Saturday, June 06, 2009

South Carolina Supreme Court orders Sanford to accept stimulus funds.

Thinkprogress:


After waging a months-long war against the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Gov. Mark Sanford (R-SC) lost his final battle yesterday, when the state supreme court ordered him to accept the $700 million in stimulus funds he had opposed. The court, in a unanimous decision made “with blazing fast speed,” took extra steps to try to ensure Sanford obeys their ruling:
The S.C. Supreme Court also took the rare step of issuing a writ of mandamus, which orders the governor to apply for the money. [...]

As for issuing the writ of mandamus, the other four justices said that “while we recognize and respect Governor Sanford’s sincerely held beliefs concerning (the federal law), those convictions do not alter the ministerial nature of the legal duty now before him.”

The justices added that the decision to issue a writ is “an extremely delicate one.”

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