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Petition For Writ of Mandamus - SC16-2031
Petition For Writ of Mandamus - SC16-2031
NEIL J. GILLESPIE,
NEIL J. GILLESPIE FOR PRESIDENT,
Petitioners,
SC16-2031
PETITION NO. ____________
in forma pauperis
v.
SECRETARY OF STATE KEN DETZNER,
Floridas Chief Election Officer,
Respondent.
____________________________________ /
Petition the Supreme Court of Florida, in forma pauperis, for a writ of mandamus
directing Secretary of State Ken Detzner, Floridas Chief Election Officer, to
disqualify all candidates for president of the United States (executive branch) who
are lawyer members of the bar, and officers of the court (judicial branch), under the
Florida Constitution, Article II, Section 3, Branches of Government, and the
separation of powers of the Constitution of the United States; and Amendment 22
of the U.S. Constitution as to Hillary Rodham Clinton.
2.
branch of government running as candidates for president of the United States, part
of the executive branch of government.
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in candidates for President and Vice President, with states and/or jurisdictions that
do not have equivalent write-in rules. Kristi Reid Bronson, Chief, Division of
Elections, denied my Florida write-in candidacy as untimely submitted.
5.
JURISDICTION
(8) May issue writs of mandamus and quo warranto to state officers and state
agencies.
RULE 9.030(a) Jurisdiction of Supreme Court, Fla. R. App. Pro.
(3) Original Jurisdiction. The supreme court may issue writs of prohibition
to courts and all writs necessary to the complete exercise of its jurisdiction,
and may issue writs of mandamus and quo warranto to state officers and
state agencies. The supreme court or any justice may issue writs of habeas
corpus returnable before the supreme court or any justice, a district court of
appeal or any judge thereof, or any circuit judge.
PARTIES
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Officer under Fla. Stat. 97.012, Secretary of State as chief election officer.
STANDING TO PETITION OR SUE
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The Petitioners Gillespie and Gillespie For President have standing to bring
this petition as a candidate for president, and as the principal campaign committee.
PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS
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and shows,
THIS IS TO CERTIFY that at the National Convention of the Democratic
Party of the United States of America. held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on
July 25 through 29, 2016, the following were duly nominated as candidates
of said Party for President and Vice President of the United States
respectively, and that the following are legally qualified to serve as President
and Vice President of the United States respectively under the applicable
provisions of the United States Constitution:
For President of the United States
Hillary Rodham Clinton
15 Old House Lane
Chappaqua, NY 10514
For Vice President of the United States
Timothy Michael Kaine
1515 Confederate
Ave Richmond, VA 23227
and is signed under oath/notarized July 29, 2016 by,
Representative Marcia Fudge
Chair, Democratic National Convention
Of the two major parties, Democratic and Republican, there are three
lawyers in the presidential race: Hillary Rodham Clinton, Tim Kaine, and Mike
Pence. Donald Trump is not a lawyer.
It is unconstitutional for a lawyer (judicial branch) to be president of the
United States (executive branch) because it would violate separation of powers.
Separation of powers is inferred in the U.S. Constitution,
Article I - Legislative Branch
Article II - Executive Branch
Article III - Judicial Branch
Separation of powers is clearly expressed in Florida law,
ARTICLE II, GENERAL PROVISIONS, of the Florida Constitution,
SECTION 3. Branches of government.The powers of the state
government shall be divided into legislative, executive and judicial branches.
No person belonging to one branch shall exercise any powers appertaining to
either of the other branches unless expressly provided herein.
Admission to the bar is for life, and beyond.
The practice of law is unlike any other profession. Only the legal profession
is self-regulated. Once a person is admitted to the practice of law, by passing the
bar exam, passing character and fitness, and admission to the bar by the supreme
court of the lawyers state, the person becomes, inter alia, an officer of the court.
