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Politics : Electoral College 2000 - Ahead of the Curve -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Vendit™ who wrote (3764)	11/28/2000 5:27:45 PM
From: KLP	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6710

Bush, Gore Plea to Supreme Court (today as of 4:41 PM EST) By John Solomon Associated Press Writer Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2000; 4:41 p.m. EST WASHINGTON –– In an extraordinary plea, George W. Bush's lawyers on Tuesday asked the nation's nine justices to bring "legal finality" to the presidential election by overturning the Florida courts and ending any further recounts. Al Gore's team countered that the U.S. Supreme Court should not interfere in Florida's presidential recount dispute. The matter "does not belong in federal court," the vice president's lawyers argued. Three days before the nation's highest court hears arguments, both sides filed final written arguments. Bush asked the justices to overturn a Florida Supreme Court ruling that allowed hand recounting of votes to continue past a state imposed deadline Nov. 14, saying the manual reviews opened the door for Gore to continue legal contests for weeks more. "The Florida Supreme Court's decision, which conflicts with both federal statutes and the federal Constitution, will thus continue to affect, and has the theoretical potential to change, the outcome of the presidential election in Florida, and thus the nation," the Bush lawyers argued. Bush's lawyers noted that Gore is now contesting the election, even after the extended deadline set by the Florida Supreme Court, and seeking additional hand counting of thousands of disputed ballots. The Republican's attorneys told the justices that reversing the Florida court ruling was neded to bring an end to the election dispute. "Reversal by this Court would restore the legislatively crafted method for appointing electors in Florida to its status prior to November 7, would allow the completion of the proper selection of presidential electors in Florida according to the plan contemplated by the Constitution, and would aid in bringing legal finality to this election." The Bush attorneys also argued that the Florida high court violated the Constitution by extending a "clear" vote recount deadline set in law by the state Legislature to ensure proper election of the state's 25 electors to the Electoral College. The Constitution, the Bush brief said, gave that power solely to the Legislature, and the court improperly vacated the deadline when it allowed hand recounts to continue in three Democratic-leaning counties for 12 days beyond a state deadline of Nov. 14. "The Florida Supreme Court thus consciously and boldly overrode Florida's 'laws enacted prior to' election day and replaced them two weeks later with laws of its own invention," the brief said. Gore's lawyers dismissed those arguments as "insubstantial" and said the Florida court had "played a familiar and quintessentially judicial role" in interpreting state law. They asked the justices to affirm the ruling and avoid trampling on what is supposed to be a matter of state law. "Principles of federalism counsel strongly against interference by this court," the Gore legal team said in its brief. © Copyright 2000 The Associated Press Back to the top