[StBernard] Supreme Court denies St. Bernard sheriff candidateappeal

[Westley Annis]

..."I would have felt a whole lot better if they had decided to hear my case
and had given me a reason for their decision," he said." 

He's absolutely correct.  I think it's real chicken shi!! the States high
court took the easy way out of dealing with this interesting issue.

John Scurich


-----Original Message-----
Supreme Court denies St. Bernard sheriff candidate appeal by St. Bernard
bureau Thursday September 27, 2007, 3:18 PM By Paul Rioux St. Bernard bureau
The state Supreme Court has rejected an appeal filed by a candidate for St.
Bernard Parish sheriff who was disqualified for failing to meet a residency
requirement. 

Without hearing arguments, the high court on Wednesday denied a writ filed
by Barry Bernadas, a former FBI intelligence analyst disqualified because he
had not lived in St. Bernard Parish for a year as required by state law. 


Bernadas was seeking to overturn a 4th Circuit Court of Appeal ruling that
upheld his Sept. 17 disqualification by Judge Manuel Fernandez of the 34th
Judicial District in Chalmette. 

Bernadas, 45, said he is weighing strategies to get his name back on the
ballot. He said his options are not limited to a long-shot appeal to the
U.S. Supreme Court, but he declined to elaborate. 

"I haven't given up yet. It's not over for me," he said. 

Bernadas has not lived in St. Bernard Parish since Hurricane Katrina
destroyed his Meraux home more than two years ago, according to court
records. He sold the home six months after the storm and has been living
with his wife and six children in a Lakeview home he bought a little over a
year ago, the records indicate. 

Bernadas has argued the one-year residency requirement should be waived
under a state law enacted in June 2006 to protect candidates involuntarily
displaced by a declared state emergency, such as Katrina. 

But Fernandez ruled that Bernadas effectively waived his right to an
exception to the residency requirement when he sold his damaged home before
the law took effect. 

The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals panel voted 3-2 on Sept. 21 to uphold
Fernandez's ruling, prompting Bernadas to try to appeal the case to the
Supreme Court. 

His attorney, Philip Ciaccio, argued that the fact Bernadas sold his
storm-damaged home is irrelevant because the law granting exceptions for
displaced candidates does not require that they own property in the
jurisdiction they seek to represent. 

Ciaccio also said appellate Judge David Gorbaty, who voted to uphold
Bernadas' disqualification, should have been recused because his brother and
sister-in-law have close ties to Sheriff Jack Stephens, who is seeking a
seventh term in the Oct. 20 election. 

Bernadas said he was "extremely disappointed" that the high court denied his
appeal without hearing oral arguments. 

"I would have felt a whole lot better if they had decided to hear my case
and had given me a reason for their decision," he said. 

Stephens' secretary, Petrina Imbraguglio, filed a court petition Sept. 13
challenging Bernadas' candidacy. His disqualification leaves three
candidates challenging Stephens: Kirt Arnold, Larry Landry and Emile
Pellittieri.