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Trump supporters file 'birther' lawsuit against Cruz in federal court
The Hill ^
| 02/12/2016
| Bradford Richardson
Posted on 02/12/2016 11:22:56 AM PST by GIdget2004
Donald Trump supporters have filed a lawsuit challenging the eligibility of one of his primary rivals, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), to run for president.
The lawsuit, filed Feb. 3 at a district court in Alabama, seeks a judgment "declaring that Rafael Edward Cruz is ineligible to qualify/run/seek and be elected to the Office of the President of the United States of America" due to his Canadian birth. Cruz was born in Calgary, Canada, to an American mother.
The five plaintiffs â Sebastian Green, Shannon Duncan, Kathryn Spears, Kyle Spears and Jerry Parker â are all backing Trump in the Republican primary, according to AL.com.
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
TOPICS: Canada; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Alabama
KEYWORDS: birthers; birthorama; cruz; cruznbc; nostanding; orly; repositorycruz; tinfoilhat; trump; trumpkoolaid; ufocrowd
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To: GIdget2004
2
posted on
02/12/2016 11:24:27 AM PST
by
Uncle Miltie
(Marco "Stepford" Rubio.)
To: GIdget2004
It was bound to happen, if not supporters of a candidate, the Dems would have....we need to know what Cruz has locked up....
3
posted on
02/12/2016 11:25:28 AM PST
by
HarleyLady27
("The Force Awakens"!!! TRUMP;TRUMP;TRUMP;TRUMP!!! 100%)
To: GIdget2004; All
Birther alert!
4
posted on
02/12/2016 11:26:11 AM PST
by
EveningStar
(It's a cult.)
To: Uncle Miltie
Unless Trump himself, or one of the other candidates joins in... it will be found that they have “no standing” and be dismissed regardless of the merits.
5
posted on
02/12/2016 11:26:17 AM PST
by
fireman15
(Check your facts before making ignorant statements.)
To: GIdget2004
Cruzers are not going to like this ... but it should settle the issue once and for all either way.
Best scenario is that the court rules he is eligible ... and Trump picks him as his veep.
6
posted on
02/12/2016 11:26:55 AM PST
by
dartuser
To: Cboldt; LucyT
7
posted on
02/12/2016 11:27:15 AM PST
by
hoosiermama
(Make America Great Again by uniting Great Americans!)
To: GIdget2004
And it will get bounced right out of court as the matter is not yet ripe.
Cruz is not yet a candidate for president - only for the Republican nomination.
And that's assuming plaintiffs get around the issue of standing, which is also doubtful.
8
posted on
02/12/2016 11:27:51 AM PST
by
gdani
("I can be the most politically correct person you have ever seen")
To: fireman15
Yep.
I wish at least one of these would go to the SCOTUS so that we have a ruling once and for all that someone born in Canada or Saudi Arabia or China or wherever can go on to become the US President, as long as they have one American parent.
To: GIdget2004
I’m surprised!
The issue is much more effective for use in attacks while there’s no definite conclusion.
10
posted on
02/12/2016 11:28:01 AM PST
by
JJ_Folderol
(Just my opinion and only worth what you paid for it.)
To: GIdget2004
Trump supporters not to be confused with Trump for all you frothing at the mouth cruzbots. :-)
11
posted on
02/12/2016 11:28:05 AM PST
by
Georgia Girl 2
(The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped)
To: GIdget2004
12
posted on
02/12/2016 11:28:14 AM PST
by
oldbrowser
(The republican party is the voters, not the politicians.)
To: fireman15
it will be found that they have âno standingâ and be dismissed regardless of the merits. Why would a voter who wants to cast a vote for a legal candidate not have standing?
13
posted on
02/12/2016 11:28:18 AM PST
by
dartuser
To: GIdget2004
Donald Trump supporters have filed a lawsuit . . .Who are they suing?
14
posted on
02/12/2016 11:28:30 AM PST
by
Hoodat
(Article 4, Section 4)
To: GIdget2004
In 2011 the Trumpeters kept trying to shop around for judges to, get this: Order Obama out of the WH.
And would rescind all the laws that Obama had signed
..until one of the judges fined one of them for wasting the courts time.
That put cold water on that idiocy.
15
posted on
02/12/2016 11:28:46 AM PST
by
sickoflibs
(Trumpster : 'I don't care what he says, or what he said before. He is the only one I trust"')
To: GIdget2004
Wow, this Birther thing really came out of nowhere. Who evver heard of such a thing?
16
posted on
02/12/2016 11:28:48 AM PST
by
Wolfie
To: GIdget2004; Jane Long; BlackFemaleArmyCaptain; Black Agnes; djstex; mkjessup; RoosterRedux; ...
17
posted on
02/12/2016 11:28:57 AM PST
by
HarleyLady27
("The Force Awakens"!!! TRUMP;TRUMP;TRUMP;TRUMP!!! 100%)
To: hoosiermama
No standing, if past cases control. One of these times, plaintiffs are going to find a judge who wants to go down in history, and if there is one thing we know about courts, it is that they are arbitrary when viewed as a whole.
