Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray seeks to intervene in the lawsuit challenging the state’s near-total abortion ban.
Gray, along with Reps. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams (R-Cody), Chip Neiman (R-Hulett) and Right to Life Wyoming, filed to join the case and defend the ban. Rodriguez-Williams, Neiman and RTLW failed to sway the same judge with a similar request last November amid a challenge to the state’s previous ban.
Why it matters
It’s unusual for secretaries of state to insert themselves into such legal matters, former Secretary of State Max Maxfield told the Casper Star Tribune.
Gray has a unique interest in this case because of his past work to restrict abortions during his time in the Wyoming Legislature, the filing argues. It also noted his office’s role as custodian for legislative acts and his role as Gov. Mark Gordon’s successor should Gordon be unable to continue his work.
If Ninth District Court Judge Melissa Owens grants any of the requestors intervenor status, they could present their own evidence and legal reasoning for why they believe the law is Constitutional.
History
This new lawsuit is stacked with familiar groups.
The plaintiffs include a coalition of women and health care providers who had also filed suit over the last abortion ban. The defendants — which include the state, governor and attorney general — are also the same.
The lawsuit over the previous ban was scheduled for a hearing in Jackson late this year, but the ban itself was replaced by House Bill 152 – Life is a Human Right Act, making the previous case moot.
Gordon let HB 152 go into effect without his signature last month. In a March 17 letter explaining his decision, Gordon said that he had concerns about the law’s ability to withstand legal scrutiny without a change to the state constitution.
Plaintiffs had filed the current suit challenging the law’s constitutionality and requesting a temporary restraining order before Gordon even announced his decision not to veto or sign the measure.
The four potential intervenors tried to submit an amicus brief on behalf of the new law before an initial March 22 hearing, but Owens declined that attempt and put a temporary restraining order on the law.
That leaves most abortion legal in Wyoming.
Excluding Gray, the group of intervenors had also tried to get involved in the lawsuit over the previous ban. However, Owens ruled last November that they hadn’t proven direct, substantial and “legally protectable” interests — a test Owens said was used by the Tenth Circuit Court.
The group appealed that decision to the Supreme Court, which was formally dismissed last week at the request of the intervenors.
The original text of HB 152, specifically stated that sponsors and cosponsors have the right to intervene in lawsuits like this one. That would have included Rodriguez-Williams and Nieman, but the Senate stripped that provision shortly before passage.
Who said what
“The Court cannot find any caselaw or statutes providing legislators with a legal right to intervene on the basis of being sponsors or co-sponsors of a particular bill,” Owens stated last year when denying the intervenors’ request in the previous lawsuit.
“The Court finds that interests founded on the Legislator’s personal convictions are not different from any Wyoming citizen’s interest in seeing legislation enacted that promotes the health, welfare, and safety of Wyoming’s citizens.”
Owens also found that neither Right to Life Wyoming nor the lawmakers would be forced to stop their work because of the outcome of this lawsuit.
The Court cannot find any caselaw or statutes providing legislators with a legal right to intervene on the basis of being sponsors or co-sponsors of a particular bill.
Melissa Owens, Ninth District Court Judge in Jackson
Plaintiffs contended last year that extra information from the intervenors wouldn’t add anything, but would complicate and delay litigation. Owens agreed, stating, “Permitting the Applicants to intervene would unduly delay the adjudication of the rights of the parties.”
The new group of four potential intervenors has stated in their filings that the defendants’ arguments to date — including in the hearing on March 22 — have not adequately represented the applicants’ positions and demonstrate that their interests won’t be fully represented.
“If their motion to intervene is denied, the Legislators, the Secretary of State, and RTLW will be unable to defend their particular interests, and they will be unable to bring their unique perspective, knowledge, and evidence to this Court,” the filing states.
Attorneys for the potential intervenors, who work for the conservative Christian advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom, also advocated for their clients on the ADF website.
“Secretary Gray, Reps. Rodriguez-Williams and Neiman, and Right to Life of Wyoming are seeking to preserve the lives of unborn children and the wellbeing of their mothers. We urge the court to allow them to help defend Wyoming’s duly enacted law,” ADF Senior Counsel Denise Harle stated.
Wondering if the SOS and these Legislators are using their own time and money to lobby the court? It would be totally inappropriate for them to use state funds or time in support of their personal agenda (the Legislature doesn’t even allow state employees to email them from a state email account or during working hours). If ADF is paying their bill, should it be listed in financial disclosure statements?
The ability…”to bring their unique perspective, knowledge, and evidence…” in reality means no person who has not had an abortion should be allowed to participate. Without direct experience of this medical procedure, anything, in particular a man, has to contribute is hearsay.
Gray and the others have no material interest in the litigation that would qualify them as intervenors. Judge Owens made the correct decision last year and that ruling should stand.
Did anyone interview the men responsible for the pregnancies and give them lessons on prevention and charges against them. Exposure in the local paper would be a punishment for repeat offenders.
Chucky need to stay in his office and
Figure out how to fix the mess he made.
Hopefully nothing ever happens to Gordon because then Chucky would be in charge. I am sure Chucky will probably make a run for governor next go round.
Hopefully next time around the fine people of Wyoming will not believe his lies and deception
Gotta love the comment from the Alliance Defending Freedom’s Senior Counsel Denise Harle: “Secretary Gray, Reps. Rodriguez-Williams and Neiman, and Right to Life of Wyoming are seeking to preserve the lives of unborn children and the wellbeing of their mothers.” Unborn children? Not really, Denise. Fetal tissue at 7 weeks is a loose sphere of cells barely 3/4″ in diameter. Wellbeing of mothers? Is ADF also pushing Wyoming to endorse expanded Medicaid. We are one of only 10 states without it. And what an oxymoronic name: Allliance Defending Freedom. Whose freedom is being defended? Freedom for religious groups to discriminate; freedom for religious groups to foist their values on others?
