Nevada Judge Rejects Trump Ballot Eligibility Challenge, Says GOP Opponent ‘Improperly Manufactured’ Standing
A federal judge in Nevada rejected a case challenging the eligibility of former President Trump to run in 2024, ruling GOP challenger John Anthony Castro, who brought the lawsuit in the Silver State, “lacks standing.”
U.S. District Court Judge Gloria M. Navarro, who was appointed by former President Obama, issued the order Monday dismissing Castro’s lawsuit that had ultimately asked if the U.S. Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment bars Trump from holding office over his alleged incitement of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
“This is a politically charged question of significant interest to the American public,” Navarro noted. “For reasons discussed below, the Court finds that Castro lacks standing, and the Court therefore lacks jurisdiction to hear this case.”
“To have standing to sue in federal court, a plaintiff must have suffered a concrete, particularized, and actual or imminent injury in fact that was caused by the defendant’s challenged conduct and is redressable by a favorable decision,” Navarro explained.
“This limitation on the judicial power prevents a plaintiff from invoking Article III jurisdiction of federal court by asserting what is merely a ‘general interest common to all members of the public.’”
The ruling noted that five courts have already rejected Castro’s political competitor standing argument.
“In rejecting his political competitor standing argument, courts have fund that Castro improperly manufactured his standing merely to file this lawsuit,” Navarro writes. “The evidence indicates that Castro is creating his own injury in order to manufacture standing to challenge Trump’s eligibility to run for president.”
The judge observed that by his own admission, Castro “declared as a candidate and paid the filing fee to show the impermissibility of Trump’s presidency.” The ruling cited how Castro was quoted in an Associated Press article as having said, “I’m not going to lie and pretend my candidacy is anything more than trying to enforce the United States Constitution, and that’s what I’m here to do.”
In a footnote, Navarro highlighted that Trump and Castro are not even competing on the same ballot in Nevada.
“As Castro indicates in his FAC, the Nevada Republican Party is holding a caucus separate from the state-run Presidential Preference Primary. Castro intends on running in the Nevada Republican PP,” the footnote says. “Trump is not participating in the PP and is instead appearing on the caucus ballot.”
This is an excerpt from Fox News.
Scroll down to leave a comment and share your thoughts.
Leave a Comment