Deeds v. Lindsey

• Decision Date: 07 July 1988
• Docket Number: No. CC975,CC975
• Citation: 179 W.Va. 674,371 S.E.2d 602
• Parties: Robert DEEDS v. Albert LINDSEY, Sheriff of Greenbrier County, West Virginia; W.W. McClung, Charles M. Long and Joe Feamster, County Commissioners of Greenbrier County, West Virginia; Dalton Elmore, Henry Riffe and Harold Weikle, Members of Deputy Sheriffs' Civil Service Commission.
• Court: West Virginia Supreme Court

Page 602

371 S.E.2d 602

179 W.Va. 674

Robert DEEDS v. Albert LINDSEY, Sheriff of Greenbrier County, West Virginia;

W.W. McClung, Charles M. Long and Joe Feamster, County

Commissioners of Greenbrier County, West Virginia; Dalton

Elmore, Henry Riffe and Harold Weikle, Members of Deputy

Sheriffs' Civil Service Commission.

No. CC975.

Supreme Court of Appeals of

West Virginia.

July 7, 1988.

[179 W.Va. 675] Syllabus by the Court

1. "[T]he right to become a candidate for public office is a fundamental right, and ... any restriction on the exercise of this right must serve a compelling state interest." White v. Manchin, 173 W.Va. 526, 543, 318 S.E.2d 470, 488 (1984).

2. A deputy sheriff is not denied equal protection of the law when he or she is prohibited from becoming a candidate for public office pursuant to W.Va.Code, 7-14-15(a) [1971], nor is a deputy sheriff denied equal protection of the law when he or she is not permitted a leave of absence to become such a candidate, notwithstanding the provisions of W.Va.Code, 29-6-20 [1983] which guarantees these rights to other state civil service employees, because there is a compelling state interest in prohibiting deputy sheriffs from seeking candidacy for public office. W.Va. Const. art. III, §§ 10 and 17.

3. "A writ of mandamus will not issue unless three elements coexist--(1) a clear legal right in the petitioner to the relief sought; (2) a legal duty on the part of the respondent to do the thing which the petitioner seeks to compel; and (3) the absence of another adequate remedy." Syl. pt. 2, State ex rel. Kucera v. City of Wheeling, 153 W.Va. 538, 170 S.E.2d 367 (1969).

Gordon T. Ikner, Lewisburg, for Deeds.

Richard H. Lorensen, PA, Lewisburg, for Lindsey, et al.

McHUGH, Chief Justice:

This case is before this Court upon questions certified by order of the Circuit Court of Greenbrier County. The proceedings below involved a mandamus action filed by the appellee to compel the appellants to grant him a leave of absence to run for sheriff, and if his pursuit of the office was unsuccessful, to reinstate him to his previous classification with full restoration of benefits and rank. This Court has before it the petition for appeal, all matters of record and the briefs of counsel.

The appellants, the defendants below, are Albert Lindsey, Sheriff of Greenbrier County, West Virginia, W.W. McClung, Charles M. Long and Joe Feamster, County Commissioners of Greenbrier County, and Dalton Elmore, Henry Riffe and Harold Weikle, members of the Deputy Sheriffs' Civil Service Commission.

The appellee, the plaintiff below, is Robert Deeds, a deputy sheriff of Greenbrier County.

I

By letter dated November 19, 1987, the appellee requested an order of the Greenbrier The basis for the appellee's request was a change in state law pertaining to state civil service employees which allowed for an employee's leave of absence without pay for the period of his or her candidacy. See note 4, infra. Because the County Commission and the Deputy Sheriffs' Civil Service Commission were unsure what effect, if any, the aforementioned change in the law would have upon deputy sheriffs specifically, they indicated by letter that they could not guarantee the appellee reinstatement to full benefits and rank.

                [179 W.Va. 676]  County Deputy Sheriffs' Civil Service Commission granting him a leave of absence to run for the office of sheriff in an upcoming election. 1  The letter further requested that he be guaranteed reinstatement to full benefits and rank should his candidacy fail
                

The trial court, treating the response of the appellee and appellants as a motion for summary judgment to have the action dismissed, denied the motion and framed the following questions for certification to this Court, all of which were answered in the affirmative by the court below:

(1) Is mandamus proper under the circumstances of this case?

(2) Does the fundamental interest of the public's right to vote and a person's first amendment right of expression and association by becoming a candidate for local office require a strict equal protection review of West Virginia Code 7-14-15(a) and related regulations which statute and regulations prohibit the exercise of such rights?

(3) Is a county deputy sheriff denied equal protection of the law when he is prohibited by West Virginia Code 7-14-15(a) and related civil service commission regulations from becoming a partisan candidate for local public office while the general public and state civil service covered employees (under West Virginia Code 29-6-20) are permitted to become such candidates?

(4) Is a county deputy sheriff denied equal protection of the law when he is not permitted a leave of absence (with the right to return to his same position if he is not successful) to become a partisan candidate for local public office while state employees covered by civil service (under West Virginia Code 29-6-20) are permitted leaves of absence to become such candidates?

