''Bush v. Palm Beach County Canvassing Board'', 531 U.S. 70 (2000), was a

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

decision involving

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

voters during the 2000 presidential election. In this case, the U.S. Supreme Court requested clarification from the

Florida Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Florida is the highest court in the U.S. state of Florida. It consists of seven members: the chief justice and six justices. Six members are chosen from six districts around the state to foster geographic diversity, and one ...

regarding the decision it had made in ''

Palm Beach County Canvassing Board v. Harris (Harris I) ''Palm Beach County Canvassing Board v. Harris'' (Harris I) was a lawsuit pertaining to the 2000 United States presidential election. Lawsuit There were two main issues: * Whether the county A county is a geographic region of a country ...

''. Shortly after the Florida Supreme Court provided those clarifications on December 11, the U.S. Supreme Court resolved the election in favor of

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

over

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic Part ...

in the case of ''

Bush v. Gore ''Bush v. Gore'', 531 U.S. 98 (2000), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court on December 12, 2000, that settled a recount dispute in Florida's 2000 presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore. On December 8, th ...

''.

Background

The 2000 presidential election was contingent upon who won the popular vote in Florida. Republican George W. Bush was narrowly ahead in the tally. Democrat Al Gore challenged the decision of Katherine Harris, Florida's Secretary of State, to certify Bush as the winner on November 14 (a 7-day deadline set by Florida statute § 102.111). Gore asserted that Harris had disregarded manual recount results in four Florida counties. The Florida Supreme Court, in deciding between two conflicting provisions of Florida statute (§ 102.111 and § 102.112), enjoined Harris from certifying the election results and invoked its equitable powers to set a November 26 deadline for a return of ballot counts, thereby extending the deadline by 12 days. (The court allowed Harris the option of setting the deadline as November 27, which was a Monday. Harris did not.) The court directed Harris to accept manual recounts submitted prior to the new deadline. Bush then appealed the Florida Supreme Court decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Issues before U.S. Supreme Court

The Court was faced with two questions. First, did post-election court decisions in Florida violate the

Due Process Clause In United States constitutional law, a Due Process Clause is found in both the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, which prohibits arbitrary deprivation of "life, liberty, or property" by the government except as ...

of the U.S. Constitution or ? Second, did the Florida Supreme Court violate

Article II of the United States Constitution Article often refers to: * Article (grammar), a grammatical element used to indicate definiteness or indefiniteness * Article (publishing), a piece of nonfictional prose that is an independent part of a publication Article may also refer to: G ...

, which confers plenary power in the appointment of Electors on state legislatures, when the Florida Supreme Court allegedly changed the manner in which Florida's electoral votes were chosen?

Holding

The Court unanimously held that there was "considerable uncertainty" as to the reasons for the Florida Supreme Court's decision. According to ''Vanity Fair'', "The unanimity was, in fact, a charade; four of the justices had no beef at all with the Florida Supreme Court, while at least four others were determined to overturn it." Therefore, the Court declined to review the questions presented, instead vacating the Florida Supreme Court decision and remanding the case for clarification of two questions. First, to what extent did the Florida Supreme Court see the Florida Constitution as circumscribing the legislature's authority under Article II of the federal Constitution (i.e., whether it had based its ruling on the state constitution, which the Bush team had said was improper, or had acted under state statute, which was arguably permissible.)? Second, how much consideration did the Florida Supreme Court give to a relevant federal statute, namely 3 U.S.C. § 5?

References

External links

* {{USElectionCourt 2000 United States presidential election in Florida United States Supreme Court cases United States Supreme Court cases of the Rehnquist Court United States elections case law 2000 in United States case law

Background

Issues before U.S. Supreme Court

Holding

See also

References

External links