Some Serious Legal challenges to Cruz's eligibility from Democrats

[SpiritOf1776_J4]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/victor-williams/not-eligible-to-play-top-_b_9554784.html

http://www.gloucestercitynews.net/c...charges-professor-victor-williams-bethes.html

BETHESDA, Md., April 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- . A primary ballot disqualification hearing is scheduled by the Secretary of State for Monday, April 11 at 9:00 a.m. in Mercerville, New Jersey. Washington D.C. Law Professor Victor Williams charges that Ted Cruz fraudulently…

New Jersey presents the most interesting opportunity. The deadline for New Jersey signature petitions is April 4 and all challenges are due three days later. Thus a formal challenge waits for Mr. Cruz when he files his New Jersey petitions — each one of which falsely attests that he is constitutionally qualified for the office.

Not eligible for the presidency, the vice-presidency is also verboten. If Ted Cruz is chosen for the GOP ticket — “playing top or bottom” — the debate over his constitutional ineligibility will go nuclear. House Democrat Alan Grayson pledges to initiate lawsuits: “I’m waiting for the moment that he gets the nomination.”

Will quote more later. But this guy entered race just so he could challenge Ted Cruz's eligibility as a write in candidate, and he's a law professor. Quotes from several other legal scholars from the democratic side in the Huffington article, making arguments sounding similar to ones made on this board. This issue isn't going to go away.

 

[SpiritOf1776_J4]

http://hotair.com/archives/2016/01/...ing-cruzs-eligibility-like-it-did-for-mccain/

Mitch McConnell: Why no, the Senate won’t pass a resolution affirming Cruz’s eligibility like it did for McCain

No help from senate

 

[Jan2017]

http://hotair.com/archives/2016/01/...ing-cruzs-eligibility-like-it-did-for-mccain/

Mitch McConnell: Why no, the Senate won’t pass a resolution affirming Cruz’s eligibility like it did for McCain

No help from senate

This will be bipartisan . . . 27 % of Republicans say Cruz is not eligible as foreignborn to one Citizen-parent only (another 26% Don't Know)
(Rafael Sr. naturalized to USA when Ted was 35 yrs old . . . way beyond the time he needed for Teduardo to have been an automatic citizen
at birth - which is still naturalization covered by the 1952 Natutalization Act - Madison in 1789 affirmed the constitutional language so
really no one can consider Ted Cruz a natural born Citizen by birth, ever)

 

[CaptUSA]

Ok, so if those of us who despise Trump are doing the work of the "establishment" (lol), then does that mean that you are doing the work of the democrats?




Seriously, I have much bigger problems with Cruz than whether or not some other party will challenge his eligibility.

 

[kahless]

His press release: Ted Cruz Risks Primary Disqualification in New Jersey, Other Late-Primary States, Charges Professor Victor Williams
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-rele...rges-professor-victor-williams-300248565.html

Williams' fraud charges had quick effect in New Jersey. Rather than accepting Cruz's ballot petition when filed last week, the Secretary of State (Kim Guadagno) scheduled the unusual Administrative Law hearing for April 11. The Canadian-born Cruz must prove that he did not falsely certify his eligibility for office.

Cruz's ballot eligibility is also being challenged in California, Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, Oregon, South Dakota, and Washington.

Campaign website, running for sole reason to challenge Cruz's eligibility.
http://victorwilliamsforpresident.com/ted-canadian-cruz-is-not-natural-born-eiligible

Mr. Cruz is not constitutionally qualified under the “natural born Citizen” requirement of Article II, Section 1 for the Office of President or the Office of the Vice-President.

Ted Cruz is a "natural - born" Canadian. He again acknowledged this fact in the formal processes required for him to renounce his Canadian citizenship.

Until May 2014, Mr. Cruz was free to enjoy all the rights and privileges of his natural-born Canadian citizenship.

South of the 49th parallel North, however, the United States Constitution's Article II, Section 1 is explicit in listing three absolute tests required for any Candidate to qualify for the presidency:

"No person except a natural born Citizen...shall be eligible to the Office of President, neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen years a Resident within the United States."

Like the 14 years residency requirement, the “natural born Citizen” requirement is a test of American soil. This natural-born soil test is required only for the nation’s highest federal office – the presidency.

Ted Cruz fails this "Jus Soli" (law of the soil) test. The requirement of “Jus Soli” citizenship was, and is, antithetical to any statutory conferring of citizenship on children born abroad of American parents. And Mr. Cruz knows that he fails the test yet he continues with his fraudulent campaign.

Our U.S. Constitution only grants Congress with the enumerated power of “Naturalization” in Article I, Section 8, Clause 4. The Constitution does not give Congress any legal-power (or miraculous-ability) to create a “natural born citizen.” Nor does the Constitution allow Congress to modify the Article II, Section 1 test of natural-born citizenship. Mr. Cruz knows very well that he became an America citizen only by a statutory naturalization process.

