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A Circuit Court judge has dismissed Internet author Andy Martin's lawsuit seeking to obtain a copy of President-elect Barack Obama's Hawai'i birth certificate.Judge Bert Ayabe upheld arguments from Gov. Linda Lingle's administration that Martin-a political opponent of Obama- had no standing under state law to obtain a copy of the document.The decision, issued late Wednesday, first denied Martin's "emergency motion" for production of the birth certificate.Martin "does not have a direct and tangible interest in the vital statistic records being sought, namely the birth certificate of President Obama," Ayabe wrote.Martin did not fall into any category of persons defined under state law as having a legal right to the record, said the judge.Ayabe wrote that Martin also failed to demonstrate that "irreparable harm will occur if the records are not provided to the plaintiff."And Martin provided "insufficient evidence to indicate that the public interest supports" release of the record, Ayabe ruled."There is a reasonable belief that the public would rather preserve confidentiality of vital health records," the judge wrote.After denying the emergency motion, Ayabe then granted a motion filed by the state attorney general's office for dismissal of the suit.He cited Martin's "lack of standing" and also ruled that Martin never legally served Lingle and state Health Department director Dr. Chiyome Fukino with a copy of the legal complaint.Attempts to reach Martin for comment yesterday by telephone and e-mail were unsuccessful.Fukino has said that her office has been barraged by requests for copies of the birth certificate, driven in part by Internet assertions that Obama was not born in Honolulu or the United States and is not eligible to serve as president.The Obama political campaign posted a copy of the document on its Web site, but that did not satisfy doubters because the official state seal was not visible and because the official certificate number had been blacked out.Before the election, Fukino issued a statement saying that she and the registrar of vital statistics had personally examined the birth certificate and found it to be valid.Martin, a New York-based blogger and self-described head of the "Stop Obama Coalition," moved temporarily to Hawai'i and filed the lawsuit late last month.Ayabe originally scheduled the first legal hearing for Nov. 7, and Martin then unsuccessfully petitioned the state Supreme Court for an expedited hearing before the Nov. 4 general election.A brief hearing on the issue was held Tuesday before Ayabe.Martin said in a Wednesday entry on his blog that he was launching a "national conversation on how to oppose Barack Obama," and the first in a series of meetings on the subject was held Wednesday night at Ala Moana Park.By Jim Dooley
As in the days of Noah...
