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Opinion: Today is D-day for anti-Obama birth certificate cases in Supreme Court

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On Friday, loyal Ticket readers will recall, we reported that Supreme Court justices were discussing discussing the cases challenging Barack Obama’s right to assume the presidency next month due to allegations surrounding his citizenship and birth.

Generally, the issues focus on professed doubts that the 47-year-old Democrat wasn’t really born in Hawaii, despite his birth certificate from the state, and/or that the fact his father was a Kenyan and a British subject makes Obama a dual citizen -- meaning he is not a ‘native born’ American, as required by the Constitution. Under U.S. law, people born in the U.S. are citizens.

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Despite the Obama opponents’ obvious passion, which has been burning for many months often under the political radar, few legal observers believe that the required four justices will vote to hear arguments on the cases. Only a small number of the 150 requests received each week are granted arguments.

A decision is likely to come today, possibly a simple rejection without comment or explanation. (See video below.)

One sign a rejection is likely is the Court apparently did not feel the issue important enough to ask the other side for comment.

Opponents of Obama still plan protests at the court today and a Washington news conference.

Another reason, as noted by The Times’ David Savage, is that: ‘The justices also review rulings made by lower courts, usually when there is a disagreement about the law. In [these Obama] cases, lower courts dismissed the lawsuits without handing down major rulings.’ Thus, there is no legal ruling to be overturned by the Supreme Court.

Similar cases in 2000, charging that George W. Bush and Dick Cheney were both residents of Texas, which violates a prohibition in the Constitution’s 12th Amendment, were thrown out because the courts said litigants had no legal standing.

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-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo credits: Associated Press

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