Bob Franken on Bush's case before the U.S. Supreme Court

National Correspondent Bob Franken is keeping an eye on George W. Bush's petition to the U.S. Supreme Court. The petition, which has been accepted by the court, argues the Florida Supreme Court's decision to include numbers from hand recounts of some Florida counties with the state's vote total is unconstitutional.

Q: The U.S. Supreme Court is seen as the court of last resort, but will a decision in this case settle this issue?

Bob Franken

FRANKEN: It's hard to tell. It sometimes feels like this will never be settled. But the U.S. Supreme Court, of course, could certainly have a major influence on this being over with.

Q: In accepting the case, the court said nothing about Sunday's 5 p.m. deadline set by the Florida Supreme Court for the Florida Secretary of State to accept amended results with recounts added. What happens with that?

FRANKEN: It will go forward and by all accounts it won't be the last word. The U.S. Supreme Court hearing is but one of several court hearings that are already scheduled on that issue.

Q: Will the justices hear the case if Bush is certified as the winner of Florida?

FRANKEN: Sure, it's not necessarily moot. The issues remain and they would still go on. The issue in the case is not damages; the issue is whether the hand recounts should be considered. Theoretically, the Supreme Court case could provide ammunition for Gore to argue that hand recounts should be considered in some of the counties were they were not considered.

Q: If he fails to win Florida, would Bush be better off challenging that in state court?

FRANKEN: Their legal team's point of view is that they should mount challenges anywhere they can because there's a sort of cumulative effect. But at the Supreme Court there is more than cumulative effect, as obviously it is the highest court in land.

Q: What was the Bush petition that was not accepted by the U.S. Supreme Court?

FRANKEN: It was the one challenging a decision by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of appeals to deny an emergency injunction to halt manual recounts.

The Supreme Court did accept the petition that challenged the Florida Supreme Court decision which ordered the amended recount tallies to be added to the state total by a certain time.

Q: Five Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives have asked the Justice Department to launch an investigation into the decision to halt the manual recount in Miami-Dade, alleging Republicans may have orchestrated a "climate of fear" to intimidate the board.

FRANKEN: The question would be: What laws were violated by organizing demonstrations? But the Democrats would contend that it is more than an issue of freedom of expression because there was violence that went beyond freedom of expression.

Q: Could there be civil lawsuits after the election is finally over?

FRANKEN: Anything is possible. And if there are any lawyers left who aren't involved in the cases already in courts, maybe they'll file a civil lawsuit.