Little did William Rehnquist know that he would preside over an impeachment and a presidential election crisis during his tenure as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The question now is, does he want his legacy to rest with a narrowly divided decision that may ultimately decide the presidency? The world waits on the word of the nation’s highest court, holding up transcripts of yesterday’s oral arguments to divine the justices’ intent. The likelihood of an ideologically driven decision threatens both Republicans and Democrats.
Yesterday the liberal bloc on the Supreme Court seemed to be probing for a kind of compromise that could satisfy the Bush team’s equal protection claims by imposing a universal ballot recount standard across Florida’s counties. Will the pressure for consensus override the conservatives’ claims of constitutional conflict? Awaiting the Supreme Votes this hour on the Connection.
(Hosted by Christopher Lydon)
Guests:
Rich Bernstein, attorney in Washington who clerked for Justice Scalia
Neil Katyal professor of law, Georgetown university and adivsor to the Gore Campaign
and Heather Gerken, professor of Voting Rights Laws at Harvard University.