Classification of lawyers admitted to the state regulatory bar may include,
Members in Good Standing
Conditionally Admitted Members
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Inactive Members
Delinquent members
Suspended members
Disbarred members, with right to reapply
Disbarred members, disbarred for life
Retired members
Deceased members
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"Its not the Mafia. Not the Medellin drug cartelThe members are all
lawyers. And the organization is the American legal profession." (Pages 2324) Malice Aforethought
C-Span Interview on YouTube with Dave Marston, author of Malice
Aforethought, How Lawyers Use Our Secret Rules to Get Rich, Get Even and
Get Away with It (1991), video link: https://youtu.be/AV7xfWw0zr0
Broad Issue Paper - Separation of Powers - The Florida Bar (Exhibit 10)
https://www.floridabar.org/divcom/pi/bips2001.nsf/1119bd38ae090a748525676f0053b606/c2d4411cc05f7c458525669e004dea34!OpenDocument
The Florida Bar has long maintained that this state's separation of powers
doctrine precludes legislative entry into the regulation of lawyers.
If so, separation of powers should protect the PUBLIC from lawyers
entering the presidency (executive branch) or congress (legislative branch).
Below is Section III, Background, Separation of Powers, Broad Issue Paper,
III. Background
A. United States -- Separation of Powers
The U. S. Constitution defines the power of the three main branches of the
federal government as legislative, executive and judicial.
The U.S. Constitution provides the framework for the exercise of power by
the federal government. Although the document contains no express
separation of powers provision, the constitution defines and allocates the
power of the federal government among the legislative, executive, and
judicial branches. The framers of the constitution divided the exercise of
governmental power into three branches to prevent that power from
concentrating in one body. Checks to balance the power of the other
branches are expressly provided in the constitution creating an overlap of
power among the branches. In this way, the power of each branch is limited
by giving to an equal branch one facet of another's unique power. Using
these checks, the three branches compete among themselves to keep a
relative balance of power. Therefore, each branch's exercise of its type of
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1. Legislative
U.S. Constitution Article I, Section 1: "All legislative powers herein granted
shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a
Senate and House of Representatives." Section 8 of that article enumerates
those powers which, among others, include: (1) to lay and collect taxes,
excises, imports and duties, to pay the debts and provide for the common
defense and general welfare; (2) to regulate commerce; (3) to establish
uniform laws of bankruptcy; (4) to coin money and punish counterfeiting;
(5) to establish post offices and post roads; (6) to constitute tribunals inferior
to the supreme court; (7) to declare war; (8) to raise and support armies and
to provide and maintain a Navy; (9) to make rules for the government; and
(10) to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into
execution the legislative powers and all other powers vested by the
constitution by the government of the United States or in any department or
officer thereof.
2. Executive
U.S. Constitution Article II, Section 1: "The executive power shall be vested
in a President of the United States of America." Article II, Sections 2 and 3
define those powers: (1) The president shall be commander-in-chief of the
Army and Navy of the U.S., and of the militia of the states, when called into
the actual service of the U.S.; (2) the president shall have power, by and with
the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties; (3) the president shall
have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the
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Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of their next
session; and (4) the president shall from time to time give to the Congress
information of the state of the union, and recommend to their consideration
such measures as the president shall judge necessary and expedient; the
president may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both houses or either of
them.
3. Judicial
The U.S. Constitution Article III, Section 1 reads: "The judicial power of the
United States shall be vested in one supreme court and in such inferior
courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish." Judicial
power shall extend to: all cases, in law and equity, arising under this
constitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties made, or which shall
be made, under their authority; all cases affecting ambassadors, other public
ministers and consuls; all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction;
controversies to which the United States shall be a party; controversies
between two or more states; cases between a state and citizens of another
state; cases between citizens of different states, cases between citizens of the
same state claiming lands under the grants of different states, and between a
state, or the citizens thereof, and foreign states, citizens or subjects. Judicial
power also extends to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers
and consuls, and those in which a state shall be a party, the supreme court
shall have original jurisdiction. The trial of all crimes, except in cases of
impeachment, shall be by jury. Such trial shall be held in the state where the
said crimes shall have been committed.
