American Civil Liberties Union v. Darnell

• Decision Date: 14 July 2006
• Citation: 195 S.W.3d 612
• Parties: AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF TENNESSEE, et al. v. Riley C. DARNELL, et al.
• Court: Tennessee Supreme Court

195 S.W.3d 612

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF TENNESSEE, et al. v. Riley C. DARNELL, et al.

Supreme Court of Tennessee, at Nashville.

June 7, 2006 Session.

July 14, 2006.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Melody Fowler-Green, Abby R. Rubenfeld, and Anne C. Martin, Nashville, Tennessee,

for the appellants, American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee, Tennessee Equality Project, Beverly Robison Marrero, Bruce Barry, Jonathan Hines, Scott Hines, Nina Pacent, Renee Kasman, Larry Turner, and Tommie Brown.

Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Michael E. Moore, Solicitor General; Ann Louise Vix, Senior Counsel; Gina J. Barham, Deputy Attorney General; and Marnee L. Baker, Assistant Attorney General, Nashville Tennessee, for the appellees, Riley C. Darnell, Brook Thompson, Paul G. Summers, John S. Wilder, and James O. Naifeh.

Benjamin W. Bull, Glen Lavy, Byron J. Babione, Heather Gebelin Hacker, Scottsdale, Arizona, Nathan W. Kellum, Memphis, Tennessee, and David L. Maddox, Nashville, Tennessee, for the Intervenors, sixty-seven members of the Tennessee House of Representatives and twenty-three members of the Tennessee Senate.

Michael B. Bressman, Nashville, Tennessee, for Amicus Curiae, Public Notice Resource Center.

Robyn E. Smith, Nashville, Tennessee, for Amicus Curiae, Tennessee Chapter of the National Organization for Women.

Opinion

WILLIAM M. BARKER, C.J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which E. RILEY ANDERSON, ADOLPHO A. BIRCH, JR., JANICE M. HOLDER, and CÓRNELIA A. CLARK, JJ., joined.

We assumed jurisdiction of this case pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 16-3-201 to consider whether the Chancellor erred by refusing to declare Senate Joint Resolution 31 unconstitutional and by refusing to enjoin the Secretary of State from placing a proposed amendment to the Tennessee Constitution on the November 7, 2006 ballot for a ratification vote. Having fully considered the record, the relevant authority, and the written and oral presentations of the parties—and wishing to decide this constitutional matter, as we should, on the narrowest grounds possible—we affirm the Chancellor's decision dismissing the complaint because Plaintiffs have failed to establish that they have standing to bring this lawsuit.

I. BACKGROUND

Article XI, section 3 of the Tennessee Constitution provides:

Any amendment or amendments to this Constitution may be proposed in the Senate or House of Representatives, and if the same shall be agreed to by a majority of all the members elected to each of the two houses, such proposed amendment or amendments shall be entered on their journals with the yeas and nays thereon, and referred to the general assembly then next to be chosen; and shall be published six months previous to the time of making such choice; and if in the general assembly then next chosen as aforesaid, such proposed amendment or amendments shall be agreed to by two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, then it shall be the duty of the general assembly to submit such proposed amendment or amendments to the people at the next general election in which a Governor is to be chosen. And if the people shall approve and ratify such amendment or amendments by a majority of all the citizens of the State voting for Governor, voting in their favor, such amendment or amendments shall become a part of this Constitution. When any amendment or amendments to the Constitution shall be proposed in pursuance of the foregoing provisions the same shall at each of said sessions be read three times on three several days in each house.

Pursuant to this constitutional provision, on March 17, 2004, Representative Bill Dunn introduced in the House of Representatives of the 103rd General Assembly, House Joint Resolution 990 ("HJR 990"), which proposed an amendment "relative to the marital contract between one man and one woman" ("Marriage Amendment"). HJR 990 provided in relevant part:

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, THE SENATE CONCURRING, that a majority of all the members of each house concurring, as shown by the yeas and nays entered on their journals, that it is proposed that Article XI of the Constitution of the State of Tennessee be amended by adding the following language as a new, appropriately designated section:

SECTION ___. The historical institution and legal contract solemnizing the relationship of one man and one woman shall be the only legally recognized marital contract in this state. Any policy or law or judicial interpretation purporting to define marriage as anything other than the historical institution and legal contract between one man and one woman, is contrary to the public policy of this state and shall be void and unenforceable in Tennessee. If another state or foreign jurisdiction issues a license for persons to marry and if such marriage is prohibited in this state by provisions of this section, then the marriage shall be void and unenforceable in this state.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the foregoing amendment be referred to the One Hundred Fourth General Assembly and that this resolution proposing such amendment be published by the Secretary of State in accordance with Article XI, Section 3, of the Constitution of the State of Tennessee.

