 Louisville attorney Helm Bruce opened the Republicans ' case before the Supreme Court on April 1 , 1900 . He maintained that , after Taylor 's election had been certified by the Board of Elections , he was legally the governor of Kentucky , and the attempt by the legislature to oust him from office amounted to an arbitrary and despotic use of power , not a due process , as the federal constitution required . In addressing the complaints upon which the dismissal of ballots was justified – namely , the intimidation of voters in Jefferson County by the state militia and the use of " thin ballots " in forty Kentucky counties – Bruce maintained that even if the allegations were true , both were the fault of the state , not Taylor and Marshall , and were not sufficient grounds upon which to deny them their right to the offices they claimed . 