It is inconsequential that Mr. Cruz’s naturalization, in accord with the controlling statute, happened automatically due to his mother’s American citizenship. Ted Cruz ultimately has exactly the very same quality of naturalized citizenship as that obtained by those 650,000 other immigrant aliens who go through more complex naturalization processes each year.

Congress only excused Rafael Edward Cruz from the complex nature of the naturalization processes to which most alien immigrants are subject. Congress choose to automatically naturalize Ted Cruz, and thus through a fiction of the statutory law, treat Ted Cruz somewhat like he was a “natural born citizen,” but that statutory fiction does not actually make him “natural born.” Mr. Cruz’s Alberta-size, now Texas-size, wishing does not make it so.

Nor does his long con to obtain ballot access although he is not qualified.

University of Chicago Law Professor Eric Posner puts the case directly:

"To naturalize an alien is to confer citizenship status but not to somehow convert him to having been born in America; similarly, to confer citizenship by statute to someone born abroad to an American parent is not the same thing as retroactively making that person born in this country—making him natural born—which would be impossible."

Eric Posner, Ted Cruz Is Not Eligible To Be President, Slate, Feb. 8, 2016.
Other scholars share Professor Eric Posner’s conclusion through similar and alternative analytical models. Professor Mary McManamon’s detailed work reflects the most comprehensive historic analysis. See Mary Brigid McManamon, The Natural Born Citizen Clause as Originally Understood, 64 Catholic Univ. L Rev. 317 2015
(available at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2444766).
Professor Einer R. Elhauge’s very recent, exhaustive work, taking the form of a 2016 amicus brief filed in related litigation, leaves no doubt that Mr. Cruz is not eligible for the presidency. See Einer R. Elhauge, Why Ted Cruz Is Not a Natural Born Citizen Eligible to Be President and Why the Issue Is Not a Political Question
(available at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2748863).

Here is another challenge in Utah.

Walter L. Wagner, Petitioner
v.
Rafael Edward Cruz
Petition for a writ of certiorari before judgment filed. (Response due May 5, 2016)
http://www.supremecourt.gov/Search.aspx?FileName=/docketfiles\15-1243.htm

Suit Challenging Cruz Eligibility Reaches Supreme Court
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/suit-challenging-cruz-eligibility-reaches-supreme-court-n553321

 

[fedupinmo]

Williams is incorrect on one thing, the idea that Cruz's citizenship is equal to a naturalized immigrant. According to Afroyim v Rusk, a naturalized immigrant has a 14th Amendment right to citizenship. According to Rogers v Bellei, a foreign-born child of a US citizen does not.

 

[kpitcher]

It'd be hilarious if Hillary and Cruz get their prospective nominations and then both get tied up in the courts

 

[Zippyjuan]

The hearing on the New Jersey suit was Monday- supposed to be a ruling today (Tuesday).

An administrative law judge heard arguments from Williams and lawyers for Cruz on Monday. Judge Jeff Masin said he expects to issue a ruling Tuesday on the issues of standing and whether Cruz is a natural born citizen.

Williams attempted, but failed, to intervene in a Pennsylvania lawsuit on the citizenship issue. It was dismissed last week because the courts said the challenger in that case did not have standing to sue.

Federal courts require that those going to court must show that they would suffer an injury that's concrete and particular to them. Suing simply on the basis of being a citizen and a taxpayer isn't enough.

For the same reason, lower courts have rejected a lawsuit filed by a retired Utah lawyer, Walter Wagner, who says he has "a vested interest in insuring that all candidates for the position of president are legally qualified."

Wagner has appealed his case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

But because Williams is a candidate himself, he argues that he can succeed where others have failed by showing that he would suffer a direct and concrete injury if an unqualified candidate were to be allowed. In addition to New Jersey, Williams has also filed to run in California, Montana, Nebraska, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Washington, and Wisconsin.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/law-professor-candidate-challenges-cruz-citizenship-n554046

 

[SpiritOf1776_J4]

I'm not waiting for anything specular. But Williams seemed to have a pretty good strategy for the state AND federal level with legal arguments as far as I looked at it. At this point, that's where the real joy is - reading through it.

 

[Zippyjuan]

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2016...suit-appealed-to-Supreme-Court/4101460240964/

Ted Cruz 'birther' lawsuit appealed to Supreme Court

WASHINGTON, April 9 (UPI) -- A Utah lawyer has appealed a lawsuit to the U.S. Supreme Court, alleging Republican presidential candidate Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is not a "natural born citizen" and therefore ineligible to become president.

Legal scholars say there is virtually no chance the high court will consider the appeal, partly because they do not want to encourage a wave of similar suits.

