LiveWire

A post by Pat

The Arkansas legal system was unnecessarily burdened to spend time and money on a preposterous lawsuit. Two of them in fact.

A state worker did his job properly by denying a driver’s license renewal for an illegal immigrant when she could not produce proper ID. The woman, her husband and her son sued. They claimed requiring proof of legal immigration for a driver’s license is unconstitutional.

The Benton County Circuit Court dismissed the lawsuit. However, the reason for dismissal was not that the plaintiffs are here illegally, had a hell of a nerve to pull this kind of crap and will be deported in the morning. It was dismissed on the technical point that the family opted to use pseudonyms in the lawsuit.

It didn’t stop there. The “Does” (John, Jane and Junior) appealed the case to the Arkansas Supreme Court. They claimed they were entitled to use fake names in the lawsuit against the State because they are here illegally. I guess they realized that’s an awkward fact when you’re asserting constitutional rights. The Arkansas Supreme Court Justices didn’t buy it. This case was dismissed too.

Court: Undocumented aliens can’t bring lawsuits anonymously

LITTLE ROCK — Unlawful immigration status is not sufficient reason to allow a plaintiff in a lawsuit to hide behind anonymity, the state Supreme Court ruled today.

The state’s highest court rejected an appeal filed by a family of undocumented aliens who argued that they should have been allowed to proceed with a lawsuit in Benton County under the names John, Jane and Junior Doe.

The family filed the lawsuit against Richard Weiss, director of the state Department of Finance and Administration, after “Jane Doe” tried to renew her driver’s license and was turned down because she could not produce proof of her lawful immigration status.

The lawsuit alleged that the state law requiring a person to provide proof of lawful immigration status before obtaining an Arkansas driver’s license or identification card is unconstitutional.

A Benton County circuit judge gave the plaintiffs 30 days to identify themselves. They refused, and the judge dismissed the case in July.

JOHN, JANE, & JUNIOR DOE, APPELLANTS, VS. RICHARD WEISS

Appellants, John, Jane, and Junior Doe, appeal the order of the Benton County Circuit Court dismissing their complaint against appellee Richard Weiss, in his capacity as Director of the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, after they failed to amend their complaint with their real names as the parties in interest. The Does argue on appeal that the circuit court erred by not allowing them to proceed anonymously by the use of pseudonyms.

There is a brief flash of common sense which actually touches on the truly pertinent issue.

I’ve heard – heard your arguments, Mr. Balla, and I can see why people in this situation, illegal immigrants, might – if they had their druthers or their preferences might want to proceed under the radar without their names being known, but – but in a case such as this I fail to see why – why that should be done.

If their allegations [are true,] they’re not able to get a driver’s license and it goes to their qualifications to receive a driver’s license, I think that the State is entitled to know if there is, in fact, a justiciable controversy. How are they – they going to defend an action when they don’t know who it is and when they attempted to get a driver’s license and what their qualifications were or were not at the time they sought to get a driver’s license?

That, as far as I can determine, is the end of the story. It shouldn’t be. There is no mention of any follow up action against John, Jane and Junior Doe. They’re probably still in Arkansas and still driving using whatever names they feel like using today.

All this legalistic laboring for a trifling side issue to the flashing neon lights fact these people are here illegally.