In their efforts to appeal Friday’s Virginia Supreme Court decision on gerrymandering to the U.S. Supreme Court, Virginia Democrats made two glaring typos in their first appeal, prompting harsh mocking – then they did it again in their next appeal.
On Monday, Virginia’s Democrat leaders misspelled both “Virginia” (the very state they represent) and the word “senator” in their motion to delay the decision because they were planning to appeal the Virginia Supreme Court decision to the nation’s highest court.
Thus, the Democrats’ motion misspelled both the plaintiffs and the title of one of the defendants, even though the document was co-authored by three lawyers, including Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones.
Then, on Tuesday, the Virginia Democrats filed their official application to the U.S. Supreme Court asking it to take up their appeal.
Problem is, they misidentified the recipient of their application as “the Supreme Court of Virginia,” instead of correctly addressing it to the United States Supreme Court.
And again, they misspelled the word “Virginia,” though they did so much deeper in the document (page a53, rather than in the title on page one).
As with the first, the second document’s couplet of mistakes prompted mocking.
“Good News: Dems managed to spell Virginia correctly. Bad News: They sent their emergency application to SCOTUS to the wrong court. Baby steps,” former Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares posted on X.com.
“JUST IN: Virginia Democrats and AG Jay Jones appealed *TO THE WRONG COURT* while trying to get the Supreme Court to help reinstate their 10D-1R gerrymandered map,” Journalist Eric Daugherty posted:
“Filing with SCOTUS, Jay Jones wrote to ‘Supreme Court of Virginia’
“LMAO! You can't make this up
“Their last filing ALSO had tons of spelling errors at the state level
“These people are rushed, panicked, and incompetent!”
The Virginia Democrats are hoping that the U.S. Supreme Court will take up and overturn a Virginia Supreme Court’s ruling that their gambit to gerrymander, led by Governor Abigail Spanberger, violates the state’s constitution.
Even if the U.S. Supreme Court isn't offended by the application's brazen sloppiness, it's highly unlike that it will take up Virginia's appeal, given its policy of leaving it up to state high courts to have the last word in matters concerning their own state's constitution.
