No Decision In Ballot Line Lawsuit; More Legal Briefs Due Next Week To Supreme Court

The State Supreme Court is asking for more information concerning the Republican Party’s lawsuit over which party will be listed first on the ballot this November.

The request for more legal briefs means that a decision on the case will not be made at least until next week.

The state’s highest court made the request to both sides in the case, asking the lawyers to answer two questions that were not sufficiently answered during the oral arguments at the court on Wednesday. The court directed the lawyers to file supplemental legal briefs, but the justices noted that they should not exceed 15 pages.

The court asked, “Did the plaintiff, the Republican Party of Connecticut, have an available administrative remedy in the present case? If so, did the plaintiff’s failure to exhaust that administrative remedy deprive the trial court of subject matter jurisdiction over the plaintiff’s declaratory judgment action?”

The briefs are due to the high court at 5 p.m. Monday.

The case is Republican Party of Connecticut vs. Denise Merrill, Secretary of the State.