Judge tosses birther lawsuit against Ted Cruz Houston lawyer had no legal standing to sue, judge says

The Cruz birther controversy explained It seems like only yesterday that skeptics of Barack Obama's birth in Hawaii rushed to the Supreme Court to try to block the son of an American mother and Kenyan father from taking office as president. Seven years later, Canadian-born Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz is facing similar scrutiny.

Here are some answers to questions about the constitutional requirements to be president, and Cruz's situation: less The Cruz birther controversy explained It seems like only yesterday that skeptics of Barack Obama's birth in Hawaii rushed to the Supreme Court to try to block the son of an American mother and Kenyan father ... more Photo: Scott Olson, Getty Images Photo: Scott Olson, Getty Images Image 1 of / 12 Caption Close Judge tosses birther lawsuit against Ted Cruz 1 / 12 Back to Gallery

A Houston federal judge tossed out a lawsuit Wednesday that challenged Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's eligibility to run for president.

U.S. District Judge Gray H. Miller dismissed the suit with prejudice, meaning that Houston lawyer Boris Schwartz cannot file the suit again. He found that Schwartz, as a citizen and taxpayer in Texas, had no legal standing to bring the case.

Schwartz, who is 85 and wore an American flag lapel pin with a red, white and blue striped tie, had asked the judge during oral arguments Wednesday morning to rule as swiftly as possible.

He said he planned to buy an airline ticket as soon as the judge handed down an order for dismissal so he could file an appeal in person at the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.

The suit - which identifies Cruz by his full name, Rafael Edward Cruz - had raised the question of whether Cruz is ineligible to run for president because he was born on Canadian soil, even though his mother was a U.S. citizen.

Cruz's lawyer, Layne Kruse, argued Wednesday that Schwartz had no legal standing to raise the legal question. He told the judge that questions about a candidate's eligibility for office are the purview of the electoral college and the legislative wing of government, not the judiciary. And he said that Schwartz did not have a cause of action because there was no evidence of direct harm to him from Cruz being on the ballot.

Cruz is among three candidates who remain in the Republican primary race for their party's presidential nomination.

The suit also initially raised questions about the eligibility of President Barack Obama and former GOP presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio, but a judge threw out that motion one week after it was filed.

The judge heard arguments Wednesday morning and didn't mince words about dismissing the case.

"It seems to me the weight of authority is on the side of dismissal for standing," Schwartz said, after Schwartz finished his argument.