This stunning development sent shockwaves throughout Florida and the nation on the 32nd day following Election Day, in what has evolved into the most controversial presidential election in nearly 125 years, precipitated by the unprecedented Gore challenges to the certified winner, George W. Bush.
The 5-4 vote was split along ideological lines, with Chief Justice Rehnquist and Justices O’Connor, Kennedy, Scalia and Thomas in the majority.
Also granted was the Bush petition for a writ of certiorari, allowing the case to be heard. Oral arguments have been scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday before the nation’s high court in Washington, D.C.
Each side will have forty-five minutes to state their case, for a total hour and a half allocated for presentations, a half hour longer than is usually granted.
Legal briefs by the parties are due to be filed with the court by 4 p.m. this afternoon.
Meanwhile, Justice Scalia may have tipped the court's hand on the ultimate disposition of the case when he indicated, in his concurring opinion, that in granting the stay the justices agreeing to so act have a belief that the petitioner (Bush) has a substantial likelihood of success on the merits of the argument.
Just moments before this major announcement, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals issued an order restraining any certification of results in Florida, pending action by the U.S. Supreme Court.
This one-two punch by the top federal courts in the land sets the stage for a knock-out rebuke to the out-of-control majority on the Florida high court, which has persisted in usurping its authority under both the U.S. and Florida constitutions.
In what appeared to be a somewhat bizarre by-product of the normal procedure of forwarding all filings and exhibits from the record of the court whose opinion is being reviewed, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier today that some 12,000 of the so-called 'undervote' ballots will be shipped to Washington from the office of the clerk of the Florida Supreme Court. However, Craig Waters, spokesman for the Florida Supreme Court said all of the court records,
Concerns by the court with the wildly varying and irrationally subjective standards for counting ballots were at the core of the concurring opinion accompanying the stay.
Audio recordings of Monday's proceedings will be released to the media immediately following the conclusion of oral arguments.
The decision to halt the hand counts represents a major blow to the Gore campaign, which has acted as though it was taken off life support following yesterday’s state court ruling.
Looks like it’s time for Gore to finally pull the plug on his reckless quest.
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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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