Duffy v. Conaway

• Citation: 295 Md. 242,455 A.2d 955
• Parties: Patrick J. DUFFY v. Mary CONAWAY. Patrick J. DUFFY v. Mary CONAWAY et al. Patrick J. DUFFY v. STATE ADMINISTRATIVE BOARD OF ELECTION LAWS et al. 112-114.
• Decision Date: 21 January 1983
• Court: Court of Appeals of Maryland

Page 242

295 Md. 242

455 A.2d 955

Patrick J. DUFFY v. Mary CONAWAY.

Patrick J. DUFFY v. Mary CONAWAY et al.

Patrick J. DUFFY v. STATE ADMINISTRATIVE BOARD OF ELECTION LAWS et al.

112-114.

Court of Appeals of Maryland.

Jan. 21, 1983.

Paul Mark Sandler, Baltimore (Raymond Daniel Burke and Freishtat & Sandler, Baltimore, on the brief), for appellant.

George A. Nilson, Baltimore (David Clarke, Jr., David E. Sloan and Howard Nicholson, Baltimore, Md., on the brief), for appellee, Mary Conaway.

Robert A. Zarnoch, Asst. Atty. Gen., Annapolis (Stephen H. Sachs, Atty. Gen., and Diana G. Motz, Asst. Atty. Gen., Baltimore, on the brief), for appellees, State Administrative Bd. of Election Laws et al.

Argued before MURPHY, C.J., and SMITH, ELDRIDGE, COLE, DAVIDSON, RODOWSKY and COUCH, JJ.

ELDRIDGE, Judge.

Patrick J. Duffy, until recently, had been the Register of Wills for Baltimore City. In a bid for reelection, he was defeated in the Democratic Primary Election of September 14, 1982, by Mary Conaway. After the primary election but before the general election of November 2, 1982, Mr. Duffy brought three civil actions which were designed to have Mrs. Conaway's name removed from the ballot at the general election. The basis for the relief sought was Mr. Duffy's claim that Mrs. Conaway had engaged in an unlawful campaign practice, namely offering gifts to induce persons to vote for her. In two of the civil actions, the relief sought was denied. In the third and principal action, the jury made certain findings regarding the allegations, and the court ordered that the findings be transmitted to the State Administrative Board of Election Laws and that the Board immediately transmit the findings to the Speaker of the House of Delegates of Maryland. Appeals were taken in all three cases, and, prior to any proceedings in the Court of Special Appeals, this Court issued a writ of certiorari. On October 29, 1982, after briefing and oral argument, we filed a per curiam, --- Md. ---, 451 A.2d 333, order, affirming the two judgments which had denied any relief. We vacated the order in the third case and directed that the action be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction in the trial court. We shall now give the reasons for our per curiam order.

I.

Before setting out in detail the facts of the cases, it would be useful to review the relevant statutory background. The "Fair Election Practices" subtitle of the Election Code, also known as the "Corrupt Practices Act," Maryland Code (1957, 1976 Repl.Vol.), Art. 33, §§ 26-1 through 26-21, was first enacted in 1908, Ch. 122 of the Acts of 1908. The Act was a response to "the enormous corruption funds contributed by insurance companies and corporations for carrying elections ... [and] bribe-giving, vote-selling, and corrupt methods in both primary and general elections." Message of Edwin Warfield, Governor of Maryland, to the General Assembly, January 1906, at 7-8.

One of the prohibitions in the Corrupt Practices Act is the giving or offering of any money, gift, etc. for the purpose of inducing a person to vote for or against any person or proposition. That prohibition states in pertinent part:

" § 26-16. Offenses constituting prohibited practices.

(a) Enumerated.--The following persons shall be guilty of prohibited practices and shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of this section:

(1) Offering Bribe, etc. Every person who shall, directly or indirectly, by himself or by another, give or offer or promise to any person any money, gift, advantage, preferment, aid, emolument or any valuable thing whatever, for the purpose of inducing or procuring any person to vote, or refrain from voting, for or against any person, or for or against any measure or proposition at any election or political convention or for or against the election of any officer by the General Assembly of Maryland." ¹

There are several enforcement provisions in the Corrupt Practices Act. For example, § 26-20 states that any person who violates the Act is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than $1,000.00 or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both. Section 26-21 provides that the Secretary of State may seek an injunction against any violation of the Act's provisions. Under § 26-16(b), violations of the prohibitions in § 26-16 are subject to criminal penalties of a $1,000.00 fine and/or one year imprisonment, and, in addition, the person convicted "shall be ineligible for any public or party office, for the period of four years from and after the time of the commission of such offense." ² Other sanctions for specific violations are set forth in the Act.

