Phone-jam suit counts thrown out

Phone-jam suit counts thrown out
Judge allows Democrats'case to continue, though

By ERIC MOSKOWITZ
Monitor staff

June 16. 2006 8:00AM

A superior court judge dismissed most of the counts in a Democratic Party lawsuit against Republicans for the 2002 phone-jamming scheme but allowed the case to proceed.

Hillsborough Superior Court Judge Philip Mangones dismissed five of the eight claims made by the state Democratic Party in a civil lawsuit related to the phone jamming, in a decision received by the parties yesterday.

On Election Day 2002, a group of Republicans plotted to jam a series of Democratic phone banks with hundreds of hang-up telephone calls, to thwart get-out-the-vote efforts. Two former Republican officials - including a high-ranking national party member - and a Republican consultant have been sentenced to federal prison for the crime. The investigation is ongoing.

In 2004, the New Hampshire Democratic Party filed a related lawsuit to recover damages and learn more about the phone jamming. Republicans asked for the suit to be dismissed. This week, Mangones ruled that the lawsuit can proceed on some of the grounds alleged by the Democrats.
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http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060616/REPOSITORY/606160367

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Associated Press
Judge Dismisses Most of Phone-Jamming Suit
By BEVERLEY WANG , 06.15.2006, 07:20 PM

A judge has dismissed most of a Democratic lawsuit against Republicans stemming from the jamming of Democratic phone lines in the November 2002 elections, a crime that led to criminal convictions against three former GOP officials.

State Democratic Chairwoman Kathy Sullivan said Thursday that a judge in Manchester dismissed five of eight claims Democrats had made in the civil lawsuit. The ruling was dated Tuesday.
(snip)

The dismissed counts alleged Republicans commited civil harassment and conspiracy, including conspiring against Democrats' constitutional rights to vote and associate. The remaining claims deal with interference with phone systems and seek compensation.
(snip)

"This is not a good day for the Republican Party," Sullivan said. "Basically what this case is about is their interference with our phone lines, and what the court has said is, 'You can continue to go forward.'"
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http://www.forbes.com/business/businesstech/feeds/ap/2006/06/15/ap2819265.html

The conspiracy charge may have been the hardest to prove for all I know, but I was hoping for the whole enchilada.