The General Assembly posted HJR 990 on its official website from the time of HJR 990's introduction on March 17, 2004. In addition, on March 25, April 22, April 29, and May 6, 2004, the Republican Caucus of the House of Representatives posted press releases on its website summarizing legislative action on HJR 990. The press release posted on April 22 included a link to the General Assembly's website and the text of the proposed Marriage Amendment. In addition, from the time of HJR 990's introduction, the Marriage Amendment received a great deal of coverage in print and television media outlets across the State. On more than one occasion, newspaper articles and television news reports provided the full text of the Marriage Amendment.

The House of Representatives approved HJR 990 on May 6, 2004, by a vote of eighty-five to five. The measure received Senate approval by a vote of twenty-eight to one on May 19, 2004, approximately five and one-half months prior to the election of the 104th General Assembly on November 2, 2004 ("2004 election"). The Secretary of State then prepared a legal notice¹ containing the full text of the HJR 990. This notice was published in six Tennessee newspapers² on June 20, 2004, approximately four and one-half months prior to the 2004 election.

When the 104th General Assembly convened after the 2004 election, Senator Jeff Miller introduced Senate Joint Resolution 31 ("SJR 31"), providing as follows:

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING, That a two-thirds majority of all the members of each house concurring, as shown by the yeas and nays entered on their journals, that it is proposed that Article XI of the Constitution of the State of Tennessee be amended by adding the following language as a new appropriately designated section:

SECTION ___. The historical institution and legal contract solemnizing the relationship of one man and one woman shall be the only legally recognized marital contract in this state. Any policy or law or judicial interpretation purporting to define marriage as anything other than the historical institution and legal contract between one man and one woman, is contrary to the public policy of this state and shall be void and unenforceable in Tennessee. If another state or foreign jurisdiction issues a license for persons to marry and if such marriage is prohibited in this state by provisions of this section, then the marriage shall be void and unenforceable in this state.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That, in accordance with Article XI, Section 3, of the Constitution of the State of Tennessee, the foregoing amendment shall be submitted to the people at the next general election in which a Governor is to be chosen, the same being the 2006 November general election, and the Secretary of State is directed to place such amendment on the ballot for that election.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Clerk of the Senate is directed to deliver a copy of this Resolution to the Secretary of State.

The 104th General Assembly approved SJR 31 by the constitutionally required two-thirds majority. The Senate approved the measure on February 28, 2005, by a vote of twenty-nine to two, and the House of Representatives approved the measure on March 17, 2005, by a vote of eighty-eight to seven. The Marriage Amendment was then slated to be submitted to the voters for a ratification vote at the November 7, 2006, gubernatorial election.

However, on April 21, 2005, Plaintiffs³ filed a complaint in the Davidson County Chancery Court against Defendants⁴ seeking to enjoin the Secretary of State from including the Marriage Amendment on the November 7, 2006, ballot. Plaintiffs alleged that the Marriage Amendment had not been "published six months previous" to the 2004 election as required by the publication clause of Article XI, section 3 of the Tennessee Constitution. Plaintiffs maintained that the failure to timely publish the proposed amendment had invalidated the amending process. Therefore, Plaintiffs argued that SJR 31 violates the Tennessee Constitution "by commanding the Secretary of State . . . to place the proposed amendment on the ballot in 2006." Moreover, Plaintiffs alleged that the failure to timely publish the Marriage Amendment "hindered" their "lobbying efforts because their ability to engage an informed electorate was compromised." Plaintiffs, Renee Kasman and Nina Pacent, and Scott Hines and Jonathan Hines, further alleged that as gay couples wishing to marry in Tennessee, the failure to timely publish the Marriage Amendment...