keep the pressure on for barry to come clean. On Dec 4, 6:42 am, Travis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > This is just the beginning. but a good one. > > > > On Thu, Dec 4, 2008 at 5:31 AM, Cold Water <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > * > > > U.S. Associate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas > > By James Wright > > AFRO Staff Writer > > > (December 3, 2008) - In a highly unusual move, U.S. Associate Supreme Court > > Justice Clarence Thomas has asked his colleagues on the court to consider > > the request of an East Brunswick, N.J. attorney who has filed a lawsuit > > challenging President-elect Barack Obama's status as a United States > > citizen. > > > Thomas's action took place after Justice David Souter had rejected a > > petition known as an application for a stay of writ of certiorari that asked > > the court to prevent the meeting of the Electoral College on Dec. 15, which > > will certify Obama as the 44th president of the United States and its first > > African-American president. > > > The court has scheduled a Dec. 5 conference on the writ -- just 10 days > > before the Electoral College meets. > > > The high court's only African American is bringing the matter to his > > colleagues as a result of the writ that was filed by attorney Leo Donofrio. > > Donofrio sued the New Jersey Secretary of State Nina Wells, contending that > > Obama was not qualified to be on the state's presidential ballot because of > > Donofrio's own questions about Obama citizenship. > > > Donofrio is a retired lawyer who identifies himself as a "citizen's > > advocate." The AFRO learned that he is a contributor to > > naturalborncitizen.wordpress.com, a Web site that raises questions about > > Obama's citizenship. > > > Calls made to Donofrio's residence were not returned to the AFRO by press > > time. > > > Donofrio is questioning Obama's citizenship because the former Illinois > > senator, whose mom was from Kansas, was born in Hawaii and his father was a > > Kenyan national. Therefore, Donofrio argues, Obama's dual citizenship does > > not make Obama "a natural born citizen" as required by Article II, Section I > > of the U.S. Constitution, which states: > > > "No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United > > States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible > > to the office of President…" > > > ...to prevent the meeting of the Electoral College on Dec. 15, which > > will certify Obama as the 44th president of the United States... > > > Donofrio had initially tried to remove the names not only of Obama, but > > also the names of Republican Party presidential nominee John McCain and > > Socialist Workers' Party Roger Calero from appearing on the Nov. 4 general > > election ballot in his home state of New Jersey. > > > McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone when it was a U.S. possession. > > Calero would be ineligible to be president because he was born in Nicaragua. > > > After his efforts were unsuccessful in the New Jersey court system, he > > decided to take his case to a higher level. > > > On Nov. 6, Souter denied the stay. Donofrio, following the rules of the > > procedure for the Supreme Court, re-submitted the application as an > > emergency stay in accordance to Rule 22, which states, in part, that an > > emergency stay can be given to another justice, which is the choice of the > > petitioner. > > > Donofrio's choice was Thomas. He submitted the emergency stay to Thomas's > > office on Nov. 14. Thomas accepted the application on Nov. 19 and on that > > day, submitted it for consideration by his eight colleagues - known as a > > conference - and scheduled it for Dec. 5. > > > On Nov. 26, a supplemental brief was filed by Donofrio to the clerk's > > office of the Supreme Court. A letter to the court explaining the reason for > > the emergency stay was filed on Dec. 1 at the clerk's office. > > > Thomas's actions were rare because, by custom, when a justice rejects a > > petition from his own circuit, the matter is dead. Even if, as can be the > > case under Rule 22, the matter can be submitted to another justice for > > consideration, that justice out of respect, will reject it also, said Trevor > > Morrison, a professor of law at Columbia University School of Law. > > > Morrison said that Thomas's actions are once in a decade. "When that does > > happen, the case has to be of an extraordinary nature and this does not fit > > that circumstance," he said. "My guess would be that Thomas accepted the > > case so it would go before the conference where it will likely be denied. If > > Thomas denied the petition, then Donofrio would be free to go to the other > > justices for their consideration. "This way, I would guess, the matter > > would be done with. Petitions of Donofrio's types are hardly ever granted." > > > Traditionally, justices do not respond to media queries, according to a > > spokesman from the Supreme Court Public Information Office. > > > Thomas was appointed to the Supreme Court by President George H.W. Bush in > > 1991 and has been one of its most conservative members. > > > Before his ascension to the court, he was appointed by Bush to the U.S. > > Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Earlier, he served as > > chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission - appointed by > > President Reagan - and worked various jobs under former Republican Sen. John > > Danforth. > > > It would take a simple majority of five justices to put Donofrio's > > emergency stay on the oral argument docket. Because it is an emergency by > > design, the argument would take place within days. > > > Donofrio wants the court to order the Electoral College to postpone its > > Dec. 15 proceedings until it rules on the Obama citizenship. He is using the > > 2000 case Bush vs. Gore case as precedent, arguing that it is of such > > compelling national interest that it should be given priority over other > > cases on the court's docket. > > > "The same conditions apply here," Donofrio said in his letter to the court, > > "as the clock is ticking down to Dec. 15, the day for the Electoral College > > to meet." > > Audrey Singer, a senior fellow at Washington's Brookings Institution, who > > is an expert on immigration, said that the Donofrio matter is "going > > nowhere." > > > "There is no way that anyone can argue about whether Barack Obama is a > > citizen," Singer said. "In this country, we have a system known as jus soli > > or birthright by citizenship. You are a citizen by being born on American > > soil and he (Obama) was born in Hawaii." > > > Singer said that Donofrio's argument that Obama's father was a Kenyan > > national does not matter because citizenship is not based on parentage, but > > on where someone was born. > > > "This is the issue that some people have with illegal aliens in our > > country," she said. "Children of illegal aliens, if they are born in the > > United States, are U.S. citizens. That is in the U.S. Constitution." > > >http://www.afro.com/DesktopModules/EngagePublish/printerfriendly.aspx... > > * > > -- > *~@):~{> > > thomasbreaks.JPG > 39KViewDownload > > clarencethomasAP.JPG > 42KViewDownload --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum
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