|
United States Supreme Court Building
|
By James Wright
AFRO Staff Writer
(December 8, 2008) -- The U.S. Supreme Court today rejected an emergency appeal from a retired lawyer who questioned the eligibility of Barack Obama to become the 44th president of the United States.
East Brunswick, N.J. attorney Leo Donofrio had filed an appeal to the high court, claiming that the president-elect had dual British-American citizenship at birth and, therefore, does not meet the Constitution’s requirement that the president be a “natural born citizen” of the United States.
Obama’s father was a Kenyan-born British subject; however, his mother was a U.S. citizen. And Obama himself was born in the United States -- in Hawaii.
In releasing its decision not to intervene in the outcome of the Nov. 4 presidential election, the court simply stated: “The application for stay addressed to Justice Thomas and referred to the Court is denied.”
Donofrio initially submitted his claim in early November to Associate Justice David Souter who had denied the stay requested by Donofrio.
At Donofrio’s request, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas then referred the matter to the full court which today also rejected the challenge.
There are other lawsuits contesting Obama’s citizenship. None are apparently impacted by today's decision. Among the ongoing cases is one filed a few weeks after the general election by Republican Alan Keyes.