18
posted on
02/12/2016 11:29:10 AM PST
by
Cboldt
To: fireman15
"... it will be found that they have âno standingâ and be dismissed regardless of the merits."
As far as the United States Constitution, pay particular attention to
U.S. Constitution - Article 1 Section 8The Congress shall have Power ... To make ALL Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers,
and ALL other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.
Also, pay particular attention to
U.S. Constitution - Article I, section 5Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, ...
As
I have commented on before and supported with links, in the article
Akhil Reed Amar, author of
CNN's Why Ted Cruz is eligible to be president wrote:
" ... The Constitution's 12th Amendment clearly saysthat Congress counts the electoral votes at a special session;
and thus Congress is constitutionally authorized to refuse to count any electoral votes
that Congress considers invalid.
Elsewhere, Article I, section 5 of the Constitution makes clearthat each house of Congress may "judge" whether a would-be member of that housemeets the constitutional eligibility rules for that house.
Suppose Mr. Smith wants to go to Washington as a senator.
He wins election in his home state.
But the Constitution says a senator must be 30 years old.
If a dispute arises about Smith's age, about whether there a proper birth certificate and what it says,
the Constitution clearly says the Senate is "the judge" of Smith's birth certificate dispute.
Similarly, for presidential elections the Constitution's structure makes Congress the judge of any birth certificate disputeor any other issue of presidential eligibility.
Congress cannot fabricate new presidential eligibility rulesbut it is the judge of the eligibility rules prescribed in the Constitution.
Thus, ordinary courts should butt out, now and forever.
They have no proper role here, because the Constitution itself makes Congress the special judge.
In legal jargon, the issue is a "nonjusticiable political question."
NOTE:
nonjusticiable political question Legal questions are deemed to be justiciable, while political questions are nonjusticiable. [Huhn, Wilson R. American Constitutional Law Volume 1. 2016.]
One scholar explained: The political question doctrine holdsthat some questions, in their nature, are fundamentally political, and not legal,
and if a question is fundamentally political ... then the court will refuse to hear that case.
It will claim that it doesn't have jurisdiction.
And it will leave that question to some other aspect of the political process to settle out. - - John E. Finn, professor of government, 2006 [2]
A ruling of nonjusticiability will ultimately prohibit the issue that is bringing the case before the court from being able to be heard in a court of law.
In the typical case where there is a finding of nonjusticiability due to the political question doctrine,the issue presented before the court is usually so specific
that the Constitution gives ALL power to one of the coordinate political branches,
or at the opposite end of the spectrum, the issue presented is so vaguethat the United States Constitution does not even consider it.
A court can only decide issues based on law.
The Constitution dictates the different legal responsibilities of each respective branch of government.
If there is an issue where the court does not have the Constitution as a guide, there are no legal criteria to use.
When there are no specific constitutional duties involved, the issue is to be decided through the democratic process.
The court will not engage in political disputes.
A constitutional dispute that requires knowledgeof a non-legal character
or the use of techniques not suitable for a court or explicitly assigned by the Constitution to the U.S. Congress, or the President of the United States,
is a political question, which judges customarily refuse to address.
Now, let's take a close look at the word "NATURALIZATION", its history, and FROM WHERE it was derived .
What is the root word of
"Naturalization" ?
"Naturalize" ! "admit (an alien) to rights of a citizen," 1550s (implied in naturalized), from natural (adj.) in its etymological sense of "by birth" + -ize;in some instances from Middle French naturaliser, from natural.
Of things, from 1620s; of plants or animals, from 1796.
Not only could the Founding Father define
"natural born citizen", BUT ...
THE FOUNDING FATHERS DID DEFINE IT !
The Naturalization Act of 1790, let's read it
!
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled,That any Alien being a free white person,who shall have resided within the limits and under the jurisdiction of the United States for the term of two years,
may be admitted to become a citizen thereof on application to any common law Court of record in any one of the Stateswherein he shall have resided for the term of one year at least,
and making proof to the satisfaction of such Court thathe is a person of good character,
and taking the oath or affirmation prescribed by lawto support the Constitution of the United States,
which Oath or Affirmation such Court shall administer,
and the Clerk of such Court shall record such Application, and the proceedings thereon;
and thereupon such person shall be considered as a Citizen of the United States.
And the children of such person so naturalized,dwelling within the United States,
being under the age of twenty one years at the time of such naturalization,
shall also be considered as citizens of the United States.
And the children of citizens of the United States that may be born beyond Sea, or out of the limits of the United States,shall be considered as natural born Citizens: Provided, thatthe right of citizenship shall not descend to persons whose fathers have never been resident in the United States:
Provided also, thatno person heretofore proscribed by any States, shall be admitted a citizen as aforesaid,except by an Act of the Legislature of the State in which such person was proscribed.
