Lawyers Spar on High Court Hearing’s Eve

From Washington to Tallahassee, the battle for the White House became a duel of legal papers and legislative tactics Thursday as the two sides prepared for today’s historic hearing before the U.S. Supreme Court.

But perhaps the most enduring image was that of a yellow rental truck, rolling 450 miles from West Palm Beach to Tallahassee, containing the first batch of ballots to be ferried to the capital as evidence in the most closely fought and closely watched presidential election in well over a century.

As events unfolded across Florida and elsewhere:

* Attorneys for Democratic candidate Al Gore asked the Florida Supreme Court to force a rapid recount of Florida’s disputed ballots to hasten the vice president’s legal challenge and keep his fading hopes alive.

* A committee of the GOP-controlled Florida Legislature voted along party lines to recommend a special session to award the state’s 25 electors to Republican candidate George W. Bush, regardless of whether Gore prevails in court. The session could start as early as Monday.

* Joseph I. Lieberman, the Democratic vice presidential hopeful, denounced the legislative move in some of the harshest language either side has used since the election impasse began, warning that “it threatens to put us in a constitutional crisis.”

* Lawyers for the two sides clashed in last-minute briefs filed with the U.S. Supreme Court. Gore’s attorneys questioned whether lawmakers have the power to unilaterally seat the state’s electors. Bush’s attorneys argued they do.

* Bush moved forward with plans for his prospective administration, meeting with retired Gen. Colin L. Powell at Bush’s ranch outside Waco, Texas. Gore stayed largely out of sight.

The high court’s 90-minute session is without precedent, and anticipation was running high. A line for the 50 seats reserved for the general public--first-come, first-served--started forming before dawn Thursday.

Legal papers that the two sides filed Thursday foreshadowed the arguments they will likely make.

Gore’s attorney accused Bush of trying to “turn back the clock” by disqualifying hand-counted votes that put Gore closer to winning Florida and, with it, the presidency.

Bush’s attorneys argued the Florida Supreme Court erred by allowing the hand counts to continue past the state’s usual deadline for certifying its results seven days after the election, creating “turmoil” and “post-election chaos.”

Bush was certified the winner of Florida on Sunday by 537 votes out of about 6 million cast, but Gore claims tens of thousands of ballots were never properly tallied and those would make him the winner. Without Florida, both candidates are just shy of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House.

In Tallahassee, the state Legislature waded into the thick of the mess--and added a new layer of controversy--by moving toward a special session aimed at short-circuiting the legal fight.

The decision to summon lawmakers to Tallahassee now rests with the two Republican leaders of the Legislature, House Speaker Tom Feeney and Senate President John McKay. They are expected to call for a special session starting Monday or Tuesday.

Republicans had hoped to avoid forcing Florida Gov. Jeb Bush to sign legislation awarding the state’s 25 electoral votes to George W. Bush, his older brother. Bills that sit on the governor’s desk for one week without a signature automatically become law.

But Republicans said Thursday that the governor may have no choice, given the time squeeze posed by a Dec. 12 federal cutoff for each state to select its representatives to the electoral college.

Democrats insisted Jeb Bush has been orchestrating things all along. “Jeb has finally come out of the curtain, but he’s been behind this from the beginning,” said Lois J. Frankel, the Democratic House minority leader from West Palm Beach.

“He has turned this Legislature into an arm of the Bush campaign, and there’s nothing we can really do.”

Republicans deny that, though Feeney is close to Jeb Bush, having run as his lieutenant governor during his unsuccessful gubernatorial bid in 1994.

In Texas, George W. Bush continued his effort to stand apart from the legal wrangling, holding a conspicuously arranged meeting with Powell. Powell has been mentioned as a likely secretary of State, and the session seemed intended to convey a sense of progress in building Bush’s administration.

“We’re open for business,” the governor told a group of reporters and photographers, invited to chronicle the session at Bush’s secluded Crawford, Texas, ranch.

But even there, the uncertainty hanging over the election managed to intrude, with Powell saying no job offer was tendered. “It’s always been my understanding in my earlier conversations with the governor that he would not move in that direction and begin appointing members of a Cabinet until all of this matter is behind us and resolved,” Powell said.

