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<DIV><FONT size=2>Whores.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=thansen@moscow.com href="mailto:thansen@moscow.com">Tom Hansen</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=vision2020@moscow.com
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">Moscow Vision 2020</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, April 08, 2011 5:54
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [Vision2020] Idahoans to Pay for
GOP Lawsuit</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>Courtesy of today's (April 8, 2011)
Spokesman-Review.<BR><BR>---------------------------------------------------------<BR><BR>Public
to pay for GOP suit<BR>Lawmakers vote $100,000 to pay attorney
fees<BR><BR>BOISE - Idaho lawmakers rushed through a bill to pay $100,000 to
the Idaho<BR>Republican Party - to which 81 percent of them belong - in the
final days<BR>of this year's legislative session, to cover the party's
attorney fees in<BR>its successful primary election lawsuit against the
state.<BR><BR>Though it's not uncommon for prevailing parties to get their
legal fees<BR>paid in a federal civil rights case, what's unusual is how the
Idaho GOP<BR>set up its fee arrangement with its attorney - a rare "contingent
fee"<BR>deal in which only the taxpayers would have to pay, not the
party,<BR>regardless of the outcome.<BR><BR>"It was not something they had to
do," said John Strait, a law professor<BR>at Seattle University School of Law
and an expert on federal court<BR>litigation. "The Republicans decided they
would rather have him paid out<BR>of taxpayer money, and they set it up that
way."<BR><BR>Idaho Republican Party Chairman Norm Semanko declined repeated
requests<BR>for comment on why the party chose that route. The party's
executive<BR>director, Jonathan Parker, said, "It's my understanding that it's
standard<BR>operating procedure for court cases like this." He said Semanko
had<BR>nothing to say beyond that.<BR><BR>The oddity drew plenty of opposition
as the bill careened through the<BR>House and Senate, with not only every
legislative Democrat but but also<BR>nine GOP House members and three
Republican senators opposing the payment.<BR><BR>"I have to point out, we're
paying $100,000 for the Republican Party to<BR>sue the Republican Legislature,
defended by the Republican secretary of<BR>state, in order to close primaries
in Idaho - I just think this is so bad<BR>it's comical," said Sen. Elliot
Werk, D-Boise.<BR><BR>Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, who voted against the
bill, said, "They<BR>weren't forced to submit that bill . and I found it
insulting that they<BR>did that. I don't believe it's appropriate that the
taxpayers pay that<BR>money."<BR><BR>Keough noted that when the party held its
convention in Sandpoint in 2008,<BR>a majority of the attendees voted against
closing the GOP primary. But<BR>then the party's central committee moved
forward anyway, and sued the<BR>state; party rules now require the GOP primary
in Idaho to be closed to<BR>anyone other than registered party
members.<BR><BR>Because Idaho's never had party registration, that's forcing a
re-do of<BR>the state's entire primary election system; GOP-backed legislation
now<BR>awaiting the governor's signature would force all Idahoans to
publicly<BR>declare their party preference for the first time.<BR><BR>Keough
said, "I remain disturbed that even while in essence shutting out<BR>the
public, they asked the public to pay for it."<BR><BR>The Idaho GOP's lawyer,
Christ Troupis of Eagle, who didn't return a call<BR>for comment Thursday,
filed an affidavit with the federal court stating<BR>that he's represented the
party on a "contingent fee" basis in the case<BR>since 2008. "My fee agreement
with the Idaho Republican Party and Chairman<BR>Norm Semanko was for a
contingent fee, comprised of whatever sum was<BR>awarded by this Court in the
event that the Plaintiffs were successful in<BR>prosecuting their claims in
this action," he wrote.<BR><BR>In the affidavit, he said his total fees and
costs came to $143,880. The<BR>state negotiated and got that lowered to
$100,000 in a settlement, and the<BR>two sides filed a stipulation with the
court agreeing to the figure. On<BR>Tuesday, after the $100,000 payment bill
already had passed the Senate,<BR>U.S. District Judge Lynn Winmill issued an
order granting the stipulation.<BR><BR>Jeffry Finer, a Spokane attorney with
26 years of federal civil rights<BR>litigation experience, said, "Judges
typically award fees in civil rights<BR>cases."<BR><BR>"The losing side could
really be rational and say . negotiate these fees<BR>and get 'em paid, we
don't want to go to court - the judge could hit us<BR>even worse," he said.
"And while we fight, the meter's running."<BR><BR>Finer called the settlement
over the amount "impressive," saying, "Getting<BR>almost a third of it knocked
off ain't bad," and said the fees aren't<BR>extraordinarily high for the type
of litigation involved.<BR><BR>Contingent fee arrangements, however, are rare
in civil rights cases like<BR>this one, which challenged a state law, rather
than seeking money damages.<BR>They're more typical in cases in which someone
is suing for cash damages -<BR>the lawyer takes a gamble that he'll win the
case, and get paid only a<BR>percentage of those winnings, typically anywhere
from 25 to 45 percent.<BR><BR>Strait called the arrangement "unusual in that
type of case."<BR><BR>He said, "In terms of whether they're entitled to it,
the statute says<BR>that they are." But, he said, they "didn't have to ask for
it."<BR><BR>House Minority Leader John Rusche, D-Lewiston, said, "As a citizen
I just<BR>am really upset by this - paying the Republican Party to sue the
state of<BR>Idaho to make it more difficult for citizens to vote in the
primary. Just<BR>listen to what we're doing. . The plaintiffs did not have to
request money<BR>from the state coffers, the Republican Party chose to. . I
think that's<BR>just unconscionable."<BR><BR>The bill, SB 1202, is now
awaiting action by GOP Idaho Gov. Butch
Otter.<BR><BR>-------------------<BR><BR>Senate Bill 1202<BR><BR>Status<BR><A
href="http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/legislation/2011/S1202.htm">http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/legislation/2011/S1202.htm</A><BR><BR>Text<BR><A
href="http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/legislation/2011/S1202.pdf">http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/legislation/2011/S1202.pdf</A><BR><BR>---------------------------------------------------------<BR><BR>Seeya
round town, Moscow.<BR><BR>Tom Hansen<BR>Moscow, Idaho<BR><BR>"The Pessimist
complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to<BR>changeand the Realist
adjusts his sails."<BR><BR> -
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