> But when Tribe rose to defend the Florida Supreme Court, Scalia and Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist challenged him with a different argument. he liberal state judges went wrong, they said, by invoking their own state constitution to void clear election rules set by the state Legislature. Article II of the U.S. Constitution says state lawmakers have complete power to set the rules for presidential elections, they said.
It is "a real problem, it seems to me, under Article II," Scalia said, if the state judges rewrite the rules for choosing presidential electors. <
Okay, my understanding was that the FlSC didn't void election rules per se, but that they were asked to, and did, interpret between two conflicting statutes. According to the constitution of the state of Florida, it seems they had that right.
??
leg.state.fl.us
ARTICLE V
JUDICIARY
SECTION 3. Supreme court.--
(b) JURISDICTION.--The supreme court:
(1) Shall hear appeals from final judgments of trial courts imposing the death
penalty and from decisions of district courts of appeal declaring invalid a state
statute or a provision of the state constitution.
I left out #2, as it dealt with bonds or certificates of indebtedness and action of statewide agencies relating to rates or service of utilities providing electric, gas, or telephone service.
(3) May review any decision of a district court of appeal that expressly declares
valid a state statute, or that expressly construes a provision of the state or federal
constitution, or that expressly affects a class of constitutional or state officers, or
that expressly and directly conflicts with a decision of another district court of appeal
or of the supreme court on the same question of law.
(4) May review any decision of a district court of appeal that passes upon a
question certified by it to be of great public importance, or that is certified by it to be
in direct conflict with a decision of another district court of appeal.
(5) May review any order or judgment of a trial court certified by the district court
of appeal in which an appeal is pending to be of great public importance, or to have a
great effect on the proper administration of justice throughout the state, and
certified to require immediate resolution by the supreme court.
(6) May review a question of law certified by the Supreme Court of the United
States or a United States Court of Appeals which is determinative of the cause and
for which there is no controlling precedent of the supreme court of Florida.
(7) May issue writs of prohibition to courts and all writs necessary to the complete
exercise of its jurisdiction.
(8) May issue writs of mandamus and quo warranto to state officers and state
agencies.
(9) May, or any justice may, issue writs of habeas corpus returnable before the
supreme court or any justice, a district court of appeal or any judge thereof, or any
circuit judge.
(10) Shall, when requested by the attorney general pursuant to the provisions of
Section 10 of Article IV, render an advisory opinion of the justices, addressing issues
as provided by general law.
-----
[ARTICLE IV
EXECUTIVE
SECTION 10. Attorney General.--The attorney general shall, as directed by
general law, request the opinion of the justices of the supreme court as to the
validity of any initiative petition circulated pursuant to Section 3 of Article XI. The
justices shall, subject to their rules of procedure, permit interested persons to be
heard on the questions presented and shall render their written opinion
expeditiously.
History.--Added, H.J.R. 71, 1986; adopted 1986.] |
