SAN FRANCISCO: Supreme Court. Monday, September 15, 2003
(09-15) 10:28 PDT (AP) --
"In sum, in assessing the public interest, the balance falls heavily in favor of postponing the election for a few months," the court said.
It was not immediately clear how the decision, if it survives, would impact the campaign in California's first voter-driven election to unseat its chief executive. The court stayed imposition of its decision for a week to allow time for appeals to the Supreme Court.
One possibility is that the nation's largest and most liberal federal appeals court might move the election to the next regularly scheduled primary on March 2.
The Davis camp, and major Democratic and Republican candidates hoping to succeed him, have been waging an all-out campaign blitz of broadcast messages, fund-raisers and appearances throughout the state.
The San Francisco-based appeals panel overturned an Aug. 20 ruling by U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson of Los Angeles, who said he would not delay the recall election. Wilson said it would be acting against the will of California's voters. In July, Secretary of State Kevin Shelley said more than 900,000 signatures of registered voters were collected to force a recall, and by law had about less than three months to call the hurry-up election.
State law also required Shelley to move from the March ballot to the recall ballot the only two voter initiatives that qualified for the ballot. Voting on those measures also has now been delayed.
