Donofrio v. Wells

Donofrio v. Wells is a case submitted to the United States Supreme Court challenging Barack Obama's status as a natural-born citizen. Justice Souter previously rejected the case, but Justice Thomas referred it to the Court for discussion on December 5, 2008. The Court has not yet decided if it will hear the case.

The suit, which was originally filed in a New Jersey state court, had sought to stay the November 4 election. and that the resulting "split and competing loyalties" mean he is not a natural-born citizen.

The lawsuit also challenged the eligibility of two other candidates: John McCain, who was born in Panama, and Socialist Workers Party candidate Roger Calero, who the suit claims was born in Nicaragua.

NPR reporter Juan Williams speculated as to why Justice Thomas has chosen to distribute the case for discussion: “Some people have said it’s payback, that of course Barack Obama said he wouldn’t have appointed a Supreme Court justice like Justice Thomas . . . but another way to look at it is that Justice Thomas wants to make sure this issue is settled once and for all."

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