DENVER (AP) - The Latest on Utah Republicans’ challenge of a candidate nominating law (all times local):
10:35 a.m.
Federal appeals court judges had critical questions for attorneys representing Utah’s Republican party and the state as they consider a challenge to a state law on nominating candidates.
The lawsuit is the party’s second attempt to chip away at the 2014 law, which allows candidates to bypass the GOP nominating conventions and instead participate in a primary.
An attorney for the party argued on Monday that it has the right to determine how it picks its own candidates. An attorney for the state says the law was intended to increase participation.
The three-member panel of the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals gave little hint of their leanings and gave no timeline for a decision.
Attorneys for both the state and the party are hoping for a quick decision.
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1:04 a.m.
Utah Republicans are pressing on with a legal battle that’s divided the party, planning to argue before a federal appeals court Monday that a state law on nominating candidates is unconstitutional.
The lawsuit is the party’s second attempt to chip away at the 2014 law, which allows candidates to bypass the GOP nominating conventions and instead participate in a primary.
The party contends it has the right to determine how it picks its own candidates and the law’s signature-gathering requirements are too high.
The GOP appealed after a federal judge ruled against it last year. The Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments.
The party’s fight against the law has left it saddled with debt and played a role in the party chairman’s ouster earlier this year.
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