Democratic members were sworn in over the weekend by retired Hennepin County Judge Kevin Burke. Hortman said there is precedent for holding the ceremony outside the Capitol on a day other than the first day of the session, but not for an entire caucus.
One of the sworn in members was DFL Rep. Brad Tabke, whose 14-vote victory in a Shakopee House seat is being challenged in court by Republicans over questions about 20 missing absentee ballots in one precinct.
Republicans want the court to declare a seat vacant, which would require calling a special election. Dakota County Judge Tracy Perzel has been reviewing the case for weeks but has yet to rule.
Paul’s attorney, R. Reid LeBeau II, called Tabke’s actions performative and “a direct attack on this court and its authority to decide the pending action, upon which this court presumably intends to decide imminently.
LeBeau asked the judge to consider finding Tabke in contempt of court. “Even if Mr. Tabke’s actions in purportedly being ‘sworn in’ have no legal significance, it is troubling that Mr. Tabke could have considered his ‘oath’ to be legitimate, in which case he does not “This was not simply a direct attack on this Court, but also a direct attack to circumvent Minnesota law,” LeBeau wrote in the letter.
Tabke’s attorney, David Zoll, filed a written response, arguing that the court’s authority on the matter is merely advisory and that it was appropriate for the DFL to be sworn in and sit until the contest is decided . Zoll’s letter pointed out that former Republican state Rep. Robert Pavlak served four months in the House before being removed from office in May 1979 after a state Supreme Court ruling. It was overturned by a vote of 67 to 66.
