Elian case appeal expected today

Miami - Lawyers for Elian Gonzalez's Miami relatives are to make a last-minute appeal to the US Supreme Court today to block …

Miami - Lawyers for Elian Gonzalez's Miami relatives are to make a last-minute appeal to the US Supreme Court today to block the Cuban boy's return to his homeland and grant him a political asylum hearing.

The lawyers were expected to file an emergency petition asking Justice Anthony Kennedy to order that Elian stay in the US until the Supreme Court hears their appeal, a family spokesman said.

The court refused last Friday to reconsider its decision that US immigration officials acted within their authority when they denied the six-year-old boy a political asylum hearing.