US Florida Supreme Court Ends Hearing on Gore AppealThe US Florida Supreme Court concluded December 7 hearing on Democrat Al Gore's bid for thousands of Florida votes to be counted in the disputed US presidential election with no immediate ruling from the seven justices.In a hearing lasting one hour and eight minutes, the Gore campaign's top attorney, David Boies, said the excluded votes must be counted in order to determine the true winner of the November 7 election. Meanwhile, Republican George W. Bush's Attorney Barry Richard urged the justices to uphold a lower court ruling denying a recount. The judges gave no indication of when they might rule but a decision could come as early as late Thursday. Gore appealed the ruling made Monday by Judge N. Sanders Sauls of the Leon County Circuit Court which rejected his request for a manual recount in two counties in Florida and to overturn Bush's certified victory in the state that stands to pick the next president. The hearing is seen as a make-or-break event in Gore's bid to wrest the presidency from the certified winner in Florida, Republican George W. Bush. Bush has been certified as winner in the state, whose 25 Electoral College votes will clinch victory nationwide, by a narrow margin. |
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