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CNN Live At Daybreak
Coffey Talk: Recalling the Recall
Aired September 16, 2003 - 06:34 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It's time for your daily dose of California politics now. It wasn't long ago we were talking hanging chads. Well, now, California's recall election is in the spotlight for those same voting machine issues.
A federal appeals court in San Francisco ruled the recall election should be postponed. Several groups had argued that obsolete voting equipment could disenfranchise poor and minority voters.
The activists who initiated the recall effort are expected to decide as early as today whether to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to consider the issue.
So, it's time for a little "Coffey Talk" about the recall. Live on the phone from Miami, legal analyst Kendall Coffey.
Good morning, Kendall.
KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, anything to this fact that the three judges on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals out of San Francisco are Democratic appointees?
COFFEY: Now, we never discuss party affiliations or who appoints them. What is fascinating is now the U.S. Supreme Court is looking at whether its own precedent in the Bush v. Gore case is going to be applied in sort of the flip situation.
Three years ago, the equal protection argument was found good enough for a Republican candidate in the year 2000. Now, the Democrats may be asking, well, if it was good enough back then for a Republican candidate, how come this same equal protection argument doesn't work for a Democratic governor?
COSTELLO: Well, that's what I was talking about; already that people are saying it's a left-wing conspiracy. And I know you skirted my first question, Kendall.
COFFEY: I did.
COSTELLO: You did.
COFFEY: And I will continue to do so.
Carol, here's the thing. Certainly the Supreme Court does not want to jump back into a wildly partisan free-for-all like this, but their concern could be that they had no choice, because the Supreme Court doesn't want to encourage federal courts to shut down or postpone state elections whenever some counties in the state do a better job with respect to voting than other counties. Because the reality is there are county-to-county differences all around the country, and if this kind of decision stands, you may be issuing a lot of first-class tickets for a lot more court challenges.
COSTELLO: So, what's the likely outcome of this?
COFFEY: Well, my view -- and remember, I was completely wrong three years ago, so I'm entitled to be completely wrong today. And this time, I'm going to predict that this decision does not stand, precisely because that the potential for just spawning a whole flood- tide of more court challenges that ultimately can be very disruptive to the democratic process and to the election system.
COSTELLO: So, if the decision at the federal appeals court level is overturned, will the recall election still take place in October?
COFFEY: The recall election is going to take place one way or another. There is no terminator here, just the delayer. But if this decision is reversed, it will proceed on October 7. If it does not -- if it is not reversed, then March 2.
COSTELLO: All right, Kendall Coffey live on the phone from Miami, many thanks.
COFFEY: Thanks, Carol.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired September 16, 2003 - 06:34 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It's time for your daily dose of California politics now. It wasn't long ago we were talking hanging chads. Well, now, California's recall election is in the spotlight for those same voting machine issues.
A federal appeals court in San Francisco ruled the recall election should be postponed. Several groups had argued that obsolete voting equipment could disenfranchise poor and minority voters.
The activists who initiated the recall effort are expected to decide as early as today whether to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to consider the issue.
So, it's time for a little "Coffey Talk" about the recall. Live on the phone from Miami, legal analyst Kendall Coffey.
Good morning, Kendall.
KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, anything to this fact that the three judges on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals out of San Francisco are Democratic appointees?
COFFEY: Now, we never discuss party affiliations or who appoints them. What is fascinating is now the U.S. Supreme Court is looking at whether its own precedent in the Bush v. Gore case is going to be applied in sort of the flip situation.
Three years ago, the equal protection argument was found good enough for a Republican candidate in the year 2000. Now, the Democrats may be asking, well, if it was good enough back then for a Republican candidate, how come this same equal protection argument doesn't work for a Democratic governor?
COSTELLO: Well, that's what I was talking about; already that people are saying it's a left-wing conspiracy. And I know you skirted my first question, Kendall.
COFFEY: I did.
COSTELLO: You did.
COFFEY: And I will continue to do so.
Carol, here's the thing. Certainly the Supreme Court does not want to jump back into a wildly partisan free-for-all like this, but their concern could be that they had no choice, because the Supreme Court doesn't want to encourage federal courts to shut down or postpone state elections whenever some counties in the state do a better job with respect to voting than other counties. Because the reality is there are county-to-county differences all around the country, and if this kind of decision stands, you may be issuing a lot of first-class tickets for a lot more court challenges.
COSTELLO: So, what's the likely outcome of this?
COFFEY: Well, my view -- and remember, I was completely wrong three years ago, so I'm entitled to be completely wrong today. And this time, I'm going to predict that this decision does not stand, precisely because that the potential for just spawning a whole flood- tide of more court challenges that ultimately can be very disruptive to the democratic process and to the election system.
COSTELLO: So, if the decision at the federal appeals court level is overturned, will the recall election still take place in October?
COFFEY: The recall election is going to take place one way or another. There is no terminator here, just the delayer. But if this decision is reversed, it will proceed on October 7. If it does not -- if it is not reversed, then March 2.
COSTELLO: All right, Kendall Coffey live on the phone from Miami, many thanks.
COFFEY: Thanks, Carol.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
