The Danger Of Trying To Predict Legal Decisions

On September 26, 2012, the Connecticut Supreme Court issued a summary order in favor of the state Republican Party on its claim that its candidates were entitled to the top spot on the ballot in the upcoming elections.  The Court said that a full-fledged written decision would follow.  I foolishly dared to predict what the Court would actually say in that forthcoming decision.   Specifically, I predicted that the Court would conclude that the Republican Party had an administrative remedy–it could have sought a declaratory ruling under the Uniform Administrative Procedure Act from the Secretary of State (“SOS”)–but that pursuing that remedy would have been “futile” because the SOS had made clear that she intended to stand by her view that the Democratic Party would get the top ballot position. Read the rest of this entry »