Cruz has faced questions about his eligibility to become president from his chief rival, Donald Trump. Cruz was born in Canada, though his mother is a U.S. citizen.

The U.S. Constitution sets only a few standards for presidential eligibility. Candidates must be 35, have lived at least 14 years in the country and be a "natural born citizen."

To some, legal vagaries exist surrounding the constitutional language. Congress has never passed a law explicitly defining the term "natural born citizen" and the nation's founding document does not specify what qualifications someone must have.

For centuries, the courts have fallen back to the British common law explanation, that a "natural born citizen" is anyone who is granted citizenship at birth and, therefore, does not have to undergo any naturalization process later in life. Traditionally, that has included anyone born on American soil and the children of American citizens born abroad.

But that definition has generally not been tested in courts because federal judges are first bound to consider whether a plaintiff has standing to bring a lawsuit. To establish standing, someone making allegations has to pass the threshold they have been personally injured in some way.

Such was the initial failure of Utah lawyer Walter Wagner, who filed the latest in a string of similar lawsuits earlier this year. U.S. District Judge Jill Parrish in Salt Lake City tossed out Wagner's case on March 18, saying Wagner could not demonstrate any way that the Cruz candidacy injured Wagner personally.

"Like the courts that have ruled on this question, this court holds that Mr. Wagner lacks standing to bring his claim," Parrish said in her ruling. "It is not enough for an individual to bring a lawsuit based on his status as a 'citizen' or a 'taxpayer.'"

"The harms alleged by Mr. Wagner are conjectural and hypothetical at best," Parrish concluded.

Other suits challenging Cruz's eligibility have met similar fates in courts in New Hampshire, Arkansas, Alabama, New York and Texas.

 

[SpiritOf1776_J4]

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2016/04/09/Ted-Cruz-birther-lawsuit-appealed-to-Supreme-Court/4101460240964/

How does this story have anything to do with this thread? Williams is a candidate and a law professor.

He'll be challenging this in each of the 8 States he's registered in. That gives him 8 different states judges to win on first try, 8 different appeal routes, and an unknown number of federal district courts.

Many states require formal “write-in” candidate filing processes including reasonable filing deadlines and notarized declarations. But the resulting candidacy is both legitimate and state-recognized.

Judges insist that “write-in” candidates have to be treated as “real” candidates because they sometimes actually win elections (think Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski). The Florida Supreme Court ruled just last month that a “write-in” candidacy is “genuine opposition” regardless of any actual registry of support for the candidate. Brinkmann v. Francois (Florida Supreme Court No. SC14-1899, Feb. 4, 2016).

A New GOP Entrant Charges Ted Cruz with Ballot Fraud in Nine Primary States : California, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Washington, Wisconsin

In mid-March, as a new project for my www.DisruptiveJustice.org civic engagement effort, I entered the GOP race for the presidency as a “write-in” candidate.

My campaign met the filing deadlines and declaration requirements in eight later-primary states. Actual ballot placement is sought for South Dakota which does not allow “write-ins.”

 

[Zippyjuan]

Decision not in yet but found this note: http://www.northjersey.com/news/rul...ge-to-ted-cruz-s-eligibility-in-n-j-1.1542495

Masin’s opinion would go to Lieutenant Gov. Kim Guadagno for review in her role as secretary of the state. She has the option to accept the opinion in full or in part, or reject it, according to Apuzzo.

Guadagno was Gov. Chris Christie’s running mate in the 2009 and 2013 elections. Following his failed presidential bid, Christie has come out in support of Cruz’s main challenger, Donald Trump.

 

[Zippyjuan]

http://www.northjersey.com/news/judge-ted-cruz-eligible-to-be-on-n-j-primary-ballot-1.1543279

Judge: Ted Cruz eligible to be on N.J. primary ballot

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas meets the criteria to be considered a “natural born citizen” and can run in New Jersey’s Republican presidential primary on June 7, an administrative law judge ruled Tuesday.

Judge Jeff Masin’s decision will now go to Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, who also serves as New Jersey’s secretary of state, for consideration. She can choose to accept it in full or in part, or reject it.

Masin heard arguments Monday on two challenges to Cruz’s eligibility to run for president. In both cases, the challengers argued that, because Cruz was born in Canada, he is not a natural born citizen, one of three constitutional requirements for the presidency.

Cruz, 45, was born in Calgary, Alberta. His mother, a U.S. citizen, was born in Delaware. His father was born in Cuba. Cruz has said that a child of a U.S. citizen is automatically granted citizenship at birth and is therefore “natural born.”

In his decision, issued shortly before 6 p.m., Masin also ruled that the challengers did have standing to bring their cases and that the secretary of state has the legal authority to consider the matter.