Fetal tissue at 7 weeks contains the genetic plan and material for a unique and unrepeatable human person. That is scientific fact. The reason that conservative lawmakers and officials are so involved in this is that they still recognize attitudes as seen in these comments as precursors to the horrors of history. When a society allows for a class of people to be held as having no value, or a threat to its licentious ways, it isn’t long until a crusade is held to destroy that class. Then it follows that other classes are a perceived threat to the powers, so they must be eliminated. These evils are not found in our nation’s founding nor in Christianity, only in totalitarian regimes that have come and gone.
Troy – I agree; at seven weeks there is the plan for a unique person. It is potential life. But it is not a smiling baby being killed by abortion as Harle and so many others imply.
By what other means do babies come into existence? By definition, , the fetus is the unrepeatable baby, a child. Abortion proponents largely want abortion up to birth, that’s what they are lobbying for. How can days/weeks/months make that product of conception be less a human person? There is no science that says otherwise. The whim of those with “power” over the fate of unborn children cannot make them less human at any stage by just saying so.
To state the obvious, no one in the pro choice camp is arguing the genetic material created by fertilization will grow into a frog, or a horse, or a dog — duh. What we are stating is that you cannot use scientific evidence to support your religious claims of when ‘personhood’ begins, just like we do not use irrational religious claims to support our rational science claims. And, your argument assumes humanity has not learned the historical lessons of humanity — which is why Christianity still has missionaries going into the rest of the world trying to convert people they deem ‘misled’ by false religions. You can’t have it both ways.
So Chuckles would be Governor if the current Governor Gordon should become unable to fulfill his duties? Scary. Chuckles should not be allowed to spend one thin dime of taxpayers money on his personal agenda!
Gray, late to the party…..and here’s to hoping his Daddy’s money can’t buy his way into the courts like it did his way into office….
Chuck Gray got himself elected touting a problem that didn’t exist.
Now he wants to trample human rights as the self appointed Ayatola of Wyoming.
He is dangerous.
Chuck Grey, please take your religious fanaticism and go far away, disappear. You and others obsessed with imposing laws on others based on Your religious beliefs are UnAmerican, totally UnWyoming, and unlawful to boot. A revival of The Crusades is not welcome in Wyoming.
I am sad the story doesn’t mention how this same group of fools attempted to get a delay in the TRO hearing but used the rules of appellate procedure. These hacks need to stay away from the courts or at least hire some attorneys with a basic level of competence before engaging with them.
Chuck Gray obviously has no interest in serving as Secretary of State. He is running for governor in 2024. Guaranteed.
Gray is another hypocritical “Christian” zealot. His very presence in the Secretary of State’s office is an abomination.
I disagree if I may. I saw Mr. Gray at several campaign events in our county, and he is actually doing what he campaigned on, whether we agree with him or not. I don’t detect hypocrisy, as it is defined. If it is an abomination that he is in there, that is the voters’ decision, who evidently agreed with his platform. Much like the left hating Donald Trump, it seems who is actually hated the most are traditional Americans who vote for conservatives.
The terrible Dobbs decision has let this angry diminutive trio off the chain to invade homes and wombs to force birth. Americans have allowed people with deeply held religious values to pervert what is clear in our US and Wyoming Constitutions. The idea that the State has any business in whether I have a child or not is a ludicrous interpretation of my inalienable rights.
I have said it before, the Constitution is a good neighbor document and no good neighbor would care whether their neighbor was pregnant. A neighbor should only care when the child is presented as a new citizen and not one second earlier. It makes my life easier to not care what my neighbor is doing unless those actions impact my life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. For instance if the child disturbs my sleep by whining over 80 decibels or the child craps in my yard then I might speak to my neighbor. If my neighbor doesn’t rectify the child’s behavior, I can rely on my other neighbors to encourage better parenting through shame or prosecution for polluting my air and my land.
I have the same feeling about whether a parent decides to let their kid transition from one gender to another. It is not my business or the states business on what you and your kid decides to be as long as the decision does not impact my life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.
These three interveners should not hold office and their actions are further eroding our constitutional rights which will result in a less cohesive society.
Sad. Constitution OKs ab only in a left wing mind
Jim what the Constitution says it is none of my business and therefore it is none of yours. Would you break into your neighbors house and force your neighbor to have a child? If you are unwilling to perform that task but are perfectly willing to have the State do it for you then you are advocating for tyranny, while I am advocating for liberty.
It is really that simple.
Whether I have a child or not is something you nor the State has a right to know. The current religious SCOTUS has put their stone age beliefs over my Constitutional rights.
The current assaults on individual rights has nothing to do with protection of children- if it did, then the Republicans would be 100% for red flag laws and the call for removal of every law enforcement head who defies enforcement.
It’s all about the ‘latest issue’ to foment division. It’s nothing new, for certain. The religious bigots have been planning this for decades- anything to promote a fascist white Amerikkka.
So they want their rights, and the right to remove your rights.
Secretary Gray has a job. His job does not involve abortion laws. If he wants to be an ideologue activist he should resign his position.
This is a perfect example of the culture warriors who have taken over Wyoming’s Republican Party. They watch Fox News and get all riled up about these culture war issues. They spend most of their time on issues like abortion, transgender people, etc.. They should be working to help Wyoming’s rural hospitals, affordable housing, mental health, business development, etc.. None of which are mentioned or covered on Fox News.
Well Put! However, Fox is too Liberal for the Theology Threesome! Newsmax most likely? God help these Self Righteous Christian Fascists!
I will never doubt the ability of chuckie gray to continually lower the bar in regards to integrity.
He’s digging under it at this point. What a clown