Judge: Citizen Has No Right to Question Eligibility of Presidential Candidate
Posted by
Brian W. SmithOctober 29, 2008 2:58 PMTags: Barack Hussein Obama,
Barack Obama,
Obama,
Michelle Obama,
Philip J. Berg,
Berg v. Obama,
citizenship lawsuit,
Obama lawsuit,
Judge R. Barclay Surrick,
standing,
Obama appeal DISCLAIMER: The author is a registered Independent and does not have an opinion as to the truth and/or veracity of the allegations of the lawsuit referenced in this blog or the information contained at the web sites cited.
Last Friday, a Federal District judge in Pennsylvania dismissed a lawsuit that questioned Barack Hussein Obama's eligibility to be President of the United States. Philip J. Berg, a Philadelphia lawyer had filed suit against Barack Hussein Obama, challenging Senator Obama’s lack of “qualifications” to serve as President of the United States. In his lawsuit, Mr. Berg alleged that Defendant Barack Hussein Obama is not eligible for the Office of the President because Obama lost his U.S. citizenship when his mother married an Indonesian citizen and naturalized she and Obama in Indonesia. Plaintiff further alleged that Obama followed her naturalization and failed to take an oath of allegiance when he turned 18 years old, to regain his U.S. citizenship status. The lawsuit raises not only the Indonesian citizenship issue but also questions whether Obama was actually born in Kenya and not Hawaii.
The District Court's opinion raises an interesting legal question: Does a citizen have a right to challenge the eligibility of a candidate for President of the United States? Judge R. Barclay Surrick ruled that Mr Berg did not have "standing" (or the right to bring the suit) because he had not suffered an "injury in fact" and that the potential harm caused to Mr. Berg is generalized and abstract. Mr Berg questions the logic of the decision:
If I don't have standing, if you don't have standing, if your neighbor doesn't have standing to question the eligibility of an individual to be President of the United States - the Commander-in-Chief, the most powerful person in the world - then who does?.....What happened to ‘...Government of the people, by the people, for the people?"
Berg's lawsuit is not the only one filed, challenging Obama's eligibility. There are apparently as many as 8 lawsuits currently pending. According to one source, Senator Obama's wife does not believe that the courts will disqualify him. She is quoted as follows:
"My husband and I know that there is no law that will stop him from becoming the president, just because some American white racists are bringing up the issue of my husband’s adoption by His step father."
Mr Berg has vowed to appeal the issue to the United States Supreme Court, but with less than a week left before the election, time is running out for a pre-election decision.