WASHINGTON - When the United States Supreme Court convenes today, its nine justices will not be asked directly to decide the outcome of the presidential election, but that could be the effect of their ruling.
As such, it is a case without precedent in American constitutional history, splicing politics and thelaw at the summit of American power even more purely than the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton almost two years ago.
The two specific points the court will consider are: whether the Supreme Court of Florida exceeded its power when it extended the reporting deadline to accommodate late returns from manual recounts, and - if it did - what should be done about it.
Quashing the Florida court's ruling will place George W. Bush on the fast track to victory; upholding it will not guarantee Al Gore's future, but will keep his hopes alive.
The case was brought in the form of an appeal to the Florida Supreme Court's ruling on behalf of Bush's campaign at a time when it appeared manual recounts in three south Florida counties could overturn Bush's 930-vote lead.
Lawyers for Bush contend that in agreeing to extend the deadline and so overruling Florida's Secretary of State, the state's highest court changed the rules after the election was over and usurped the authority of the state legislature.
Lawyers for Gore claim the court was just doing its job: interpreting, not rewriting, the law to reconcile two previously contradictory provisions.
