Justice Kennedy Denies Lightfoot

Earlier today, Justice Anthony Kennedy of the United States Supreme Court denied the application for a stay pending the filing and disposition of a petition for a writ of certiorari, filed by attorney Orly Taitz on behalf of Gail Lightfoot, the vice presidential candidate on the Ron Paul ticket. Ms. Taitz, a rare combination attorney and dentist, claimed that Barack Obama fails to qualify as President of the United States because he lacks status as a natural born citizen. Similar lawsuits filed earlier by Phillip Berg, Leo Donofrio, and Cort Wrotnowski met with the same fate. Although Justice Kennedy denied the application for a stay, Ms. Taitz still retains the option to resubmit to another justice of her choosing. Ms. Taitz also serves as co-counsel representing Alan Keyes and others in another suit challenging Obama's citizenship. That suit still awaits a hearing in California Superior Court.

For those not in the know, many question whether Barack Obama is eligible to be President under the qualifications stated in Article II of the U.S. Constitution:

No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President

There are several possible scenarios that put Obama in a situation where he may not qualify as "natural born".

a) Obama's mother Stanley Anne Dunham was American but his father was from Kenya which at the time was part of the British Protectorate. So at birth, young Obama was a citizen of the United States, Kenya, and Great Britain. Many legal experts feel that this caused divided loyalties preventing one from being natural born according to the intent of the original framers of the constitution.

b) Obama's parents divorced when he was two years and his mother married an Indonesian national, Lolo Soetoro. Some records indicate that Soetoro adopted Obama when the family moved to Jakarta, where he lived and attended school under the name, Barry Soetoro. Some feel that when Soetoro adopted Obama, he automatically forfeited his U.S. citizenship.

c) Others claim that Obama was born in Kenya rather than Hawaii as he contends. Much of this argument stems from a rather questionable interview conducted in Swahili of Obama's paternal grandmother. It also relies on a strange interview with a mysterious forensic expert who feels that the birth certificate that the Obama campaign posted online is a forgery.

I'm no legal expert but in my opinion the Lightfoot lawsuit, a Berg clone with elements of Donofrio thrown in, appeared hastily prepared and poorly written. Ms. Taitz managed to ram the case through the legal system blazingly fast. Hopefully she will be better prepared when the Alan Keyes suit comes to fruition.

Enjoy the two accompanying YouTube videos of Orly explaining the details of both cases. It's interesting to note that Orly Taitz, who escaped the totalitarian Soviet regime, cannot claim natural born status either.