***** Special merit judge vindicates me ... then gives life to Justice Lambert's footnote #16. *****

The special judge in the merit system hiring probe has vindicated me and found that the Gov.'s arguments for dismissals of the indictments, including selective prosecution, are DUDs. The only argument the Gov. won on resulted in a postponement of the trial until after impeachment or end of term, not a dismissal of the charges. (See my earlier post of July 19th below discussing the merits of the Gov.'s arguments entitled: Fletcher seeks indictments dismissals ... ). You can read the news reports here, here and these excerpts: [Fletcher's] attorneys Steve Pitt and Kent Westberry ... offered the judge six main arguments for dismissal [discussed in my earlier post] ... Melcher said he will overrule five of them, but was struck by Fletcher’s attorneys’ point that a governor cannot be indicted for official acts, such as hiring state employees [and] said in court this morning that a governor must be impeached before such a prosecution. The executive-immunity argument first surfaced earlier this summer, when Chief Justice Joseph Lambert raised the point in an unusual footnote (16) in an unrelated state Supreme Court ruling. The judge's opinion will be released on August 18th, and I shall analyze it then. Meanwhile, here is a statement released from the Gov.'s office:

Commonwealth of Kentucky
Governor Ernie Fletcher’s Communications Office
For Immediate Release
August 11, 2006
Contact: Jodi Whitaker 502-564-2611

STATEMENT FROM GOVERNOR FLETCHER ON TODAY’S RULING

FRANKFORT, Ky. – We are pleased with today’s ruling because Kentuckians are weary of this sad ordeal. Now, we can all turn our full attention to the children, families and communities of this great Commonwealth.