Legal Commentary

Burris Denied Seating in Senate

By Jeralyn

The Senate has refused to seat or swear in Roland Burris because his appointment was not signed by the Illinois Secretary of State.

Mr. Burris made his way to the office of Nancy Erickson, the secretary of the Senate, to whom he presented his credentials. Afterward, the aspiring legislator stood in the rain outside and declared, “Members of the media, my name is Roland Burris, the junior senator from the State of Illinois.”

...Ms. Erickson had already said that the appointment letter forwarded by the governor’s office did not comply with Rule II of the Senate’s standing rules, which requires signatures of both the governor and the secretary of state.

Jesse White, Illinois Secretary of State, refused to sign the appointment papers because of the Blagojevich criminal matter.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on January 06, 2009 (boomark / email).