The nine justices of the US Supreme Court will today hear arguments from lawyers for Vice President Al Gore and Governor George W. Bush before giving a ruling which could influence the outcome of the disputed presidential election but not be decisive.
Mr Gore's lawyers yesterday asked the Florida Supreme Court to grant a new recount of disputed ballots which they claim would show that the Vice President won the election in the state.
It is the first time the Supreme Court in Washington, the highest court in the land, has been called on to adjudicate in a presidential election.
The court, which may not give its ruling until next week, will consider the appeal by Mr Bush against the decision by the Florida Supreme Court on November 21st when it authorised hand recounts to continue for 12 days beyond the time specified in state law.
As a result of the hand counts, which Mr Bush strongly opposed, Mr Gore reduced his opponent's lead in Florida from 930 to 537 votes. Mr Bush's lawyers argue that the Florida Supreme Court changed the rules after the election.
The court thus violated the US Constitution by setting aside the state law which allows seven days for counties to send in their results and gives Florida's Secretary of State the authority to certify the official result on the basis of that time limit.
The Gore lawyers argue that the Florida Supreme Court was not enacting new legislation but interpreting conflicting statutes in the state electoral law. Thus the Florida judges correctly gave the priority to ensuring that all votes were counted instead of the mere "technicality" of the seven-day deadline.
However, even if the US Supreme Court upholds Mr Bush's appeal, this would not necessarily affect Mr Gore's current appeal against Mr Bush's certified win in Florida.
This is because Mr Gore's latest action is contesting a certified result whereas Mr Bush's appeal in Washington concerns events before he was declared the official winner in Florida.
But observers say that if the US Supreme Court does rule in Mr Bush's favour and invalidates the hand counts done before the certified result, this could make it more difficult for Mr Gore to pursue his present Florida court action seeking more hand recounts.
Mr Gore's lawyers yesterday went to the Florida Supreme Court to request an accelerated hand count of votes in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties. The million-plus ballots are being transported by truck to Tallahassee in case a court agrees to a new recount which could give Mr Gore enough additional votes to overtake Mr Bush's narrow lead.
As the various appeals made their way through the courts, a parliamentary committee in Florida voted yesterday to hold a special session of the full legislature next week which could appoint the state's representatives to the Electoral College if the result of the election is still tied up in the courts.
Republicans who have a majority in the Florida legislature say such a step is permitted under a federal law. But Senator Joseph Lieberman, the running mate of Mr Gore, warned yesterday that such an action by the Florida legislature "encouraged by Governor Jeb Bush" could lead to a "constitutional crisis".
Speaking outside the White House, Mr Lieberman said it would be a "terrible mistake" for this action to go ahead and he urged those concerned to reconsider.