* I haven’t had a chance to go through it all yet, but here are two documents filed with the appellate court today…
* Emergency motion for stay of judgment pending appeal
* Supplemental affidavit
* The governor’s motion admits the “impracticality” of forcing legislators to return their paychecks, but wants immediate action to block the next round of pay checks to be issued Monday. From the motion…
An immediate stay is needed to preserve the status quo and the ability to effectuate the Governor’s veto if he prevails on appeal. If the judgment is not stayed, the plaintiffs and the other 175 members of the General Assembly will receive payment of their legislative salaries from the Comptroller’s office. Once that occurs, a ruling by this Court or the Supreme Court that the Governor’s veto was valid would to a large extent be a pyrrhic victory.
Still reading. I’ll let you know what else I find.
…Adding… Man, they laid it on thick…
(A)ny potential hardship the plaintiffs may experience will be short-lived and is vastly outweighed by the Pandora’s Box that would be opened if the members of the General Assembly were allowed to collect their salaries prior to the final adjudication of the issues in this case concerning ripeness and the constitutionality of the Governor’s veto. It would be inappropriate to allow these issues of great public importance to be effectively decided at the trial court level, but that is exactly what would occur in the absence of a stay.
It was actually shorter than it first looked, so I think I’m done. I’ll be closing comments soon and will let you know if a stay is issued today or over the weekend.