When Bush was asked when he might announce additional job appointments, he replied: “Well, we just have to wait and see. . . . We’ll make those announcements at the appropriate time.”

For his part, Gore stayed in the background after Wednesday’s intensive round of television appearances. He appeared briefly before the cameras, strolling to the West Wing of the White House accompanied by his wife, Tipper.

It was Lieberman who addressed reporters, saying he was “disappointed and troubled” that the Florida Legislature was “prepared to substitute their judgment for the judgment of 6 million voters in Florida.”

The move was a “terrible mistake for the country,” he said, criticizing Florida Gov. Bush for statements that “encouraged” the Legislature to act.

“I just want to appeal to Gov. Bush and the members of the Florida Legislature to reconsider this action,” Lieberman said, because it “threatens the credibility and legitimacy of the ultimate choice of electors in Florida.”

Though Lieberman’s words were delivered in a calm and measured tone, it was by far the strongest attack the Democrats have leveled since the impasse began the day after the election more than three weeks ago. It was consistent with the role Lieberman played throughout the presidential campaign, when he often delivered some of the harshest lines while Gore strived to appear above the political rough and tumble.

In Tallahassee, attorneys for Gore sought to accelerate matters by asking the state Supreme Court to order an immediate recount of 13,300 ballots being trucked from Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties to the state capital.

The lawyers assert that 10,000 of the ballots were “undercounted” by Miami-Dade County tabulation machines that failed to pick up a preference in the presidential race. The other 3,300 ballots were rejected in Palm Beach County’s hand tally that Gore lawyers say applied too strict a standard for imperfectly punched ballots.

Leon County Circuit Judge N. Sanders Sauls has said no counting will take place before a hearing set for Saturday.

But Gore’s lawyers argued the matter was too urgent to wait, citing the Dec. 12 cutoff for Florida to certify its electors.

David Boies, Gore’s lead attorney, told reporters that if recounts of the 13,300 disputed votes do not begin immediately, it would be difficult to get all of the ballots reexamined.

“We are getting close to the end, and we are trying to focus on those issues we think can be resolved easily and quickly,” Boies said after filing his motion with the state Supreme Court. “. . . We’re going to run out of time.”

But later, in a session before Sauls, Bush attorneys said they will expand their request for even more ballots to be shipped to Tallahassee--a step that could slow matters even further.

Barry Richard, lead lawyer for the Bush team, said it will request that more than 500,000 ballots be trucked to the state capital from Broward, Pinellas and Volusia counties.

He sharply denied that the Bush lawyers are trying to put up roadblocks so Gore cannot meet the Dec. 12 deadline. “I don’t practice dilatory law and I haven’t been asked to by my client,” he said.

Sauls reiterated his hope to have Gore’s lawsuit resolved by Dec. 7 at the latest, allowing time for the loser to appeal to the Florida Supreme Court. “I’m going to get it done,” he said. “If we need to have a count, we’re going to have a count. If we don’t need a count, then we don’t. But we’re going to get this done.”

*

Times staff writers Edwin Chen, Mike Clary and Paul Richter contributed to this story.

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Day 23: A Summary

Developments Thursday in the dispute between Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore over Florida’s 25 electoral votes.

*

Legislators, ballots

* A committee of the Republican-dominated Florida Legislature recommended a special session as early as next week to name the state’s presidential electors.

*

* After a televised 450-mile truck ride, 462,000 ballots from Palm Beach County arrived at a Tallahassee courthouse. A judge could decide this weekend if those ballots, plus 654,000 ballots to be brought north today from Miami-Dade County, should be examined further.

*

Court action

* Lawyers for Bush, Gore and other involved parties prepared for this morning’s hearing before the U.S. Supreme Court. Both candidates’ lawyers filed briefs about the possibility that Florida’s Legislature will name electors itself.

*

* In the Florida Supreme Court, Gore asked that a state judge be told to immediately review 13,300 ballots from Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties.

*

Two transitions

* Bush met at his Crawford, Texas, ranch with retired Gen. Colin L. Powell--mentioned often as a possible secretary of State--and vice presidential running mate Dick Cheney.

*

* In Washington, Gore and running mate Joseph I. Lieberman discussed using a “citizen committee” to advise their transition to the presidency if their court challenges to Bush’s 537-vote edge in Florida are successful.