The 2000 Election Vice President Al Gore's lawyers, in a
hearing before the Florida Supreme
Court, made what could be a final
plea today for a court to count 14,000
disputed votes, his best hope of capturing the
presidency.

The justices vigorously questioned lawyers for
both Mr. Gore and for Gov. George W. Bush
during a one-hour proceeding in which the
court heard oral arguments.

The justices' questions to Mr. Gore's lead
lawyer, David Boies, focused on whether the
court had the authority to order such a count.
And they asked Mr. Bush's legal team, led by
Barry Richard, whether a state Circuit Court
judge was right to ignore the disputed ballots
in Mr. Gore's contest of the election.