Supreme Court justice dismissed a petition that posed the question of whether or not Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz is a "natural born" citizen, a constitutional prerequisite for presidency.
Judge David A. Weinstein's verdict was strictly procedural in nature. He declared that the petitioners, Barry Korman and William Gallo, failed to submit timely objections. Thus, it stripped the jurisdiction of the court over the petition.
Under the New York law, a petitioner should raise preliminary objections against a candidate's status three days after filing the paperwork.
But, in such petition, the specific challenges to Cruz's right to appear on the ballot was until February 4 but petitioners Gallo and Korman submitted their complaint on February 17, two weeks after Cruz filed his paperwork to get on the ballot.
Roger Bernstein, counsel for Korman and Gallo, contended that his clients were reasonably late because the Board of Elections took several days to post Cruz's paperwork on its website. He also argued that it should not matter when they filed the case because the Board of Elections routinely defers to courts in such matters.
As stated in the verdict, Judge Weinstein stated, "In sum, despite the many arguments proffered by petitioners, none can get them around the immovable object standing in the way of this petition: their failure to have objections within the statutory deadline."
The judge was amenable that his ruling was not based on the petitioner's cause of action whether Cruz, who was born in Canada, qualified as a natural-born citizen in this year's presidential election, according to USA Today.
He also stressed the lack of precedent in the case, according to New York, "Moreover, were I to address the substantive question underlying this case and rest jurisdiction on a series of exceedingly thin legal reeds that have never been adopted by any court in this state, it would as likely create chaos and uncertainty as provide clarity."
As stated in the Constitution, to be a president, he must be a "natural-born citizen" of the United States.
Cruz argued that he was born in Alberta, Canada but his mother was a U.S. citizen living in the area. He believed that many legal experts opined it is unlikely any judge in the United States would block his presidential bid. Meanwhile, Cruz's father is a Cuban immigrant.
Cruz will be one of six Republicans on the New York primary ballot in April together with Donald Trump, Senator Marco Rubio and Ohio Governor John Kasich.
A similar case has been dismissed by an Illinois judge earlier this week. Legal experts have also commented on the topic saying it is unlikely that any judge will block Cruz's presidential run.
