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Justices chastened but full of questions© St. Petersburg Times, published December 8, 2000 This was a Florida Supreme Court that clearly knows it has been spanked and sent to its room by the U.S. Supreme Court. It was in some ways still the same old Florida Supreme Court that gathered Thursday to hear arguments in the latest round of the battle to pick a president, but the atmosphere was a bit different. Seventeen days ago when we last gathered for arguments over this election that will not end, the justices were ready to battle with lawyers for Texas Gov. George W. Bush. They peppered them with hostile questions and promptly ruled for Vice President Al Gore. On Thursday, the tone was softer, almost resigned. One thing had not changed. Right off the bat, lawyers for both sides could barely introduce themselves before the questions started. Chief Justice Charles T. Wells noted the recent unpleasantness from the U.S. Supreme Court with a question about an 1892 decision that says state legislators have absolute power when it comes to selecting the electors who will vote for president. "My reading of that case is that the U.S. Supreme Court has said that the state Legislature has plenary power, full power, in respect to appointment of presidential electors, and that power cannot be eroded even by the state constitution," Wells began. This rather remarkable concession was coming from a justice who led the court in changing the state's election law just a few days ago. The 1892 case, known as McPherson vs. Blacker, involved a Michigan law that granted legislators the right to choose electors for president and vice president. More than 100 years later Florida's Legislature is about to place its own stamp of approval on electors for Bush selected by Florida voters in November. Legislators want to ensure the existance of a "clean" slate of electors by Dec. 18, the date electors will gather in every state in the nation to vote for president. Meanwhile the Florida Supreme Court is trying to resolve the issues raised in lawsuits brought by Gore. Just getting inside the courtroom Thursday was tricky. Reporters entered a lottery to see who would get the 28 seats made available by the court. Craig Waters, the Supreme Court's public information officer, had the job of determining who got inside. He is now the recipient of a number of rather obscene messages from those who didn't get inside, but he has grown accustomed to handling the barbs from disgruntled Yankee reporters. About a dozen legislators showed up to claim seats, including Senate President John McKay and Sen. Lisa Carlton, R-Osprey. She will chair the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee and preside over hearings scheduled to begin Monday as the Legislature considers a joint resolution to appoint electors. Near the back row sat lobbyist Ronnie Book. Once again Book paid a college student $100 to stand in line for him so he could be there for the historic moment. He's helping educate a college student, Book says. Newsweek's Michael Isikoff was probably the best-known journalist inside the courtroom. You may recall he's the one who found Monica Lewinsky first and got scooped by the Drudge Report. Outside the court, a handful of protesters wandered around carrying signs and a herd of television cameras awaited the lawyers as they left the building. Walking out of the Supreme Court into a sea of television cameras and protesters is beginning to feel normal. Perhaps we have crossed over into the Land of Oz. If only there were a wizard behind the screen to lead us out of the morass we fell into in the hours after Election Day.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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