Again and again, he tried to win over voters by warning that his opponent, Texas Gov. George W. Bush, might reshape the court with conservative appointees. Now, in yet another weird twist to the strangest national election of our time, Scalia, Thomas and the seven other Supreme Court justices could have a significant say in choosing the next president. Some legal analysts say the court's surprising entrance into the Florida dispute could help legitimize whoever who ends up winning the White House after the bitter recount disputes. But others wonder whether the court will become one more suspect player in a nasty drama. Even so, it is a peculiar quirk of fate that Scalia and Thomas, whom Bush praised during the campaign, could have a key role in the election's outcome.
Judges generally are neutral and dispassionate.
Furthermore, it is likely that this court will face as much partisan scrutiny as the Democrat-dominated Florida Supreme Court did last week. The state court ruled that Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, a Republican, lacked the discretion to exclude manual recounts in Democratic counties from her official certification of Florida's election results. The court interpreted conflicting state laws as requiring Harris to accept the results of hand recounts beyond her imposed deadline on Nov. 14. Bush's appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court says the state panel unlawfully set a new, post-election rule for candidates. It is not completely out of the question that the U.S. Supreme Court could bow out of the Florida imbroglio as suddenly as it entered.