Question for DU legal eagles--

[lastlib]

Could a federal court issue a mandamus to Emily Murphy, ordering her to find that Biden is the PE?
If Biden team took the matter to court?

[gopiscrap]

1. yes but trumpy could take it to SCOTUS

and they would probably delay hearing it so it wouldn't be enforceable until after the inauguration which would make it moot. they would do this so they could reward him, but pass the buck on actually making a decision. By issuing a stay of the lower court it would in effect do trumps bidding for him anyway with out the blow back by making an unpopular decision

[onenote]

2. In theory, yes. In reality, no.

Does a court have the power to issue a writ of mandamus to make someone perform an action they are legally obligated to perform? Yes. But because the Transition Act vests discretion in the GSA Administrator as to when and how to ascertain whether a candidate is the "apparent" successful candidate for president, it is unlikely that a court would issue the extraordinary writ of mandamus in that situation.

[edhopper]

3. The Trump Administration

hs refused to comply with every Court ruling against them.
There is no enforcement authority, so not worth the paper.

[Ms. Toad]

4. Not really.

Pretty much the same as has already been said.

The basic problem is the rule is too fuzzy. You have to have a right to what you are asking to be mandated. That means it has to be pretty well defined (this is not), and the evidence has to establish it as met the criteria (pretty hard to meet fuzzy criteria), not subject to discretion (this is),

[Laelth]

5. Not exactly.

Emily Murphy doesn’t have the power (in her official duties) to “find” that Biden is President-Elect. Only the Electoral College has that power. The Court won’t order Emily Murphy to do something that she lacks the power to do.

Now, if the Court wanted to stick its neck out, the Court, itself, could “find” that Biden is President-Elect, and then it could order Murphy to release transition funds. Releasing said funds IS within her power and is one of her official duties, but the Court is unlikely to do this because it’s clearly the purview of the Electoral College, and not the Court, to declare our President-Elect.

-Laelth

[PoliticAverse]

6. The Presidential Transition Act specifically says...

that the President-elect is "as ascertained by the Administrator" so she is given the power to determine that.

“(c) The terms ‘President-elect’ and ‘Vice-President-elect’ as used in this Act shall mean such persons as are the apparent successful candidates for the office of President and Vice President, respectively, as ascertained by the Administrator following the general elections held to determine the electors of President and Vice President in accordance with title 3, United States Code, sections 1 and 2.