TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 1998
Lawton Chiles vs John Phelps & Daniel Webster

No. 92,474

Place of Origin
Tallahassee

Facts
The 1997 Legislature passed several bills vetoed by the Governor, including one restricting the use of partial-birth abortions. A special session of the Legislature convened later that same year and made no attempt to overide the Governor's veto. The House leadership retained possession of the vetoed document, however, and at the start of the 1998 session again approved the bill with sufficient votes to override a veto.

Before thee override was undertaken Governor Chiles filed suit in the Supreme Court of Florida. He argues that the Constitution mandates that overrides can only take place is the next legislative session. whether regular or special. The Court asked the House to respond by Friday.

The House did not file a response but instead filed a motion to delay proceedings for the duration of the legislative session. citing a statue shielding legislators frorn being called into Court during the session. The House's attorneys are sitting legislators. The Governor responded that the House. could have used staff or private attorneys to argue the case and that responding to the petition will not detract from the Legislature function.

The Court will hear argument solely on the issue of whether to delay proceedings in this case