In response to the draconian, legal precedent dodging abortion law in texas, someone drafted this.
Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2021 5:39 pm
Here are a few hypothetical examples of how this law might be used to monkeywrench elected Republican officers of the courts of the State of Texas. The hypotheticals are provided as educational material, and not legal advice, in the hope that the vulnerabilities exposed by the private enforcement mechanism are closed. The Texas State government may be moved to take action to repeal the law itself, once it understands the vulnerabilities it has created.
1. File multiple claims, in multiple venues, against every elected Republican officer in the State. Given how broad the definition of violation is, and that the burden of proof lies with the defendant, and that elected officials cannot rely on state support; Republicans could be particularly vulnerable to blowback in a wave of filings. The suits might be dismissed eventually in a civil proceeding – but given the affirmative defense language requirement, it would probably not be as early in the case as might normally happen. Since these suits could be filed in venues at maximum distance and difficulty for the Republican defendant, with Texas being a pretty big state, and Republicans couldn’t rely on state officers or support in defending them, this could create a legal mess.
2. File multiple claims, in multiple venues, against anti-abortion activists in the State. What cooks the goose also cooks the gander. Under the broadness of the law and the requirement of the defendant to mount an affirmative defense, anti-abortion activists could be targeted under the assertion that by supporting this act they are encouraging abortion-seekers to flee the state seeking abortions elsewhere. Like the cases above, they’d eventually likely be dismissed, but the cost and burden of legal responses and proceedings could bankrupt these anti-abortion efforts. That appears to be the intent of the law anyways. It’s just not well written as to limit who it targets.
3. File multiple claims, in multiple venues, against elected Republican officials and anti-abortion activists nationwide. Really the sky is the limit as far as the hypotheticals go. The law seems designed to allow non-resident parties to be brought into State to face punitive lawsuits. Filing claims against former President Trump or Senator McConnell may not result in a finding against them. The other States still have laws and civil proceedings rules so the venue and applicable law would be a fight. But at the least, this could probably produce some swank court-stamped letterhead suitable for mounting or framing.
4. Friends, colleagues, and allies could file suit against each other. Unlike suits against Republican elected officials or anti-abortion activists, proceedings between two friendly parties would proceed as long as those two parties agreed to it. This would tie up court resources, for longer, especially if numerous pleadings and motions were made. Ultimately, being an action among friends, an out-of-court settlement could be reached. And out-of-court settlements frequently have binding non-disclosure agreements prohibiting the release of how the case was settled.
5. Swamp a targeted county to bring its civil proceedings to a halt. Whether by design or byproduct, the hypothetical scenarios listed above and others could serve to swamp any county’s court system where claims by anti-abortionists are being filed in number. This isn’t without consequence – a court system that cannot function under a proliferation of lawsuits is a court system that also can’t function for legitimate criminal and civil purposes.
From here.
Any thoughts?
Could enough people do this and make it work?
1. File multiple claims, in multiple venues, against every elected Republican officer in the State. Given how broad the definition of violation is, and that the burden of proof lies with the defendant, and that elected officials cannot rely on state support; Republicans could be particularly vulnerable to blowback in a wave of filings. The suits might be dismissed eventually in a civil proceeding – but given the affirmative defense language requirement, it would probably not be as early in the case as might normally happen. Since these suits could be filed in venues at maximum distance and difficulty for the Republican defendant, with Texas being a pretty big state, and Republicans couldn’t rely on state officers or support in defending them, this could create a legal mess.
2. File multiple claims, in multiple venues, against anti-abortion activists in the State. What cooks the goose also cooks the gander. Under the broadness of the law and the requirement of the defendant to mount an affirmative defense, anti-abortion activists could be targeted under the assertion that by supporting this act they are encouraging abortion-seekers to flee the state seeking abortions elsewhere. Like the cases above, they’d eventually likely be dismissed, but the cost and burden of legal responses and proceedings could bankrupt these anti-abortion efforts. That appears to be the intent of the law anyways. It’s just not well written as to limit who it targets.
3. File multiple claims, in multiple venues, against elected Republican officials and anti-abortion activists nationwide. Really the sky is the limit as far as the hypotheticals go. The law seems designed to allow non-resident parties to be brought into State to face punitive lawsuits. Filing claims against former President Trump or Senator McConnell may not result in a finding against them. The other States still have laws and civil proceedings rules so the venue and applicable law would be a fight. But at the least, this could probably produce some swank court-stamped letterhead suitable for mounting or framing.
4. Friends, colleagues, and allies could file suit against each other. Unlike suits against Republican elected officials or anti-abortion activists, proceedings between two friendly parties would proceed as long as those two parties agreed to it. This would tie up court resources, for longer, especially if numerous pleadings and motions were made. Ultimately, being an action among friends, an out-of-court settlement could be reached. And out-of-court settlements frequently have binding non-disclosure agreements prohibiting the release of how the case was settled.
5. Swamp a targeted county to bring its civil proceedings to a halt. Whether by design or byproduct, the hypothetical scenarios listed above and others could serve to swamp any county’s court system where claims by anti-abortionists are being filed in number. This isn’t without consequence – a court system that cannot function under a proliferation of lawsuits is a court system that also can’t function for legitimate criminal and civil purposes.
From here.
Any thoughts?
Could enough people do this and make it work?