In addition to the enforcement mechanisms mentioned above, the Corrupt Practices Act provides for a civil remedy in § 26-18. It is this remedy which Mr. Duffy sought to invoke in the principal case before us. Under § 26-18(a), a defeated candidate at any primary or general election or any ten qualified voters may file a petition in court, claiming that practices contrary to the Election Code were committed by the successful candidate or his agents and "praying that the fact alleged may be inquired into." ³ Section 26-18(b) requires notice to and an answer by the defendant, and § 26-18(c) permits any party to elect a jury trial.

Subsection (d) of § 26-18 sets forth a special procedure if the petition relates to the election of certain specified offices, including the office of Register of Wills. Under (d), the trial court is deprived of "power to declare any such election to be void." Instead, the judge is required to file his finding, or in the case of a jury trial the jury's finding, as to whether or not the successful candidate or his agents engaged in an unlawful practice, together with a transcript of the evidence, with the State Administrative Board of Election Laws. The Board is then required to submit the finding and transcript to different persons or governmental bodies depending upon the office involved. With regard to the office of Register of Wills, the Board is directed to submit the finding and transcript to the Speaker of the House of Delegates of Maryland. Section 26-18(d) thus provides:

"(d) Judge to file findings with State Administrative Board of Election Laws; duty of Board.--In case such petition relates to the election of electors of President and Vice-President of the United States, a Senator of the United States, a Representative in Congress, or the Governor and Lieutenant Governor or Attorney General, or a Senator or Delegate to the General Assembly of Maryland, or a judge, or a clerk of a court of law, or a register of wills, or a State's attorney, the trial judge or judges shall have no power to declare any such election to be void. The judge shall file his findings, or, in a case where a jury shall have been demanded, the finding or verdict of such jury as to whether or not the successful candidate, or his agent or agents acting for or on behalf of such candidate, engaged in prohibited practices, with the State Administrative Board of Election Laws together with the transcript of the evidence. The State Administrative Board of Election Laws shall thereupon submit the same to the Governor of Maryland, when the election is for electors of President or Vice-President of the United States, or for Attorney General of the State; or when the election is for a Representative or Representatives in Congress, shall submit the same certified under the seal of the State, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives; or when the election is for Senator of the United States, shall submit the same, certified under the seal of the State, to the President of the Senate of the United States; or when the election is for a member of the State Senate, shall submit the same to the President of the Senate of Maryland; or when the election is for Governor and Lieutenant Governor or Delegate to the House of Delegates of the General Assembly of Maryland, or a judge, or a clerk of a court of law, or a register of wills, to the Speaker of the House of Delegates of Maryland; or when the election is for a State's attorney, to the judges having criminal jurisdiction of the county and city wherein he shall be elected."

It should be noted that the elections listed in subsection (d) are ones with respect to which either federal or state constitutional provisions or statutes grant to specified governmental entities the authority to judge the elections or the qualifications of those persons elected. Art. IV., § 12, of the Maryland Constitution provides that the Maryland House of Delegates shall judge contested elections for registers of wills. ⁴

Subsections (e) and (f) of § 26-18 relate to elections for offices other than those referred to in subsection (d). Under those subsections the findings of the court regarding such other election, plus the decision of the court as to whether the election was void, is to be filed with the Governor instead of with the State Administrative Board of Election Laws. Section 26-18(f) goes on to provide for a proclamation by the Governor declaring such election void. ⁵ The next and final paragraph of § 26-18, subsection (g), states that if a candidate "shall have been so found or decided to have engaged in any prohibited practice," he shall be ineligible for public office or employment, unless the prohibited practice was by an agent and without the candidate's knowledge or consent. ⁶

II.

Turning to the facts of these cases, the litigation commenced when Mr. Duffy on October 13, 1982, filed in the Superior Court of Baltimore City a petition under § 26-18, naming Mrs. Conaway as the sole defendant. Mr. Duffy alleged that at various times prior to the Democratic Primary Election in Baltimore City on September 14, 1982, Mrs. Conaway and/or her agents gave away 50 smoke detectors, 1,000 loaves of bread, 1,000 sticks of margarine, and 1,000 pounds of chicken. It was further alleged...