By Bill Cotterell
Florida Capital News
6 December 2007
Not wanting to spark "a free-for-all" of states leapfrogging each other in the presidential campaign, a federal judge Wednesday refused to make the Democratic National Committee seat Florida's 210-member delegation to next summer's nominating convention.
Chief U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle ruled that parties may set their schedules and enforce penalties against states defying them, as Florida did by setting a Jan. 29 date for its presidential primary.
Hinkle granted DNC Chairman Howard Dean's motion to dismiss the legal challenge brought by U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and Rep. Alcee Hastings. Nelson and his chief lawyer said they won't appeal.
"It's OK that the national party has allowed certain states to go first," Hinkle said after an hour of arguments. "There is nothing in the Constitution that mandates a free-for-all that lets every state do what it pleases."
FULL STORY
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment