Former State Senator Hiram Monserrate in front of the courthouse in Manhattan on Thursday. David Goldman for the New York TimesA federal judge on Friday denied [pdf] former State Senator Hiram Monserrate’s petition to block his expulsion and halt the special election called for next month to select his replacement.
Mr. Monserrate’s lawyers are expected to immediately appeal the ruling, which was issued by Judge William H. Pauley of Federal District Court in Manhattan.
Mr. Monserrate, who earlier this month became the first state legislator removed from office in nearly a century, argued that the Senate had no power to expel him and that by doing so, it violated his due process and the rights of the voters who elected him.
But during oral arguments in the case on Thursday, Judge Pauley seemed skeptical of Mr. Monserrate’s claims.
