Judge: Cruz, Rubio will stay on ballot; Arkansan had challenged candidates' eligibility

[HAPPY2BME]

A Helena-West Helena man who is running for president as an independent candidate got his day in court Monday before a federal judge.

Later in the day, Chief U.S. District Judge Brian Miller issued a written ruling in Little Rock denying David Librace's request for an order knocking Republican presidential candidates Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio off the ballot because of what Librace says is both men's failure to meet the "natural-born citizen" requirement of the U.S. Constitution.

Miller also granted the U.S. senators' motions to dismiss the lawsuit filed Feb. 3 by the 53-year-old Librace, saying that the plumber and former jewelry maker who sued without a lawyer lacks legal standing to bring the suit. To have legal standing, a person must have a sufficient stake to obtain judicial resolution, according to Black's Law Dictionary.

Miller said Librace couldn't show that he has been injured by having the names of Rubio, a U.S. senator from Florida, and Cruz, a U.S. senator from Texas, on the Arkansas ballot.

Cruz was born in Canada to an American mother. Rubio was born in Miami, but his Cuban parents weren't citizens at the time.

"The injuries set forth by Mr. Librace are not concrete and particularized because he shares these injuries with every other voter in Arkansas," Miller said. He said the U.S. Supreme Court has consistently held that "a plaintiff raising only a generally available grievance about government -- claiming only harm to his and every citizen's interest in proper application of the Constitution and laws, and seeking relief that no more directly and tangibly benefits him than it does the public at large -- does not state an Article III case or controversy."

Federal judges derive their authority under Article III of the U.S. Constitution.

Miller also noted that "this is not the first time a plaintiff has challenged a candidate's eligibility to be President, and courts have consistently held that voters do not have standing to sue based on the 'birther' argument," which focuses on whether a candidate satisfies the Constitution's natural-born citizen clause. He cited a ruling from the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that dismissed a similar complaint against President Barack Obama in 2009, a 2008 ruling stemming from a challenge of U.S. Sen. John McCain's eligibility for the presidency that declared that federal judges don't have jurisdiction over such matters, and a 2012 ruling in another case challenging Obama's eligibility.

"Although the questions raised by Mr. Librace are interesting, they are questions that he simply does not have standing to bring," Miller wrote. He said that while the issue itself may not be settled, "What is settled ... is that an individual voter lacks standing to raise that challenge in the federal courts."

The U.S. Supreme Court has never defined the term "natural-born citizen," and Miller said that may be because the courts can't weigh in on the issue in the first place.

A.J. Kelly, Arkansas deputy secretary of state, said the question is one for Congress to decide and that it would be "grossly unfair" to the roughly 170,000 people in Arkansas who have already voted to learn that their votes for either senator didn't count. Those were among several arguments Kelly made Monday in a 33-page answer to the lawsuit after Miller agreed late Friday afternoon to let Librace air his complaints in the courtroom.

The lawsuit named as defendants Secretary of State Mark Martin, who placed Cruz and Rubio on the ballot; the Republican Party of Arkansas; and the two U.S. senators.

Kelly said Librace wasn't a suitable plaintiff because he is a convicted felon from Florida who used to go by the name Roy Allen Cole -- which Librace said was his name before he was adopted.

Attorney Jason Brett Torchinsky of Virginia, who represented one of the candidates, noted that Librace filed his lawsuit more than nine months after both Cruz and Rubio announced their candidacies in the spring of 2015 and more than two months after the Arkansas filing period ended.

http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2016/mar/01/judge-2-names-will-stay-on-ballot-20160/?f=news-arkansas

[alicewonders]

So, what is it going to take for someone to "have standing" to bring this to court?  A "class-action" suit? 

Once again, no judge has ruled that these two men are eligible to run - only that the persons bringing the lawsuit have no standing.

I don't believe either Cruz nor Rubio are actually eligible as defined by Natural Born Citizen.  I know that Cruz knows that, because he is supposed to be the expert. 

I do believe that our Constitution is being challenged by this - as there are plenty of entities that would love to see it destroyed - and to enable anyone from all over the globe to become our president...

...and I shudder to think of the consequences of that.

Ted Cruz says he is defending the Constitution - all the while he is actually challenging it.

[sinkspur]

David Librace?

[libertybele]

Let's see...we'll go through this again...I'll try to make it easy.  Jane Doe is born in the U.S. and becomes pregnant.  Hypothetically let's say she lives in Detroit and decides to meet up with a friend and spend the weekend  in Canada.  She crosses the border and the next day while in Canada she gives birth.  THAT BABY IS A NATURAL BORN CITIZEN DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE MOTHER IS A U.S. citizen.

