Just prior to last fall’s election we reported on a lawsuit filed in Ohio by the Buckeye Institute against ACORN. Gerry Hebert, one of the leading election law experts in the country, predicted that the lawsuit would end up being dismissed and a magistrate judge has recommended to the federal court precisely that:

A federal judge has recommended the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by a conservative group against an organization that promotes voter participation through registration drives.

Magistrate Judge Timothy Black in Cincinnati released the opinion Wednesday in the suit brought by the Buckeye Institute against the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, known as ACORN.

The lawsuit alleged that ACORN’s voter registration drives amounted to organized crime because the group turned in a pattern of fraudulent forms.

In Ohio, as in some other states, such cases are first referred to a magistrate judge, who researches the legal issues and makes recommendations to the presiding federal judge on whether the case should be heard or dismissed. It is rare for their recommendations not to be followed.