Take a look at the original one WRITTEN BY our FOUNDING FATHERS,
and VERIFY IT FOR YOURSELF in the list of NAMES of the members of our FIRST CONGRESS !
1st United States Congress, 21-26 Senators and 59-65 Representatives
Finally, read the latest from links provided by the
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the government agency that oversees lawful immigration to the United States.
READ IT VERY CLOSELY.
Constitutional Topic: Citizenship
... Citizenship is mentioned in
If you're going to be involved in government in the United States, citizenship is a must.
To be a Senator or Representative, you must be a citizen of the United States.
To be President, not only must you be a citizen, but you must also be natural-born.
Aside from participation in government, citizenship is an honor bestowed upon people by the citizenry of the United States when a non-citizen passes the required tests and submits to an oath.
Natural-born citizen
Who is a natural-born citizen?
Who, in other words, is a citizen at birth, such that that person can be a President someday?
The 14th Amendment defines citizenship this way:"All persons born or naturalized in the United States,and subject to the jurisdiction thereof,
are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."
But even this does not get specific enough.
As usual, the Constitution provides the framework for the law, but it is the law that fills in the gaps.
The Constitution authorizes the Congress to create clarifying legislation inalso allows the Congress to create law regarding naturalization,
Currently, Title 8 of the U.S. Code fills in the gaps left by the Constitution.
Section 1401 defines the following as people who are "citizens of the United States at birth:"
- Anyone born inside the United States *
* There is an exception in the law - - the person must be "subject to the jurisdiction" of the United States.
This would exempt the child of a diplomat, for example, from this provision.
- Any Indian or Eskimo born in the United States, provided being a citizen of the U.S. does not impair the person's status as a citizen of the tribe
- Any one born outside the United States, both of whose parents are citizens of the U.S., as long as one parent has lived in the U.S.
- Any one born outside the United States, if one parent is a citizen and lived in the U.S. for at least one year and the other parent is a U.S. national
- Any one born in a U.S. possession, if one parent is a citizen and lived in the U.S. for at least one year
- Any one found in the U.S. under the age of five, whose parentage cannot be determined, as long as proof of non-citizenship is not provided by age 21
- Any one born outside the United States, if one parent is an alien and as long as the other parent is a citizen of the U.S. who lived in the U.S. for at least five years (with military and diplomatic service included in this time)
- A final, historical condition:
a person born before 5/24/1934 of an alien father and a U.S. citizen mother who has lived in the U.S.
Anyone falling into these categories is considered natural-born, and is eligible to run for President or Vice President.
These provisions allow the children of military families to be considered natural-born, for example.
Separate sections handle territories that the United States has acquired over time, such asEach of these sections confer citizenship on persons living in these territories as of a certain date,
and usually confer natural-born status on persons born in those territories after that date.For example, for Puerto Rico, all persons born in Puerto Rico between April 11, 1899, and January 12, 1941, are automatically conferred citizenship as of the date the law was signed by the President (June 27, 1952).
Additionally, all persons born in Puerto Rico on or after January 13, 1941, are natural-born citizens of the United States.Note that because of when the law was passed, for some, the natural-born status was retroactive.
The law contains one other section of historical note, concerning the Panama Canal Zone and the nation of Panama.
In 8 USC 1403, the law states thatanyone born in the Canal Zone or in Panama itself, on or after February 26, 1904, to a mother and/or father who is a United States citizen,
was "declared" to be a United States citizen.Note that the terms "natural-born" or "citizen at birth" are missing from this section.
In 2008, when Arizona Senator John McCain ran for president on the Republican ticket, some theorized thatbecause McCain was born in the Canal Zone,
he was not actually qualified to be president.
However, it should be noted that section 1403 was written to apply to a small group of people to whom section 1401 did not apply.
McCain is a natural-born citizen under 8 USC 1401(c):"a person born outside of the United States and its outlying possessions of parents both of whom are citizens of the United States
and one of whom has had a residence in the United States or one of its outlying possessions, prior to the birth of such person."
Not everyone agrees that this section includes McCain - - but absent a court ruling either way, we must presume citizenship.
U.S. Nationals
A "national" is a person who is considered under the legal protection of a country, while not necessarily a citizen.
National status is generally conferred on persons who lived in places acquired by the U.S. before the date of acquisition.
A person can be a national-at-birth under a similar set of rules for a natural-born citizen.
U.S. nationals must go through the same processes as an immigrant to become a full citizen.
U.S. nationals who become citizens are not considered natural-born.
(Continued)
19
posted on
02/12/2016 11:29:37 AM PST
by
Yosemitest
(It's SIMPLE ! ... Fight, ... or Die !)
To: GIdget2004
Don’t kid yourself, should Cruz get the nomination the Dems will also be doing this.
20
posted on
02/12/2016 11:29:42 AM PST
by
freedomjusticeruleoflaw
(Western Civilization- whisper the words, and it will disappear. So let us talk now about rebirth.)
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