Concession on ‘Deadline’ Helped Seal Gore’s Defeat
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Back on Nov. 20, during what would be the first of a series of historic oral arguments, the chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court turned to David Boies, the chief lawyer for Vice President Al Gore, and asked a question. In that exchange, Mr. Boies made a pivotal concession that, in retrospect, helped bring the vice president’s defeat in the legal war for White House. The chief justice, Charles T. Wells, mentioned the date Dec. 12. He wondered whether battles over the Florida vote ”have to be finally determined by that date,” and asked, ”Do you agree with that?” Mr. Boies looked up. ”I do your honor,” he said. That concession began a chain of legal events that ended with the conclusion by a majority of the justices of the United States Supreme Court on Tuesday — Dec. 12 — that time had simply run out. Florida recounts could not go on after that date, the justices said, even if they could be conducted constitutionally. Yesterday, legal experts of differing political persuasions said the skirmish over what came to be called ”the deadline” proved decisive. But some of them said that under federal law, at least, it was not a deadline, but merely advice by Congress to states about how to assure that their voters’ choice for president would be honored. More : query.nytimes.com |