Politics

High Court Hearing: Notable Quotes

December 1, 2000 / 3:41 PM EST / AP

Following are quotes from participants and onlookers at Friday's historic Supreme Court hearing of the legal struggle between George W. Bush and Al Gore over the unsettled presidential election.

"We're looking for a federal issue here." Justice Anthony Kennedy
"I do not know of any case in which we have impugned a state supreme court in the way you have." Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, to Bush lawyer Theodore Olson.
"Is there any respect in which it makes a difference, this case? What's the consequence of our going one way or another now in this case?" Justice Stephen Breyer.
"This is a federal court." Justice Antonin Scalia to Joseph Klock, the lawyer representing Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris.
The Florida Supreme Court "overturned and materially rewrote" the election laws. Bush lawyer Theodore Olson during the hearing.
"We are pleased that the court accepted the case and paid such close attention to the issues that we presented to it." Olson after the hearing.
"I thought it was very interesting and I think the court truly understands the gravity of any kind of federal intervention in this kind of proceeding." Gore lawyer Laurence Tribe after the hearing.
"It's not like suddenly changing the rules of the game. It isn't a game. It's an election for the presidency of the United States and it would be nice to get it right. Gore lawyer Tribe after the hearing.
"If in fact there is a deep division on the court as to the merits of the case, (dismissal) might be the most prudent course for them." James F. Simon, a constitutional scholar who has written extensively about the court divisions.
"God save the United States and this honorable court," the high court's marshal, opening the historic proceedings.
"As I sat in the Supreme Court ... and listened to the arguments of the lawyers and the questions of the justices, my main reaction was how vital it is to this nation that whatever the decisions of the United States Supreme Court or the Florida Supreme Court are, that these courts will be accepted as the final arbiters of these complicated election issues." Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich.