Dissenting Opinions On The Pro-Republican / Pro-Wicker Decision

Supreme Court Justice Graves:

GRAVES, JUSTICE, DISSENTING: ¶32. Much of what has been written by the majority in the instant case would be dismissed as mere gobbledygook but for the fact that it is being promulgated by a venerable institution in our democracy, the Mississippi Supreme Court. This majority decision erodes that veneration.

brownsox @ Daily Kos:

The majority has ruled, essentially, that a year can be intepreted as meaning 365 days, rather than a calendar year, and that the meaning of the word "shall" is ambiguous in this context and does not necessarily mean something that will occur in the future.

I agree with Justice Graves that that is a rather ridiculous intepretation, but it is what it is.

Statement by Musgrove Campaign Manager Amanda Crumley:

While it is disappointing that Governor Barbour seeks to anoint the next United States Senator from Mississippi instead of letting the people of this great state vote as quickly as possible in a currently scheduled March election and in accordance with state law, the Mississippi Supreme Court’s decision today does not change the direction of Ronnie Musgrove’s campaign for the United States Senate.

The bad news today is not that we now have a longer campaign to run, but that Mississippi will be stuck for another nine months with the same type of Washington nonsense from Roger Wicker.

Mississippi Democratic Party Chairman Wayne Dowdy:

“I respectfully disagree with the court’s decision,” Dowdy said. “We had hoped that the people would be permitted to vote as soon as possible and elect a senator rather than have a politician appoint someone to serve for a long period of time.