PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – It’s a race against time — and some previous court decisions — for Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis is his race to run for New Jersey state senate.

Lewis has been barred from the ballot in New Jersey because the state says he doesn’t meet the four-year residency requirement for Senate.

Judges on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals peppered lawyers for both sides on such issues as whether Lewis’ voting in California in 2009 means he wasn’t a New Jersey resident since 2007 (or 2005, depending on which condo purchase in Medford, NJ you go by).

The judges seemed perplexed to find that New Jersey has been interpreting the residency clause in its Constitution differently than the actual wording, but were told by the state’s lawyers that it’s really not a federal court’s job to correct this.

A decision is promised shortly, since the deadline to remove and replace Lewis on the 8th District ballot (if that’s the way it goes) is looming.

Reported by John Ostapkovich, KYW Newsradio 1060