B. Florida -- Separation of Powers
According to the State of Florida Constitution Article II, Section 3, the
powers of the state government shall be divided into legislative, executive
and judicial branches. No person belonging to one branch shall exercise any
powers appertaining to either of the other branches unless expressly
provided.
1. Legislative
Article III Section 1 of the Florida Constitution states that the "legislative
power of the state shall be vested in a legislature of the State of Florida,
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Johnson. Garland came before the court and pleaded that the act of Congress
was a bill of attainder and an ex post facto law which unfairly punished him
for the crime for which he had been pardoned and was therefore
unconstitutional.
Decision (Wikipedia)
In a 5-4 vote the Supreme Court ruled that the law was indeed a bill of
attainder and an ex post facto law. The court ruled that Garland was beyond
the reach of punishment of any kind due to his prior presidential pardon. The
court also stated that counselors are officers of the court and not officers of
the United States, and that their removal was an exercise of judicial power
and not legislative power. The law was struck down, opening the way for
former Confederate government officials to return to positions within the
federal judiciary.
Ex parte Garland, 71 U.S. 333 (1866) Legal Information Institute (Exhibit 12)
https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/71/333
By the Judiciary Act of 1789, the Supreme Court has power to make rules
and decide upon the qualifications of attorneys.
5. Attorneys and counselors are not officers of the United States; they are
officers of the court, admitted as such by its order upon evidence of their
possessing sufficient legal learning and fair private character.
6. The order of admission is the judgment of the court that the parties
possess the requisite qualifications and are entitled to appear as attorneys
and counselors and conduct causes therein. From its entry, the parties
become officers of the court, and are responsible to it for professional
misconduct. They hold their office during good behavior, and can only be
deprived of it for misconduct ascertained and declared by the judgment of
the court after opportunity to be heard has been afforded. Their admission
and their exclusion are the exercise of judicial power. [p334]
7. The right of an attorney and counselor, acquired by his admission, to
appear for suitors and to argue causes, is not a mere indulgence -- a matter of
grace and favor -- revocable at the pleasure of the court, or at the command
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al. v. Wall, Judge would consider them as one person for judicial disqualification.
While not on point for presidential disqualification, I am not aware of any other
case(s) that address presidential disqualification due to marriage.
"Buy One, Get One Free" - Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton
Early in his first presidential campaign, Bill Clinton declared that he and his
wife were basically a bargain deal -- "buy one, get one free." (Exhibit 14)
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/clinton/chapters/1.html#5
Americas First Female President?
Laura Secorun Palet of Ozy.com challenges the claim that Hillary Rodham
Clinton would be Americas first female president if elected. (Exhibit 15)
"Sorry, Hillary Clinton, but America has already had its first (acting) female
president. Three decades before Clinton was born, Edith Wilson, Woodrow
Wilsons second wife, ran the Oval Office for 17 months. Nobody voted for
her, and she never actually referred to herself as president, but she did take
charge of many executive duties after her husband was left incapacitated by
a massive stroke."
http://www.ozy.com/flashback/americas-first-female-president-been-there-done-that/61409
The legal mind is indispensable to lawyering, but has its limitations
One of the most compelling arguments against lawyers serving as president
is found in an Article by The Honorable Dennis Jacobs, The Secret Life of Judges,
75 Fordham L. Rev. 2855 (2007). http://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/flr/vol75/iss6/4/
I sometimes think that the problem at bottom is really a lack of respect by
lawyers for other people. Judges live chiefly in a circle of lawyers. But
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outside that circle there are people who are just as fully absorbed by other
pursuits that deserve consideration and respect. Judges need a heightened
respect for how nonlawyers solve problems, reach compromises, broker
risks, and govern themselves and their institutions. There are lawyers on the
one hand; and just about everybody else is the competition in the framing of
values and standards of behavior. (par. 4-5, page 2861)
The legal mind is indispensable to lawyering, and for other purposes it is
perfectly okay in its way. But it has its limitations. For example, every
problem-solving profession except ours--quickly adopts as preferred the
solution that is simplest, cheapest, and most efficacious, or (as they say)
elegant... (par. 5, p. 2862)
As a matter of self-awareness and conscience, judges should accept that the
legal mind is not the best policy instrument, and that lawyer-driven
processes and lawyer-centered solutions can be unwise, insufficient, and
unjust, even if our friends and colleagues in the legal profession lead us that
way. For the judiciary, this would mean a reduced role, but not a diminished
one if the judiciary is elevated by considerations of honor, self-restraint, and
respect for other influences. (last par., p. 2863)
The Secret Life of Judges appears at Exhibit 16.
