****COURT GRANTS MOTION TO STAY INJUNCTION ORDER AGAINST SAPF***
December 19, 2006 -- Today, Judge Nickerson of the U.S. District Court granted Defendants' motion to stay the permanent injunction order against them. This motion is granted pending the Court's decisions on the Motion for a New Trial and the Motion for Modification of the Permanent Injunction Order which were also submitted to the District Court.
Therefore, there is no injunction order in effect against the Fellowship at the present time. The Fellowship will keep its members apprised of any new developments, and members will be more fully informed in the next Liberty Tree.
For the latest motions by all parties and decisions by the Court, please visit http://www.Save-a-Patriot.org and click on the link to the Complaint and then the link to the Complete Docket.
Kotmair filed on Dec 13th: Motion to Alter/Amend Judgment and for a New Trial and filed on the 14th a Motion to Stay, and on the 15th a motion with the 4th Appellate #06-2314, but the contents of that motion has not yet been published.
December 19, 2006 -- Today, Judge Nickerson of the U.S. District Court granted Defendants' motion to stay the permanent injunction order against them. This motion is granted pending the Court's decisions on the Motion for a New Trial and the Motion for Modification of the Permanent Injunction Order which were also submitted to the District Court.
As far as it goes, the announcement is correct. What it did not disclose (from Judge Nickerson's order to stay):
Although the Court has not had the opportunity to fully consider the motion for new trial as it is not yet ripe, the Court can say with some certainty that it will be denied. Defendants raise the same arguments in that motion that were raised and fully considered in the cross motions for summary judgment. The motion for modification of the injunction order is also not yet ripe, and the government has yet to respond. This motion, however, might prove to have some merit, particularly as it relates to assisting Defendants in discerning what is protected political speech and what is prohibited false commercial speech.1
1That said, the Court notes that much of Defendants' "confusion" results from their own intentional ignorance and obfuscation. As noted in the memorandum resolving the cross motions for summary judgment, Defendants continue to tout their chimerical theories despite the consistent rejection of those theories by all courts to have considered them. Nov. 29, 2006 Memorandum Opinion at 12 ("just because courts have followed that course of conduct does not make it valid," quoting SAPF's Opp. to Pl.'s Mot. for Summ. J. 28 n.67).
While Defendants are unlikely to succeed on the ultimate merits of their claims, they may be entitled to some minor modifications or clarifications of this Court's injunction.
Do you not find it troubling that Kotmair is not more forthcoming with the facts on these rulings?
For the latest motions by all parties and decisions by the Court, please visit http://www.Save-a-Patriot.org and click on the link to the Complaint and then the link to the Complete Docket.
Except they haven't actually updated anything as of this post - nothing since Sept 11th.
I don't want to give an in depth reply as I want to spend the time composing a
summary of the events for my own mailing list to bring everyone up to date in
general layman terms.
SAPF's webmaster is a volunteer who works for free so
we can't be picky with the updates to the site, but as of this writing it has
motions posted dating up to 12/19. No I'm not troubled with Kotmair not being
forthcoming. I must point out your question on that point was loaded, as it
presumes Kotmair has not been forthcoming. I disagree.
But what isn't
mentioned in any motion yet posted (we don't yet have that to post) was an
Emergency Supervisor writ to the 4th circuit "against" Judge Nickerson. I'm not
certain of the formal name of the writ, and I understand it's very rarely used,
but we do believe that this stay was issued by Nickerson as result of that writ,
and that that may account for Nickerson's biased wording of the stay, suggesting
that it's granting was little more than a formality that will just briefly delay
the inevitable.
I frankly didn't think the stay would be issued so I'm happy
for the good guys today.