Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's suffered a setback after lawyers for the Democratic party ruled that no more than half of the delegations in her favor could be legally recognized.

Democratic National Committee lawyers wrote in a memo that the two states must forfeit at least half of their delegates as punishment for holding primaries earlier than Democratic party rules allow.

Clinton prevailed in both contests, although the Democratic candidates had agreed not to campaign in Florida and Michigan, and Sen. Barack Obama removed his name from the Michigan ballot.

Democratic lawyers determined that full restoration, as sought by Clinton, would violate the rules, although it did note a loophole that would allow her to carry the challenge to the first day of the Democratic National Convention in late August.