In Georgia, Judicial Whiplash Raises Election Irregularities to a New Level

​In Georgia, Judicial Whiplash Raises Election Irregularities to a New Level.
by
Julio Gonzalez, M.D., J.D.
 
Last week, thefederalistpages.com reported on Sidney Powell's lawsuit alleging election improprieties in the State of Georgia.  The lawsuit laid out a series "irregularities" the Plaintiffs argued rendered the certification of the presidential votes untenable.  If they prevail, the Plaintiffs would have the Court require Georgia Governor Brian Kemp to recertify a corrected result showing President Donald J. Trump as having won the election.  
 
Some of the irregularities cited in the complaint dealt with the electronic tampering of the election results to a magnitude sufficient to change the outcome of the election.  Naturally, such a charge would require the impounding of the state's voting machines with a subsequent forensic evaluation of its contents.  But when the lawyers representing the plaintiffs asked for exactly that, what should have been a routine judicial consideration turned into an embarrassing display of indecision that raised concerns over the presence of an even broader level of corruption 
 
On Sunday, after considering Powell's emergency motion, Judge Timothy C. Batten, a federal judge sitting on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, published an order detailing the proceeding's schedule moving forward.  Importantly, the Judge set Friday, December 4 at 10:00 a.m. as the time when the court would consider in-person arguments from the parties.  In order to address the possibility that the information in the voting machines could be corrupted if left unprotected, the judge also ordered that the state not reset or wipe any voting machines pending further orders from the court.  
 
What followed was a display of judicial whiplash seldom encountered in American jurisprudence.  Within hours, the judge published a second order ostensibly reversing himself.  This time, the judge explained that because the plaintiffs had not established that the voting machines were in actual possession of some of the defendants, namely, the Governor or Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, the court did not order that the machines be impounded. Specifically, unless the Plaintiffs were able to demonstrate that the state's county election officials, who actually possessed the state's electoral machines, were within the control of either the Governor or the Secretary of State, the court would be unable to order the impounding of the electoral machines.  
 
The reaction to this highly unusual reversal within hours of the issuance of the original order and absent any hearings immediately sent out shockwaves.  "What?" tweeted plaintiff’s attorney Lin Wood.  "Judge reversed order based on Defendants' claim that GA Counties control voting machines.  Machines are owned by State & @GaSecofState administers state laws of elections.  Why are GA officials determined to wipe these machines clean be (sic) resetting them?"
 
Apparently in response from emails received from the Plaintiffs the judge then held a zoom meeting at 7:45 p.m. prompting it to revisit its temporary injunctive relief.  At 10:10 p.m., the court issued a third order requiring that the "Defendants [be] ENJOINED and RESTRAINED from altering, destroying, or erasing, or allowing the alteration, destruction, or erasure of, any software or data on any Dominion voting machines in Cobb, Gwinnett, and Cherokee Counties."  
 
At this point, it appears that the plaintiffs have scored a major victory in their quest to forensically examine the voting machines in select Georgia counties.  Although it is disconcerting that the court is waiting until December 4 to hear arguments in light of the quickly approaching deadlines for seating the presidential election delegates, the development still is important in that allowing for the forensic examination of these machines ought to shed light on the status of any potential electronic voting fraud and put to rest the question of of broad electronic results-tampering by Dominion.  The answers to these questions must be obtained if there is to be any restoration of confidence in the presidential election process and if we are to quiet the controversy over who actually prevailed in the 2020 race for President of the United States. 
 
Dr. Julio Gonzalez is an orthopaedic surgeon and lawyer living in Venice, Florida.  He served in the Florida House of Representatives.  He is the author of numerous books including The Federalist Pages, The Case for Free Market Healthcare, and Coronalessons.  He is available for appearances and book signings, and can be reached through www.thefederalistpages.com.
 
 
 
 
 
 

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