Rubio was actually born inside the U.S.; however neither of his parents were U.S. citizens. He too is a NATURAL BORN CITIZEN BECAUSE HE WAS BORN ON U.S. soil.

The later has been questioned more recently because of the influx of illegal immigration and women coming over the border to give birth thus making their child U.S. citizens.

Once again it has been stated and acknowledged by Trump that his team of lawyers actually checked into this issue long ago and found that Cruz IS ELIGIBLE.  Nothing was stated in regards to Rubio.

[alicewonders]

Let's see...we'll go through this again...I'll try to make it easy.  Jane Doe is born in the U.S. and becomes pregnant.  Hypothetically let's say she lives in Detroit and decides to meet up with a friend and spend the weekend  in Canada.  She crosses the border and the next day while in Canada she gives birth.  THAT BABY IS A NATURAL BORN CITIZEN DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE MOTHER IS A U.S. citizen.

Rubio was actually born inside the U.S.; however neither of his parents were U.S. citizens. He too is a NATURAL BORN CITIZEN BECAUSE HE WAS BORN ON U.S. soil.

The later has been questioned more recently because of the influx of illegal immigration and women coming over the border to give birth thus making their child U.S. citizens.

Once again it has been stated and acknowledged by Trump that his team of lawyers actually checked into this issue long ago and found that Cruz IS ELIGIBLE.  Nothing was stated in regards to Rubio.

Not so sure that is correct.  Again, I am not a legal expert, but I present a statement that refutes that:

http://www.federalistblog.us/2008/11/natural-born_citizen_defined/

"When a child inherits the citizenship of their father, they become a natural-born citizen of the nation their father belongs regardless of where they might be born. It should be pointed out that citizenship through descent of the father was recognized by U.S. Naturalization law whereby children became citizens themselves as soon as their father had become a naturalized citizen, or were born in another country to a citizen father.

Yes, birth is prima facie evidence of citizenship, but only the citizenship of the nation the father is a member.

* Temporary sojourners like transient aliens were a description applied to aliens other than resident aliens. The difference being temporary aliens were here for temporary purposes, such as work, travel, visitation or school, who had no desire to become citizens or was prevented from becoming citizens by law. Resident aliens were those who desired to become citizens and had renounced their prior allegiances and had taken the legal steps to become citizens or reside within some state per state law.

UPDATE: In regards to questions about the citizenship of the mother: Mothers citizenship rarely ever influenced the citizenship of their children except in certain situations such as the father dying before the child was born or when the identity of the father was unknown."

I'd have to do some more research on Rubio's status - but I believe a case is made that he too, is not eligible.

[ABX]

Let's see...we'll go through this again...I'll try to make it easy.  Jane Doe is born in the U.S. and becomes pregnant.  Hypothetically let's say she lives in Detroit and decides to meet up with a friend and spend the weekend  in Canada.  She crosses the border and the next day while in Canada she gives birth.  THAT BABY IS A NATURAL BORN CITIZEN DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE MOTHER IS A U.S. citizen.

Rubio was actually born inside the U.S.; however neither of his parents were U.S. citizens. He too is a NATURAL BORN CITIZEN BECAUSE HE WAS BORN ON U.S. soil.

The later has been questioned more recently because of the influx of illegal immigration and women coming over the border to give birth thus making their child U.S. citizens.

Once again it has been stated and acknowledged by Trump that his team of lawyers actually checked into this issue long ago and found that Cruz IS ELIGIBLE.  Nothing was stated in regards to Rubio.

It really is that simple and has been gone over ad nauseam by experts. Unfortunately in the blog world, you'll find every splitting of hair and application of every foreign law possible to try to make it appear otherwise. Application of what the founders meant is easy to determine by the first immigration and citizenship laws they passed. No need to guess, no need to try to cite foreign sources. They wrote it down very simply.

There are 2 classes of citizens.
Those who are born citizens- Natural Born
Those who are naturalized citizens.

Not mysterious extra classes of citizens. Born a citizen or naturalized. That's it.

[libertybele]

Ok wonderful. All of the Supervisor of Elections were wrong, the recent courts that dismissed the cases were wrong and so the only candidate eligble to be president is Trump and Carson!  Great....I guess that solves all the issues and we don't have to go through the electoral process anymore.  Got it!

Just to make sure, another judge will be ruling on Cruz' eligibility Thursday.  We wouldn't want someone like Cruz who's mother was born in the U.S. and who himself is a U.S.citizen, with his  caliber, education and demeanor, running for President when we can have a buffoon like Trump.  Got it!  Oh did I tell you, that Trump is going to make America great again?  Believe me he will.  Trust him, he'll do it!