Gore's lawyer discusses 2000 election

The 2000 presidential election kept the nation holding its breath for months after the polls closed. "Hanging chads" and "butterfly ballots" seemed to be on everyone's mind, the media was saturated with news of election legal proceedings and disputes raged about the rightful winner. \nThe U.S. Supreme Court's controversial decision in the Bush v. Gore case was revisited Tuesday at IU's law school. Teresa Wynn Roseborough, counsel for Vice President Gore at the time of his presidential candidacy, discussed the impact of the Supreme Court and Florida cases and stressed the importance of voting rights.\nDawn Johnsen, an IU associate professor of law who has worked with Roseborough previously, spoke highly of Roseborough's work. \n"Theresa is one of the nation's finest lawyers," Johnsen said. "She did some phenomenal legal work, as she always does, for Gore, and I'm so pleased to have her here with us." \nThe event, held in IU's Moot Court Room, was sponsored by the American Constitution Society. \n"We as an electorate are entitled to have our vote counted the same way, regardless of where you live, and what's disturbing is that you just can't do that," Roseborough said.\nPunch ballots were distributed to the 200 people in attendance. Roseborough used an old counting machine, a model very similar to those used in Florida in the 2000 election, and demonstrated how easily a vote could be miscounted. \n"A series of unfortunate events followed," Roseborough joked. \nDespite the frustration and disappointment of the election's outcome for Roseborough, she did point out the case had several very positive results.\n"It was an amazing assemblage to be a part of," she said. "Hundreds of lawyers across the country pitched in and contributed in the research. The spirit that brought everyone together was pretty remarkable." \nThe formation of the American Constitution Society was cited as the most lasting, and perhaps most important, outcome of the election controversy.\nThe ACS was formed in 2001 at Georgetown University and has since become a grassroots success, spreading to other universities across the nation. \n"We feel we've been really successful so far, but we always need a few more members," said IU's ACS President Drew Yoder. \nThe ACS focuses on allowing a broader interpretation of the Constitution, and, according to its official Web site, "seeks to restore protection of individual rights and liberties." \n Roseborough, who serves on the ACS Board of Directors, praised the organization. \n"The fact that the ACS has spread so strongly in the legal community tells us that we were hungry for an opportunity to have a platform for thinking about our government differently and for incorporating individual rights more," she said. \nAfter the Supreme Court ruled in favor of President Bush, Roseborough said Gore's legal team immediately began working on appeals. Early the next morning, however, Gore announced his concession.\n"I feel strongly that, at that point, further appeals wouldn't have changed the results but only drug out the process further," she said. "But commentary in the legal field has swayed recently to denouncing the legitimacy of the rulings." \nRoseborough said her only regret in the case was how the butterfly ballots in Palm Beach County were handled.\n"Over 19,000 punch ballots had to be reviewed, and many were found to be double-punched for Gore and Buchanan," she pointed out. "Out of our own inability to articulate a fix for the problem, we stayed out of the legal matters, but I often wonder how it would have changed things if we had interfered." \nRoseborough also noted that public controversy over the case has subsided, if not entirely disappeared, lately. \n"There is truly no public protest over this case anymore," she said. "I think that's OK, and it's probably more strengthening than it is weakening because it means that we can have intense disputes that don't interrupt day-to-day life"