The Witchfinder illuminates dark places!
I have now been able to ascertain the basis of Eron Gjoni’s motion to strike out Zoe Quinn’s response to his appeal. It is really pretty simple. Zoe Quinn is seeking to have his appeal dismissed as moot – because she has caved in by filing to vacate the order she does not want the constitutionality (or lack thereof) of the restraining order she obtained against him reviewed.
According to my shadowy sources, the problem with Quinn’s filings is that they are largely supported by impermissible material. The function of an appellate court is to determine whether a lower court has made a mistake and therefore it will only consider the material before that court. If a party to court proceedings wants an order changed on the basis of new information, the proper venue is the lower court (appellate judges are more expensive and in shorter supply).
Quinn has produced additional documents in support of her appellate response, however, in these documents she has also included fresh allegations that were not before the court of first instance. Allegations introduced in this manner are not normally permitted in an appellate forum where Gjoni would have no opportunity to rebut the veracity of Quinn’s claims nor to compel her to offer evidence in support of them. For good reason such filings are normally not permitted by the Massachussetts Rules of Appellate Procedure without prior permission by the court. Gjoni therefore seeks to strike out these questionable documents and the legal arguments based on them.
Looks like Gjoni’s lawyer is making good use of the crowdsourcing funds! Whatever happenes, Quinn is not going to have it easy.
