Florida Supreme Court will have the last word: Democrats

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, DEC. 5. Despite the setback caused by the Leon county circuit court in Florida rejecting the Democrats' request to handcount some 14,000 ballots in two Democratic counties, the Vice-President, Mr. Al Gore's campaign is again moving the Florida Supreme Court with the lead lawyer, Mr. David Boies, saying, ``They won, we lost, we are appealing.'' He added that the resolution by the State Supreme Court will be the end of the matter.

On Monday evening, the Leon county judge, Mr. Sanders Sauls, was quite blunt, perhaps even ``dismissive'' of the Gore campaign's contentions. ``The court finds that the plaintiffs have failed to carry the requisite burden of proof and judgment shall be and hereby is entered that plaintiffs shall take nothing by this action and the defendants may go hence without delay.''

But the consensus has been that unlike the U.S. Supreme Court decision on Monday, the ruling of the Leon judge was definitive and precise. The impression is that the Florida Supreme Court is going to find it very hard to overturn the findings of the circuit court which had conducted an elaborate trial. Normally, an appeals court does not easily overturn trial court proceedings.

Quite independent of what is taking place in Tallahassee, the 11th circuit court of appeals in Atlanta will be hearing from the Bush campaign lawyers today on why handcounting must be deemed unconstitutional. The contention has been that a handcount amounts to stuffing the ballot box and hence the Court has an obligation to stop it.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday sent the issue of U.S. presidency back to the Florida Supreme Court for further clarification.

The attention - legal and political - was on Washington D.C. and Tallahassee. The significance of the Supreme Court ruling was in the unanimity. Even if the decision has been considered a ``draw'', legal analysts were quick to say that the Gore campaign was losing further time, something it could not afford.

The real attention was on Leon county where the ruling came shortly after 4:30 p.m., and the ``shock'' for the Democrats was for all to see. The appeal from either of the campaigns to Mr. Sauls' ruling to the State Supreme Court was definite, but the process again is disadvantageous to the Vice-President as he faces a December 12 deadline for the finalisation of electors to the Electoral College.

The State Court must, in the first place, spend time reading briefs from the two sides, perhaps entertain oral arguments and issue a ruling.

If the Florida Supreme Court decided that handcounting must proceed, the Bush campaign will definitely come back and ask for standards. This is, again, time-consuming. In the midst of all this if the federal appeals court in Atlanta issues a ruling against the handcount, it would be a totally different ball game.

While the Gore campaign was busy on Monday rallying the troops on Capitol Hill - especially after the Leon court verdict - the Bush campaign went about things in a quiet fashion. The Texas Governor's communications director, Ms. Karen Hughes, argued that the Leon county judge was ``thoughtful and comprehensive'' in coming to the conclusion that further handcounts were not necessary. But clearly the day began and belonged to Mr. George Bush.

Media reports have it that Democrats are becoming more apprehensive of what is in store, privately taking the position that the Florida Supreme Court is not about to overturn the circuit court ruling. Quite apart from what the legal team may be advising the Vice-President, many of Mr. Gore's advisers are nervously looking at the fallout on the public relations front.

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Section  : International
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