Ralph Nader has turned up the heat on the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) that excluded him from the podium and then from the audience at Tuesday's debate--and a Harvard Law School (HLS) organization may benefit.

Nader said Wednesday that unless the CPD apologizes to him and donates $25,000 to the Appleseed Center for Electoral Reform (ACER)--an HLS research group Nader helped found--he will take legal action against the CPD.

Nader is already using legal avenues to try to get into the debates as a candidate. The appeal of his case against the Federal Election Commission (FEC) was heard in a Boston courtroom yesterday.

And it appears the extra publicity has served as a boon to Nader's popularity. According to yesterday's Zogby national poll, 7 percent of the public supports him for president, compared to just 3 percent last week.

Yesterday he formalized his latest demands in a letter to the CPD co-chairs. According to the letter, Nader's campaign will "pursue its legal remedies" if the CPD doesn't give in to Nader's demands by Oct. 10.

The Green Party candidate claims the CPD violated his civil rights when he was refused admission to Tuesday's debate, held at the University of Massachusetts-Boston, despite having a valid ticket.

Nader did not consult with the ACER before demanding that the CPD contribute to the group.

In fact, the center's faculty director, Williams Professor of Criminal Justice Richard D. Parker, hadn't heard about the proposed donation until The Crimson mentioned it to him yesterday.