Court rules Tea Party can proceed with effort to recall Menendez (D-NJ)

[Chris]

A state appeals court today ruled New Jersey’s secretary of state must accept a petition a citizens group filed to recall U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, but left open the question of whether the removal effort itself is constitutional.

The three-judge panel stayed its ruling to give Menendez (D-N.J.) the opportunity to appeal to the state Supreme Court.. The senator has 45 days to file an appeal but did not say today whether he would. He called the recall effort a "political stunt" that won’t distract him from doing his job.

"This an organization trying to undemocratically and unconstitutionally overturn an election in which more than 2 million New Jerseyans voted," said Menendez, whose term expires in 2012. "My focus continues to be on job creation legislation and delivering a successful extension of my local property tax relief bill."
 
The court found existing New Jersey law and the state’s constitution both allow U.S. senators to be recalled. For that reason, the appeals court said, the removal effort can proceed. But noting the absence of case law and precedent, it left the ultimate question of the constitutionality of the state’s recall law and amendment to a higher court.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/03/court_says_nj_tea_party_cannot.html

[thundley4]

After a notice is approved, a committee must get the signatures of 25 percent of registered voters of the affected district — 1.3 million in the case of Menendez — before a recall election can be held.

I think getting that many valid signatures is going to be a Herculean task, and that many will be challenged.