Conclusion
Amendment XXII, and the holding of State ex rel. Perez et al. v. Wall,
Judge, where Hillary Rodham Clinton and Bill Clinton are considered as one
person, block Hillary Rodham Clinton from the presidency in 2016.
The US Supreme Court holding in Ex parte Garland that lawyers are officers
of the court, and members of the judicial branch of government, blocks Hillary
Rodham Clinton, Tim Kaine, and Mike Pence from being president (executive
branch) because it would be an unconstitutional violation of separation of powers.
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Richard Winger of Ballot Access News wrote in a post on July 18, 2016, Seven
Presidential Candidates File to have Write-ins Counted in Florida,
Florida is the only state in which the filing deadline to file as a write-in for
president in the general election is earlier than the deadline for a new party
to get on the ballot for President. The Florida write-in filing deadline was
July 12. This year, six independent presidential candidates and one minor
party candidate filed to have write-ins counted.
The minor party nominee is Zoltan Istvan of the Transhumanist Party. Istvan
lives in Mill Valley, Califoria.
The six independents are: Laurence J. Kotlikoff of Brookline,
Massachusetts, a prominent economist; Richard Duncan of Aurora, Ohio,
who usually gets on the ballot in Ohio but no other state; Cherunda Fox of
Detroit, Michigan; Samuel Tabor of Mobeetie, Texas; Tony Valdivia of San
Antonio, Texas; and Andrew Basiago of Charlotte, North Carolina. Basiago
claims to have traveled back in time; see this story.
http://ballot-access.org/2016/07/18/seven-presidential-candidates-file-to-havewrite-ins-counted-in-florida/
An article by Ballotpedia for the 2016 presidential election, Ballot access for
presidential candidates, states,
In order to get on the ballot, a candidate for president of the United States
must meet a variety of complex, state-specific filing requirements and
deadlines. These regulations, known as ballot access laws, determine
whether a candidate or party will appear on an election ballot. These laws
are set at the state level. A presidential candidate must prepare to meet ballot
access requirements well in advance of primaries, caucuses, and the general
election.
There are three basic methods by which an individual may become a
candidate for president of the United States.
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You can write in anyone on the ballot in 10 states and Washington, D.C., the
Washington Post reports. But you will face more hurdles if you want your
write-in to count in other states.
Eight states dont even have a line for write-ins, according to the article.
Thirty-two states wont count write-ins unless a candidate is registered with
the state before the election.
The jurisdictions allowing write-ins for anyone are: Alabama, the District of
Columbia, Iowa, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wyoming.
The states that dont allow write-ins are: Arkansas, Hawaii, Louisiana,
Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina and South Dakota.
There are additional restrictions in some states, including some of those that
allow write-ins for anyone. In Mississippi, for example, write-ins wont be
considered unless a candidate on the ballot dies, resigns, withdraws or is
removed from the ballot. Some states wont allow a write-in to win unless
additional paperwork is filed after the election.
And in some states, preciseness counts. Nicknames and initials may not be
allowed.
http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/if_you_cast_a_write_in_vote_for_preside
nt_will_it_count_state_laws_differ/
The ABA Journal article, and linked Washington Post story, appear at Exhibit 18.
NATURE OF THIS PETITION
14.
The general election is today November 8, 2016. This petition was intended
to be a complaint and injunction filed in federal court a week ago, but that plan was
obstructed by the district courts refusal to allow open ECF on the PACER system.
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