According to Apuzzo, the attorney representing New Jersey residents Nick Purpura and Ted Moran, Deputy Director and Administrative Law Judge Jeff Masin ruled against the ballot challenge following a more than three-hour hearing earlier this week. His decision, delivered to Apuzzo via email, was not based on the issues presented in the challenge, namely that Obama is not a natural born citizen of the United States and that a birth certificate released by the White House last April is fraudulent, but rather on a technicality, Apuzzo said.
The judge ruled that Obama's place on the ballot could not be removed by challenge because Obama, as president, automatically appears on the ballot and without his consent. Thus, Obama cannot be held immediately responsible for proving his eligibility. Apuzzo filed an exception and the matter was passed along to New Jersey Secretary of State Kim Guadagno who will have to make the final determination at this stage.
Should Guadagno uphold the court's decision, Apuzzo said he would file an appeal.
"The sham continues. In one way or another it's a sham of justice. Our judiciary is really taking us for a ride," Apuzzo said during a telephone interview Thursday. "How can they expect us to do something that the law doesn't allow for (challenging Obama's place on the ballot)? The logic is unbelievable."