Judge Keeps Correcting Kobach Lawyers On Trial Procedure

[DonViejo]

By Tierney Sneed | March 7, 2018 5:29 pm

KANSAS CITY, KANSAS — As Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach defends his state’s proof-of-citizenship voter registration law in court, his team is having some issues following trial procedure.

On multiple occasions, U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson has interrupted questioning to walk Kobach and his crew of lawyers through the intricacies of moves such as admitting evidence and asking witnesses about previous depositions. Robinson, an appointee of President George W. Bush, has even instructed Kansas’ attorneys on the correct ways to phrase their questions.

Rather than rely on the representation of the Kansas Attorney General’s office, Kobach has opted to represent himself, with the assistance of other attorneys in his office. They haven’t exactly given the impression of crack litigators.

The first hang-up occurred even before the opening statements Tuesday, when Kobach sought to introduce a demonstrative exhibit. Lawyers for the ACLU objected, as they had only been emailed the exhibit at 10:43 p.m. the night before, well after a 24-hour deadline before trial started that the judge imposed.

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https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/kobach-judge-lecture-trial-procedure

[Eliot Rosewater]

1. It is tough to know procedure when you have dedicated your life and spare time to stop black

people from voting.

[Fred Sanders]

2. Or you do not give two fucks about the rule of law and supremacy of courts on constitutional issues.

[Gothmog]

8. A lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client

Kobach is an idiot

[Ilsa]

3. Hasn't the judge heard?

Rules aren't for Republicans, even procedure is for little people, not them.

[longship]

4. TPM's Tierney Sneed nails this one!

Josh Marshall has a really good group of reporters. Sneed is one of the best.

[Hassler]

5. Did the judge address Kobach as Shit Sandwich?

[ProudLib72]

6. Mistrial! Incompetence!

I'm calling it right now.

[Gothmog]

9. This concept does not apply to civil trials

[ProudLib72]

10. Mistrial for evidence being admitted improperly

There, that is just another way of saying Kobach is incompetent.

[Gothmog]

7. This is now my favorite soap opera

Train wrecks are fun to watch and this trial is amazing. TPM has a live blog of the trial that is giving me a great deal of amusement https://talkingpointsmemo.com/kobach-voting-rights-trial/live-updates

Link to tweet

[Gothmog]

11. The Kobach Voting Rights Trial: Live Updates

Today, my new soap opera was really amusing https://talkingpointsmemo.com/kobach-voting-rights-trial/live-updates

3/8, 5:22 p.m. CT – Judge goes off on Kobach: Judge Julie Robinson has repeatedly had to instruct Kris Kobach’s legal team on the trial procedure. By Thursday afternoon, when Kobach’s lawyers tried to admit evidence she had previously blocked them from submitting, Robinson had had enough.

The proposed evidence was the number of suspended voters, a number Kobach’s team says in dynamic. They had blown a deadline previously when they tried to submit it on Monday. But that didn’t stop Kobach’s team from trying to introduce the new numbers while attorney Garrett Roe was questioning Bryan Caskey, an elections official in the secretary of state’s office.

“When do we close the door, Mr. Kobach?” Robinson said, her voice raised. “The bottom line, you have to cut off the evidence at some point.”

Kansas needed to stick to the evidence it had provided to the opposing counsel by the deadline, Robinson said.

“That’s not fair,” Robinson added, about introducing new numbers in the midst of a trial. “That’s ambush.”

Kobach himself tried to make the case for entering the numbers. But Robinson didn’t want to hear it.

“No, no that’s not how trials are conducted,” she lectured Kobach. She noted that for two years while the case was being litigated, Kobach’s never sought to update the initial numbers, until the eve of the trial.

Then Sue Becker, another lawyer for Kansas, took a turn to try to defend introducing the numbers.

“No, let me finish,” Robinson said.

This judge is really pissed at Kobach

[Gothmog]

12. This comment from the Kansas AG office makes me smile

Link to tweet

[Gothmog]

13. This trial is my new soap opera

Link to tweet