Judge Tosses Suit Over McCain Citizenship

From the Nashua, NH Telegraph:

Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., speaks at a news conference in King’s Supermarket in Bethlehem, Pa., Wednesday, July 23, 2008.

Judge tosses suit against McCain over citizenship

By KEVIN LANDRIGAN Staff Writer

Jul 25, 2008

CONCORD – A federal judge dismissed Thursday a Nashua man’s legal challenge that Republican presidential nominee-to-be Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., was ineligible because he was born in the Panama Canal Zone.

After a one-hour hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Joseph LaPlante ruled Fred Hollander, of 56 Dorchester Way, lacked legal standing to bring the complaint.

Hollander had maintained that as a Republican supporting another unidentified candidate, McCain’s victory in the New Hampshire primary and in contests following that point disenfranchised Hollander’s vote.

“There may be people who can make this argument but Mr. Hollander, I don’t think you can do so,” LaPlante said in his ruling from the bench.

The judge said he planned to have a decision in writing available to the public today.

Hollander, a computer programmer, said he needs time to decide whether to appeal this case to the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston.

“It was a lot of effort to get it to this point,” said Hollander, who first lodged the suit last March.

Charles Douglas, one of McCain’s lawyers, said he was pleased LaPlante made the decision so quickly since the Arizona senator is to formally accept the nomination at the Republican National Convention on Sept. 1.

Taylor Griffin, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, said it came as no surprise.

“We were very confident because the issue had been raised during Senator McCain’s 2000 presidential campaign,” Griffin said.

LaPlante noted the federal court where he sits ruled in 2000 that supporters of independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader did not have standing to challenge Nader’s exclusion from presidential debates.

He cited other federal rulings denying voters the right to sue.

The core of Hollander’s suit was Article II, Section 1, of the Constitution of the United States, which states that “No person except a natural born Citizen . . . shall be eligible to the Office of President.”

That provision is what prevents naturalized citizens from being eligible to become president.

McCain was born Aug. 29, 1936, at the Coco Solo Naval Air Station, a U.S. military base in the Panama Canal Zone. His parents both were U.S. citizens; his father was a Naval officer.

The Panama Canal Zone was not U.S. territory, however, and Hollander had tried to argue that McCain was therefore technically a naturalized citizen and “unequivocally ineligible” to serve as president.

LaPlante relied upon a landmark 1974 Supreme Court ruling saying to bring suit in federal court a citizen has to be an injured party, be able to challenge conduct that caused the injury and can through a suit get that injury remedied.

“I don’t think it follows logically or factually from the facts that Senator McCain was on the ballot and eventually got the nomination of the Republican Party that your vote was somehow undermined,” LaPlante said to Hollander.

Matthew McGill, a lawyer representing McCain and the Republican National Committee, had also argued courts should not get involved at all.

“This would be the first case in the history of the nation to declare a candidate ineligible for office,” McGill said.

“That has major implications for the separation of powers, if the judges can pick and choose who will hold the offices of the branch that picks the members of the judiciary.”

McGill claimed the suit was also not timely.

“If John McCain loses the election, this issue never gets to be decided,” McGill said.

After dismissing the case, LaPlante praised Hollander for pressing this matter without a lawyer.

“I want to commend you. I really admire your commitment to the Constitution,” LaPlante said.

“You have been amazingly resourceful, your pleadings have made good arguments, and you managed to get a birth certificate of John McCain which I had never seen before.

“I know that’s cold comfort for you now.”

For his part, Hollander remains a partisan Republican.

During a brief an interview, Hollander said LaPlante’s decision would not stop a losing candidate after November to challenge McCain prior to his inauguration as President.

“Then the Democrats could argue it should go to the next place candidacy who would be Barack Obama,” Hollander said.

“That would be our worst nightmare.”

Of course this is all errant nonsense. (Much like the questions about Obama’s situation.)

Like him or not, Mr. McCain is a natural born US citizen in any number of ways.

Still, we can dream, can’t we?