Court rejects lawsuit seeking to disqualify Ryan Kelley as a candidate for governor
LANSING — The Michigan Court of Appeals on Thursday rejected a request to declare Republican gubernatorial candidate Ryan Kelley ineligible for the November general election as "an insurrectionist."
In an order, a three-judge panel said any such request should have been made sooner, and not this close to the Aug. 2 primary. Also, Kelley has been charged with misdemeanors in connection with his presence at the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, but not convicted, the court noted in an order signed by Judge Michael Gadola.
"We express no opinion on whether Kelley engaged in 'insurrection or rebellion' or whether Kelley is qualified to serve as a gubernatorial candidate as a result," the order said.
Lee Estes, a retired Oakland County attorney who has supported Democratic candidates, filed a lawsuit July 14 to keep Kelley off the general election ballot, saying his participation in the Capitol riot makes him ineligible to run for office under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution because he has "engaged in insurrection or rebellion" against the U.S. after previously taking an oath to uphold the Constitution.
Attached as an exhibit to the complaint is the oath Kelley swore in 2019 to do just that, when he was appointed a planning commissioner in Allendale Township.
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The lawsuit was backed by the liberal group Progress Michigan. The court dismissed the suit.
Kelley is one of five Republican candidates for governor on the Aug. 2 primary ballot. He was arrested by the FBI June 9 during a raid on his Ottawa County home. Kelley has pleaded not guilty to four misdemeanor charges.
Legal experts differ on whether the constitutional clause cited in the lawsuit, which was aimed at those who took up arms for the Confederacy during the Civil War, still applies after Congress passed an amnesty act for Confederate soldiers, by supermajorities in both chambers.
Gadola, the presiding judge, was legal counsel to former Republican Gov. Rick Snyder. Also on the panel was Judge Kathleen Jansen, an appointee of former Democratic Gov. Jim Blanchard, and Michelle Rick, who served as deputy legal counsel to former Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4. Read more on Michigan politics and sign up for our elections newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Court rejects suit seeking to disqualify Ryan Kelley from gov's race
