You be the Judge: Who Can Challenge Whether President Obama Is A Citizen

YOU BE THE JUDGE

WHO CAN CHALLENGE WHETHER PRESIDENT OBAMA IS A CITIZEN?

If you interested in constitutional principles, this may interest you.

Article III of the United States Constitution requires that a person be a "natural born citizen" to be eligible for the office of the President of the United States.

In a recent case in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, Kerchner v. Obama, 09-253, plaintiffs challenged whether President Barack Obama had established that he is a "natural born citizen." Plaintiffs further alleged that they were harmed because they were deprived of the right to know whether he met this qualification.

Plaintiffs requested that the Court order federal officials to investigate and, if the qualification were not met, that the Court remove the President from office.

YOU BE THE JUDGE: Does the Constitution permit citizens to challenge a President's qualifications?

The court dismissed the lawsuit because plaintiffs failed to show a particular harm. The Court pointed out that constitutional challenges require "standing"; plaintiffs must show that a) they were in fact injured; b) a causal connection exists between the injury and the conduct complained of; and c) the injury can likely be redressed by a favorable decision. "Injury", in turn, is the invasion of a legally protected right. It must not be hypothetical; it must be concrete and particularized. It must be personal to plaintiffs, not a harm that is suffered by many or by all of the American people.

The plaintiffs in this case did not have an injury of the type that gave "standing". Their alleged injury was the same as might be suffered by all the American people at large if laws were not properly enforced. This generalized harm is not sufficient.

The decision points out that a courtroom can bring justice and may be the only way to protect your rights. Our Firm knows courtrooms; we have harnessed the power of the law in courtrooms to bring justice for our clients for decades in Edgewater, Emerson, Edison, Glen Rock, Fair Lawn, Montville, Montclair, Paterson and throughout Bergen County, Morris County, Passaic County, Essex County and Hudson County. Please contact us to discuss how we can help you protect your rights in a new lawsuit or provide a Asecond opinion@ about your pending lawsuit. There is no obligation for the initial consultation. Copyright Samuel D. Bornstein, P.A. 2008-2010.