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In Miami, search for justice sidetracked
By THOMAS C. TOBIN and DAVID ADAMS © St. Petersburg Times, published November 14, 2000 MIAMI -- Over the door in the federal government's historic central courtroom is an inscription in marble: "From justice as a fountain all rights flow." Words of reassurance, they somehow missed the mark Monday as legal challenges over the unsettled presidential election zoomed into high gear. Republican and Democratic lawyers with strikingly different takes on the U.S. Constitution, Florida law and fundamental fairness took the stage in an effort to end the dispute. But they offered little hope that justice could be cleanly or quickly won. The day began in Miami with a request in federal court by Texas Gov. George W. Bush that manual voting recounts in Volusia, Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties be halted. After a judge denied it, events unfolded so quickly that even the lawyers involved had trouble keeping up. More hearings would follow in West Palm Beach and Tallahassee, plus threats of new lawsuits and the possibility of at least one appeal. In Miami, Bush's lawyers argued that Florida's system for manual recounts was flawed and too varied, and that citizens outside the four counties were having their votes unconstitutionally diluted by a process that seemed to scare up more new votes every day. Attorneys for Vice President Al Gore argued that the same system, while plodding, was a healthy sign that the system was working. Outside the courthouse the legal tit-for-tat swiftly turned into a public relations battle, with each side claiming to have the interests of Florida voters at heart. The lineup of legal stars included Laurence Tribe, an eminent constitutional scholar recruited by the Gore camp; Washington lawyer Theodore B. Olson, representing Bush; Alan Dershowitz, the famed defense lawyer, who was hired by seven Palm Beach County residents; and Bruce Rogow, a constitutional law professor at Nova University representing Theresa LePore, the embattled supervisor of elections in Palm Beach County. "In a context like this there is no such thing as an objective and dispassionate argument," said Jamin Raskin, a professor of constitutional law at American University in Washington. "This is why we have judges. We hope that the judges are not drinking from the same partisan fountain that everyone else seems to be." Although potentially decisive, the hearing before U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks in Miami quickly became a footnote in the week-old, post-election battle for Florida's 25 electoral votes. After four hours of arguments, the Clinton-appointed judge said Bush's request was not an issue for the federal courts, but added he was certain his ruling would be appealed. The hearing took place amid the rustic elegance of the courthouse's historic central courtroom. It was here under the ornate wood ceiling, gold chandeliers and cabernet-colored drapes that the U.S. government had tried Panamanian Gen. Manuel Noriega on drug charges and heard arguments about the future of Cuban shipwreck survivor Elian Gonzalez. A giant mural behind the judge's mahogany bench depicted the bounty of Florida's citrus groves, the diversity of its population and the benevolent role of the judicial system -- a more kindly image of Florida than the one now on display across the world. Olson, the attorney for Bush, said the two automated statewide vote counts that have his client ahead in the race should be all that matter. He cited media reports of the manual ballot counting under way in Palm Beach County, saying human handling of ballots was fraught with the potential for fraud and error. "This process has introduced delay, uncertainty and I would say chaos into the most important election in the nation," Olson said. "Even if they were counted in a way that would be favorable to my client, it's still a bad process." Rogow, Tribe and Dershowitz, for their part, said the process was allowed under state law and can be more accurate than machine counts. Another lawyer for Volusia County said one test brought identical results for machine and hand counts. "If anything, it's kind of democracy at its best," Rogow said. "Is it messy? Does it go on and on in some fashion? Yes it does. But that is what democracy is all about." Through all the high-minded legalese, the two candidates seemed an afterthought. The lawyers uttered the names "Bush" and "Gore" only twice.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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From the Times election desk From the AP national wire  |
