Judge: Obama eligible to be Georgia candidate

http://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-politics-elections/judge-obama-eligible-to-1330300.html

Judge: Obama eligible to be Georgia candidate

By Bill Rankin

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

5:42 p.m. Friday, February 3, 2012

A state administrative law judge on Friday flatly rejected challenges seeking to keep President Barack Obama from being a candidate in next month's Georgia primary.

In a 10-page order, Judge Michael Malihi dismissed one challenge that contended Obama has maintained a Hawaiian birth certificate that is a computer-generated forgery, has a fraudulent Social Security number and invalid U.S. identification papers. He also turned back another that claimed the president is not a natural born citizen.

Last month, Malihi heard testimony and took evidence in a hearing boycotted by Obama's lawyer.

With regard to the challenge that Obama does not have legitimate birth and identification documents, Malihi said he found the testimony presented by lawyers of the so-called "birther" movement and their evidence "to be of little, if any, probative value and thus wholly insufficient to support plaintiffs' allegations."

A number of the witnesses who testified about the alleged fraud were never qualified as experts in birth records, forged documents and document manipulation, Malihi wrote. "None of the testifying witnesses provided persuasive testimony," he wrote.

The other claim contended that Obama was ineligible to run in Georgia's primary because his is not a natural born U.S. citizen because his father was never a U.S. citizen. But Malihi said he agreed with a 2009 ruling by the Indiana Court of Appeals decision that struck down a similar challenge.

Obama "became a citizen at birth and is a natural born citizen," Malihi wrote. Accordingly, Obama is eligible as a candidate for the upcoming presidential primary in March, the judge said.

Malihi's finding goes to Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp, who will make the final determination.

Even though Malihi ruled in Obama's favor, he expressed displeasure with the fact that the president's lawyer, Michael Jablonski of Atlanta, refused to attend the recent hearing.

"By deciding this matter on the merits, the court in no way condones the conduct or legal scholarship of defendant's attorney, Mr. Jablonski," Malihi wrote. "This decision is entirely based on the law, as well as the evidence and legal arguments presented at the hearing."

 

http://blogs.ajc.com/jay-bookman-blog/2012/02/03/judge-soundly-rejects-ga-birther-claims/

Judge soundly rejects Ga. birther claims



Deputy Chief Judge Michael Malihi has rendered his judgment, breaking birther hearts all over the country: Barack Obama will remain on the 2012 primary and general election ballot in Georgia.

The judge’s written opinion all but drips with scorn for the absurd case presented to him by Orly Taitz and her colleagues:

“The Court finds the testimony of the witnesses, as well as the exhibits tendered, to be of little, if any, probative value, and thus wholly insufficient to support plaintiffs’ allegations…. None of the testifying witnesses offered persuasive testimony. Moreover, the Court finds that none of the written submissions tendered by plaintiffs have probative value. Given the unsatisfactory evidence presented by the plaintiffs, the court concludes the plaintiffs’ claims are not persuasive.”

In other words, the birthers finally got a judge to listen to their “evidence,” and even with no opposing counsel in the courtroom, the judge concluded that their case was total and complete bunk.

 

Hi Jem

 

Well, the judge hasn't really defined if the term "natural born" means a person was born out of vagina.

So, we need to the USSC to define that and we need the president to prove he came out of one.

/sarcasm

 

I cannot believe we are still discussing this issue.

Oh, and hello to the previous poster who is obviously the latest sockpuppet to join the club.

 

I cannot believe we are told not to discuss this issue.

Oh, and hello to the previous poster who is obviously the long time bully since he was a kid.

 

Obvious and expected result. As you guys say 'nothing new here.'



c

 

Not to everyone

 

I understand AK. I just think that the right can make better arguments against Obama, if they like, and should stop all this silliness.

I said the same thing when the left was going after Bush and the Supreme Court for taking the election. Get over it I said then, and say the same thing now.



c

 

So was I wrong, then?