A Superior Court judge has refused to give the Legislative Council a preliminary injunction over a series of commission and other executive appointments that the Legislature never confirmed.
The 94 appointments the governor made, including the commissioner of Revenue, had not been approved by the Legislature when it gaveled out in May of 2020.
Technically, those appointments were to expire at the end of the year. But Dunleavy kept them. The lawsuit was to determine if he had the right to keep them, even though the Legislature did not perform its duty of holding confirmation votes.
Judge Pallenberg said that keeping the appointees in place has not caused irreparable harm to the authority of the Legislature, as the Legislative Council had claimed. Nor have any of the appointees committed some egregious act that has harmed the public welfare, and they’re not likely to over the next 11 days, before the Legislature convenes again.
“The injury complained of is an abstract one,” Pallenberg wrote of the Legislative Council’s argument.
“I am also not persuaded that this harm to the Legislature would exceed the harm that would result to the executive branch if the court abruptly removes 94 people from office, nor that the executive branch can be adequately protected against this harm,” Pallenberg wrote. The preliminary injunction was denied, but the case still remains to be decided by the court.
I guess Bryce turning his back on his work isn’t a valid excuse. Perhaps fire the legislature for not doing their job.
The legislators didn’t do their jobs as usual, then tried to blame someone else.
It’s always good to see a judge use good judgment.
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