Filed Date: Feb. 3, 2016
Closed Date: Feb. 29, 2016
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On 3 February 2016, an individual filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas against the Secretary of State of Arkansas, the Republican Party of Arkansas Executive Committee, the Senator of Texas and the Senator of Florida. The plaintiff sought a declaratory judgment, for and on behalf of all eligible U.S. voters, that the Senator of Florida and the Senator of Texas were ineligible for the office of President and Vice President in the 2016 Primaries and General Election of 8 November 2016 and an injunction removing their names from the Republican Presidential Primary in the State of Arkansas. The plaintiff alleged that neither the Senator of Texas nor the Senator of Florida met the “natural born Citizen” threshold of Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 of the U.S. Constitution. The plaintiff was unrepresented and applied for leave to proceed in forma pauperis. The case was assigned to District Judge Brian S. Miller.
The Secretary of State of Arkansas had, at the behest of the Republican Party of Arkansas Executive Committee, placed the Senator of Texas and the Senator of Florida on the Arkansas Republican Presidential Preference Primary ballot due to take place on 1 March 2016. The Senator of Texas was born in Canada to a mother who was a U.S. citizen and to a father born in Cuba who later became a naturalized U.S. citizen. The Senator of Florida was born in Miami, Florida to parents who were not U.S. citizens. Article II, Section 1, clause 5 of the U.S. Constitution states that: “No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President”. The plaintiff consequently sought to remove the names of the Senator of Texas and the Senator of Florida from the Arkansas Republican Presidential Preference Primary of 1 March 2016 and to further obtain a declaratory judgment, pursuant to the Declaratory Judgment Act 28 U.S.C. § 2201, on an expedited and accelerated basis, as per Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 57, that the Senator of Texas and the Senator of Florida were ineligible to be elected as President or Vice-President of the U.S. in the 2016 Primaries and General Election of 8 November 2016.
On 9 February 2016, the Secretary of State of Arkansas filed its objection to the plaintiff’s application to proceed in forma pauperis alleging that the plaintiff was a frequent litigator with sufficient income to deny him status as a pauper and to require him to pay the filing fee. The plaintiff filed its response on 18 February 2016 alleging that the Secretary of State of Arkansas had a conflict of interest in the action given that on 10 February 2016, the Senator of Texas had announced the endorsement of the Secretary of State of Arkansas. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas granted the plaintiff's motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis on 26 February 2016.
On 28 February 2016, the Senator of Texas and the Senator of Florida filed motions to dismiss the complaint for lack of standing on the basis that the plaintiff had failed to plead the elements of any cause of action. It was also submitted that the constitutional issues raised as to the status, qualification and eligibility of a candidate for President or Vice President of the United States were non-justiciable political questions within the jurisdiction of the Electoral College and the U.S. Congress, not the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas.
On 29 February 2016, the Secretary of State of Arkansas filed its answer to the plaintiff’s complaint requesting that the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas deny the plaintiff of any of the relief sought as the plaintiff lacked standing nor was the subject matter ripe for adjudication. It was also submitted that the plaintiff was not a suitable class representative as he was a convicted felon from the State of Florida, convicted under another name on 26 October 1999.
Further to a hearing held on 29 February 2016, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas denied the plaintiff’s motion for declaratory judgment and granted the Senator of Texas’ and the Senator of Florida’s motions to dismiss the complaint. It was held that that the plaintiff lacked standing to bring this case as he could not show that he had in fact been injured as required by the first element of the test in Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560-61. Further to this, it was well-settled that voters do not have standing to sue a candidate’s eligibility to be President on the “birther” argument: Berg v. Obama, 574 F. Supp. 2d 509, 518 (E.D. Pa. 2008). Therefore, while the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas acknowledged that the questions raised by the plaintiff were interesting, they were questions which he simply did not have standing to bring in the federal courts. Accordingly, the complaint was dismissed with prejudice. The case is now closed.
Summary Authors
(9/26/2024)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/14445183/parties/librace-v-martin/
Miller, Brian Stacy (Arkansas)
Librace, David (Arkansas)
Kelly, A. J. (Arkansas)
Ritter, George P. (Arkansas)
Torchinsky, Jason Brett (Arkansas)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/14445183/librace-v-martin/
Last updated Aug. 20, 2025, 9:05 p.m.
State / Territory: Arkansas
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Law Firm Antiracism Alliance (LFAA) project
Key Dates
Filing Date: Feb. 3, 2016
Closing Date: Feb. 29, 2016
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Individual for and on behalf of all eligible and qualified voters in: (i) all 50 State Caucus and Primaries in 2016; (ii) the 2016 Arkansas Primary elections; and (iii) the US General Election on 8 November 2016
Plaintiff Type(s):
Public Interest Lawyer: No
Filed Pro Se: Yes
Class Action Sought: Yes
Class Action Outcome: Denied
Defendants
Secretary of State of Arkansas, State
Republican Party of Arkansas Executive Committee, Political Party
Senator of Texas (Texas), State
Senator of Florida (Florida), State
Defendant Type(s):
Facility Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2201
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Defendant
Nature of Relief:
Source of Relief:
Issues
Discrimination Basis:
National origin discrimination
Voting: