Remember the guy who went missing after the Supreme Court agreed to hear his case against Baltimore City? Well, he’s still missing, and the justices aren’t going to look for him any longer.
On Friday, the Supreme Court dismissed Bobby Chen’s case because he didn’t show up to defend himself. Written in list form on a sheet of paper that will probably end up in some Supreme Court dustbin, the ruling was a quiet end for what could have been a historic case.
Chen didn’t have a lawyer to write up his petition to the highest court in the land. Yet, in his own words, he convinced the justices to take up his case for damages against the City. He argued that he was owed $2.5 million after the city tore down his row house. Supreme Court staff tried to track him down, but had no luck. The Wall Street Journal also released the hounds, but had no luck.
While it saves taxpayers some money since City officials didn’t have to take time out of their normal schedule to travel to D.C. and argue the case, it’s a shame that we won’t get to hear Chen make his case. And, more importantly, we hope he’s okay!
