abrogates world leadership to China by default. This isn’t your father’s Republican party, and it isn’t even recognizable to a Reagan Republican.

        Alas, the GOP has been reduced to a cult of personality. Charlie Manson could only dream of having this many unquestioning followers who believe any utterance of the president even in the face of clear, factual evidence that it is false. It began by questioning Obama’s birthplace and overstating inauguration crowds and has devolved into bizarre falsehoods that threaten our democracy and weaken our reputation throughout the world.

        The Germans thought they could control their authoritarian chancellor in the 1930s, but his cult of personality endangered the entire world. Thankfully, our president isn’t clever enough to have designs on anything beyond his own self-aggrandizement. Funny – I never thought it could happen here , and certainly not at the hands of the conservatives.

        As always, truth is so much stranger than fiction.