A judge in New Jersey has ruled that Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz (photo) is a "natural-born citizen" under the Constitution, and may run in the state's primary elections in June.Rico says that's undoubtedly a relief for him...
A group of residents had challenged the Texas senator's eligibility for the presidency. He was born in Canada to a Cuban father and American mother. But Judge Jeff Masin found that Cruz met the constitutional requirements. New Jersey's Lieutenant Governor, Kim Guadagno, is now expected to review the decision.
Cruz' main rival for the Republican nomination, Donald Trump, has also questioned his eligibility for the presidency. "There's a big question mark on your head," the billionaire businessman said at a debate in January of 2016. "You can't do that to the party."
The South Jersey Concerned Citizens Committee and law professor Victor Williams, a presidential write-in candidate, argued in court in that Cruz' birth in Canada meant he could not be a "natural-born citizen" as envisaged by those who wrote the Constitution.
They claimed he was a naturalized citizen, and that presidents had to be born on US soil.
Cruz' lawyer argued that he was a natural-born citizen because his mother was American.
Judge Masin dismissed the challenge, while acknowledging that "absolute certainty as to this issue is only available to those who actually sat in Philadelphia in 1776 and thought on the issue. The more persuasive legal analysis is that such a child, born of a citizen-father, citizen-mother, or both, is indeed a 'natural born citizen' within the contemplation of the constitution," he wrote in his decision.
Judge Masin added that his decision might be adopted, modified, or rejected by Lieutenant Governor Guadagno, New Jersey's secretary of state, who is authorized to make a final decision on the matter. She must transmit the names of candidates to appear on the primary ballot to county clerks by Thursday.
A similar legal challenge was rejected by a court in Pennsylvania, where Cruz will appear on the state's Republican primary ballot later this month.
13 April 2016
Judge rejects Cruz challenge
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