Expect another “birther” ruling next week.
A New York state judge told lawyers Thursday on both sides of the latest lawsuit asserting that Ted Cruz is ineligible to run for president that he needs the weekend to consider the matter and rule.
State Supreme Court Judge David Weinstein will decide a lawsuit brought by two New York retirees demanding that Mr. Cruz be kicked off the state presidential-primary ballot because he was born in Canada.
Mr. Cruz has always acknowledged being born in Calgary, Alberta, to a Cuban father and an American mother. He has maintained that the issue is frivolous because under U.S. statutory law dating back to the Founding era, “the child of a U.S. citizen born abroad is a U.S. citizen.”
Cruz’s attorney Grant Lally also argued Thursday before Judge Weinstein that the case should be tossed on a procedural matter.
According to the New York Daily News, he told the judge that New York state eligibility challenges must be filed within three days of a candidate’s filing. Barry Korman and William Gallo did not file their challenges for almost three weeks.
“They didn’t just blow it, they blew it by a mile,” Mr. Lally said.
A similar challenge in Illinois to Mr. Cruz’s eligibility under the Constitution’s “natural-born citizen” requirement was also dismissed on a procedural matter — whether the person bringing the challenge provided notice to the candidate and the state board of elections directly, as required, or merely to their lawyers.
Roger Bernstein, the attorney for Mr. Korman and Mr. Gallo, blamed the delay on the Board of Elections, saying the panel took several days to post Mr. Cruz’s papers on its site.
The Daily News reported that Judge Weinstein expects to rule Monday.
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.