A South Florida federal judge quickly dismissed a lawsuit against Donald Trump that sought to have the former president declared ineligible for another term as president.
U.S. District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg ruled that plaintiff Lawrence Caplan, and two other plaintiffs he added to his original lawsuit against Trump, lacked the legal standing to bring the case.
“Plaintiffs in this case similarly lack standing and, thus, this court lacks jurisdiction. Accordingly, the court exercises its discretion under the Declaratory Judgment Act, along with its obligation to examine its own jurisdiction, to dismiss this case,” she wrote in an order signed Thursday in West Palm Beach — exactly one week after Caplan filed his case.
Caplan said Friday he had “only looked at her opinion very quickly,” and he needed to examine it more closely.
“As far as her dismissal, I’m not surprised at all because I always thought that standing would be the preeminent issue,” Caplan said.
He said he did not plan to appeal Rosenberg’s dismissal “because that’s not going to go anywhere.” But he said he did not know if there are other options for filing another case in another jurisdiction.
Caplan’s lawsuit argued that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution — added after the Civil War to prevent people who had engaged in insurrection against the U.S. from holding office again — applied to Trump because of his involvement in and around the Jan. 6, 2021, attempt to overturn the results of the 2022 election.
In her ruling, Rosenberg referred to Trump’s “alleged” involvement. Rosenberg was nominated for the bench by then-President Barack Obama.
Much of the ruling quoted legal precedents giving the court discretion in deciding whether to allow a case to proceed and detailing the requirements for a plaintiff to have legal standing to bring a case. She said plaintiffs must have a personal stake in an issue that is particular to them.
The left-leaning…
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