Defendant LaNette Samuels-Cooper’s attorney filed a despositive motion last night based on the grounds of statute 7-17-530, 560, and 520. He states the plaintiff failed to exhaust administrative remedies that were available. Coroner Bucky Mock did not file a formal protest with the Democratic Party by noon on the Monday following the vote. A previous case, which was appealed at the supreme court level, implied the plaintiff would be required to file the protest prior to being heard before a circuit court. Mock's attorney, stated he had no notice of this motion until 9 am this morning and no notice to prepare a rebuttal. However, he states the constitution gives authority to the court for injunction hearings, which is the basis of this case. He referred 3 cases involving coroner cases from 2016 in which statue 7-17-530, and 560 was not raised and the court ruled it had jurisdiction. He also reminded Judge Cothran he had ruled on one of these cases. Cothran chose to retire to chambers for a brief recess to consider the validity of the motion.
ML will update as details become available.
