Appeals Court panel denies Fouts' request for expedited review

The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday denied Warren Mayor Jim Fouts' motion for an expedited review of his lawsuit, which sought to place him on the ballot to seek a fifth term as mayor.

Fouts filed a federal lawsuit in August, a week before the mayoral primary election. Voter-approved term limits barred him from seeking re-election, but Fouts has continued to argue that they should not apply retroactively to him.

Fouts alleges that his civil rights were violated when he was left off the ballot in the August primary. He has requested that a special election be held for Warren's mayoral race with his name included. U.S. District Judge George Caram Steeh last month dismissed Fouts' complaint against the Warren City Council, Election Commission, city clerk and the Macomb County clerk.

Fouts appealed Steeh's decision but a panel of three 6th Circuit judges — Eric Clay, David McKeague and John Nalbandian — denied his motion for an expedited review, saying it would cause "voter confusion inasmuch as primary elections have already been held."

"It would also unduly burden the Warren election officials who would have to run a special election and print entirely new ballots for the general election," the panel ruled.

Nabih Ayah, Fouts attorney, said they will have "to go through the channels to address this important constitutional argument for Mayor Fouts."

"Justice at times takes time, and this is one of those situations," Ayah said. "There is nothing to appeal yet. They have to hear the case and decide themselves. If they rule against us, we will have to contemplate the U.S. Supreme Court. But again that’s too early. We are at the 6th Circuit Court, and we will fight at that stage."

The panel of judges also wrote that Fouts unreasonably delayed in filing his federal lawsuit and emphasized that established election procedures should not be altered.

"Because of Plaintiff’s months’-long delay in seeking relief from a federal court, he is now asking this Courtfor extraordinary relief — to nullify the votes of the Warren citizens who participated in the 2023 mayoral primary election, and to order election officials in Warren to hold an entirely separate election for mayor," the order said.

Fouts also failed to demonstrate that he is likely to succeed on appeal or that Steeh erred in dismissing the case, the Court of Appeals panel said.

More:Warren's Fouts calls court-denied reelection bid a 'profound disappointment'

This is the second lawsuit concerning Fouts' eligibility to seek re-election. The Warren City Council took action in state court earlier this year seeking to bar Fouts from running for a fifth term. A Macomb County Circuit Court judge ruled that Fouts was eligible, but a three-judge panel of state Court of Appeals reversed the decision and the state Supreme Court decided not to hear Fouts' appeal.

The state lawsuit centered around a 2020 ballot amendment to the Warren city charter that lowered the city's mayoral term limit to three.

Warren's Human Resources Director George Dimas and State Rep. Lori Stone will face off in the Nov. 7 mayoral election.

hmackay@detroitnews.com