II

STANDARD OF SCRUTINY

W.Va.Code, 7-14-15(a) [1971] provides in pertinent part:

[N]o deputy sheriff covered by the provisions of this article shall engage in any political activity of any kind, character or nature whatsoever, except to cast his vote at any election or shall act as an election official in any municipal, county or state election. Any deputy sheriff violating the provisions of this section shall have his appointment vacated and he shall be removed, in accordance with the pertinent provisions of this section.

The appellants maintain that the governmental interests underlying W.Va.Code, 7-14-15(a) [1971] outweigh the constitutional rights of a civil service deputy sheriff seeking to run for office, and it is thus unnecessary to review the aforementioned statute under a strict equal protection standard.

The appellee, on the other hand, asserts that the statute infringes on two of his fundamental first amendment freedoms: the freedom of expression and the freedom of association. He thereby contends that candidacy for a public office is a federally protected first amendment right touching on the above freedoms and that strict scrutiny applies in considering the constitutionality of the statute. We agree with the appellee that strict scrutiny applies, but for different reasons hereinafter stated. ²

It is well established that where a fundamental, constitutional right is involved and an equal protection challenge is made, the State's action is given strict scrutiny, and the State must advance a compelling state interest to uphold the discriminatory classification. ³ State ex rel. Board of Education v. Manchin, 179 W.Va. 235, 240, 366 S.E.2d 743, 748 (1988); State ex rel. Longanacre v. Crabtree, 177 W.Va. 132, 135 n. 4, 350 S.E.2d 760, 763 n. 4 (1986); State ex rel. Piccirillo v. City of Follansbee, 160 W.Va. 329, 333, 233 S.E.2d 419, 422 (1977); White v. Manchin, infra. This Court has frequently recognized that "the right to become a candidate for public office is a fundamental right, and that any restriction on the exercise of this right must serve a compelling state interest." White v. Manchin, 173 W.Va. 526, 543, 318 S.E.2d 470, 488 (1984); see also Marra v. Zink, 163 W.Va. 400, 404, 256 S.E.2d 581, 584 (1979); syl. pt. 1, State ex rel. Piccirillo v. City of Follansbee, 160 W.Va. 329, 233 S.E.2d 419 (1977); State ex rel. Maloney v. McCartney, 159 W.Va. 513, 517, 223 S.E.2d 607, 611 (1976); State ex rel. Brewer v. Wilson, 151 W.Va. 113, 121, 150 S.E.2d 592, 597 (1966). Accordingly, the State must advance a compelling state interest in order to sustain the constitutionality of W.Va.Code, 7-14-15(a) [1971] which infringes on the fundamental right of a deputy sheriff to seek candidacy for a public office.

III EQUAL PROTECTION ANALYSIS

We now consider whether the appellants have advanced a compelling state interest justifying the restrictive provisions of W.Va.Code, 7-14-15(a) [1971], which infringe on the appellee's fundamental right to seek candidacy for a public office.

Principally, the appellee argues that W.Va.Code, 7-14-15(a) [1971] violates equal protection guarantees because the statute impermissibly precludes deputy sheriffs from becoming candidates for local public office while other state civil service employees, pursuant to W.Va.Code, 29-6-20 [1983], are permitted to be such candidates. ⁴ On the other hand, the appellants contend that state civil service employees are a distinct class from civil service county deputy sheriffs and that these distinctions permit the classes to be treated in a dissimilar fashion.

It is well established that a government may place restrictions upon the political activities of its employees, consistent with federal and state constitutional protections, including a prohibition against running for political office. See United States Civil Service Commission v. National Association of Letter Carriers, 413 U.S. 548, 93 S.Ct. 2880, 37 L.Ed.2d 796 (1973); Broadrick v. Oklahoma, 413 U.S. 601, 93 S.Ct. 2908, 37 L.Ed.2d 830 (1973); Weaver v. Shaffer, 170 W.Va. 107, 290 S.E.2d 244 (1980); see also State ex rel. Harkleroad v. New Mexico State Police Board, 103 N.M. 270, 705 P.2d 676 (1985). Cf. Clements v. Fashing, 457 U.S. 957, 102 S.Ct. 2836, 73 L.Ed.2d 508 (1982) (upholding constitutionality of laws requiring automatic resignation of political office holders seeking other offices, against equal protection challenge).

This Court considered the constitutionality of W.Va.Code, 7-14-15(a) [1971] in Weaver v. Shaffer, 170 W.Va. 107, 290 S.E.2d 244 (1980). The essence of the appellant's argument in Weaver was that the statute denied his constitutional right to free political expression because it was impermissibly broad in its scope. Following United States Civil Service Commission v. National Association of Letter Carriers, 413 U.S. 548, 93 S.Ct. 2880, 37 L.Ed.2d 796 (1973), and Broadrick v. Oklahoma, 413 U.S. 601, 93 S.Ct. 2908, 37 L.Ed.2d 830 (1973), this...