Court Says No Time Limit on Response

The Redistricting Board has put up documents for today's (Tuesday) meeting (See details below.)  They include the agenda, which I posted Friday. 

Also up are the Dec. 28 Supreme Court Decision and the Board's petition to reconsider that decision, which was to have the Board start all over from scratch. 

There is also the ten page  Legal Memorandum, which is addressed to the Board and explains the Court's decision.  I have to confess I read it while rocking a baby in my arms (she's sleeping on my lap now as I type) and trying to get her to burp.  I even read some of it out loud to her, thinking it might put her to sleep, but she listened attentively. 

So I confess, I may have missed some important points, but the only new information I saw was in the conclusion.  Unfortunately, many of these documents are in a pdf format that I can't cut and paste from, so I have to retype them or give them in image form, which can't be read by sight impaired readers. 

Anyway, here's the stuff that was new to me.  From the conclusion:

"The Court has not yet ruled on the Board's Petition for Rehearing.  The clerk's office has indicated the Court is still considering whether or not to grant the Board's request for a rehearing and revision of its opinion.68  Pursuant to Appellate Rule 506, the Riley Plaintiffs are not permitted to file a response or opposition to the Board's Petition for Rehearing unless the Court expressly allows it.  The Riley Plaintiffs' attorney has informally requested such an opportunity, but the Court has not granted them permission.69"

68 Our office contacted the Alaska Supreme Court on January 29, 2013, to inquire as to whether a Petition for Rehearing is deemed denied after a certain amount of time, similar to a Motion for Reconsideration before a trial court which is deemed denied after thirty (30) days with no ruling from the court.   See Alaska R. Civ P 77(k)(4).  We were later informed that no such rule exists for a Petition for Rehearing and advised we would need to be patient as the Court is not required to make a decision on the Petition for Rehearing within any set time frame.  Moreover, we were advised that the Court was still deciding whether to entertain the Board's Petition for Rehearing and/or whether to allow the Riley Plaintiffs an opportunity to respond.

69 Mr. Walleri [the Plaintiffs' attorney] informed Nicole Corr [who co-signed the Board's petition for reconsideration] during a telephone conversation that he had contacted the clerk's office soon after the Board filed its Petition for Rehearing and requested an opportunity to respond.  The Riley Plaintiffs did not file a formal written response.

The meeting is at 10am Alaska Time February 12, 2013 at the Board's office

411 W 4th Avenue, Suite 302
Anchorage, AK 99501

or, like me, you can listen in through the Alaska Legislature online link.