Reply #7: Humble enough to claim in court that Cheney was not a TX resident [View All]

[kskiska]

so he could run for VP.

Obscure Texas Case Offers Peek Into Role Of Court Nominee

WASHINGTON -- President Bush cites many accomplishments of Harriet Miers to explain her nomination to the Supreme Court. One the White House doesn't mention is her successful argument during the disputed 2000 election that Dick Cheney is definitely not a Texan.

The way she did that was striking: Her legal team successfully persuaded a judge to take what her brief described as a "broad and inclusive" reading of the Constitution. That runs counter to a conservative tradition of legal interpretation that calls for a relatively narrow reading of constitutional texts. President Bush has long championed that philosophy, and much of his conservative base -- now hungry for clues about the little-known Ms. Miers -- has been eager for a Supreme Court nominee in that mold.

(snip)

According to court papers, Mr. Cheney bought a home and registered to vote in Dallas in 1995. After that date, he also held a Texas driver's license, paid Texas taxes and claimed the state's homestead tax deduction.

Mr. Cheney seemed aware of his Habitation Clause problem. In July 2000, shortly after deciding to run for vice president, he switched his voter registration and driver's license back to Wyoming. That detail formed part of his defense in the case, along with the fact that he had attended the University of Wyoming, represented Wyoming in Congress and owned a vacation home in Jackson Hole, Wyo.

Mr. Cheney also owned a Cadillac and a Lexus registered in Texas. He registered a Mercedes-Benz in Virginia, where he owned a townhouse, and a Jeep in Wyoming. The Miers team noted that Mr. Cheney put his Dallas home up for sale while the plaintiffs pointed out a listing describing it as "owner-occupied."

Ms. Miers's brief contended that for constitutional purposes, the relevant date was Dec. 18, 2000, the date the Electoral College was scheduled to meet. By that time, Mr. Cheney would have fully severed his Texas ties.

Noting that Mr. Cheney's wife Lynne had not switched her voter registration to Wyoming from Texas, the plaintiffs proposed to ask Mr. Cheney if he intended to live with his wife. "While I'm happy to say quite publicly that the marriage is good," said Mr. Cheney's lawyer David Aufhauser during a telephone conference, that question is "singularly offensive."

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