Dan Frisa
Saturday, Dec. 9, 2000 - 9:00 a.m. EST

Bush campaign lawyers have requested that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy issue a stay of today's Florida Supreme Court ruling, which has thrown the presidential election into chaos.

Kennedy has responsibility for handling emergency requests of the U.S. Supreme Court for cases arising within the jurisdiction of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Atlanta, which includes Florida in its jurisdiction.

Should this request for a temporary injunction be granted, all counting of ballots in Florida would be halted.

There are two ways this issue could be considered by the nation's high court: Kennedy could sign the order himself or he could consult with all of the justices.

A decision could be issued at any time.

The Bush campaign has also appealed directly to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, asking that body to now reconsider its case requesting that hand counts be stopped due to lack of uniform standards which violate equal protection concerns. The court had recently declined to proceed because the issue, at that time, was not deemed ripe. That it is now 'ready' for adjudication at this time would seem more than justified.

Briefs totaling more than 130 pages have been filed overnight in the 11th Circuit case. Gore has until 7 a.m. Saturday to respond. The 12 federal judges comprising this appellate court are expected to issue some indication of their intent to proceed sometime today.

E-mail Dan: danfrisa@newsmax.com.

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Dan Frisa represented New York in the United States Congress and served four terms in the New York State Assembly.

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On the Air: Dan Frisa will appear on the following programs. All times EST; check local listings. Listen while visiting NewsMax.com!

• Dec. 8, 8:00 p.m. – KUCI radio in Irvine, Calif.
• Dec. 8, 10:30 p.m. – Omega Networks, The Right Perspective

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