Bush v. Gore
The Court halted Florida's presidential recount, effectively deciding the 2000 election.
Overview
Florida's manual recount, ordered by the state supreme court, proceeded under standards that varied from county to county. A per curiam opinion for seven justices found the standardless recount violated equal protection, while a narrower five-justice majority ended any remedy before the federal safe harbor deadline, delivering Florida's electoral votes and the presidency to George W. Bush. The Court stated the case was limited to its present circumstances, avoiding precedential force. Bush v. Gore remains the most direct judicial intervention in a presidential election in American history, debated ever since.
Related Topics
Pierce v. Society of Sisters
Oregon's Compulsory Education Act, backed by the Ku Klux Klan and anti-Catholic sentiment, would have closed private and parochial...
Buck v. Bell
Virginia sterilized Carrie Buck, a young woman labeled feebleminded, under a eugenics statute. Her lawyer, colluding with the stat...
Griswold v. Connecticut
Connecticut law criminalized the use of contraceptives, and Planned Parenthood executive Estelle Griswold was convicted for counse...
In re Gault
Fifteen-year-old Gerald Gault was committed to a state institution until twenty-one for making a lewd phone call, without counsel,...