Heitmanis v. Austin
| Decision Date | 11 February 1988 |
| Docket Number | No. 87-CV-4465-DT.,87-CV-4465-DT. |
| Citation | 677 F. Supp. 1347 |
| Parties | George HEITMANIS, et al., Plaintiffs, and Michigan Republican State Central Committee, Intervening Plaintiff, v. Richard AUSTIN, et al., Defendants, and Senator Vernon J. Ehlers, et al., Intervening Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Michigan |
Sean F. Cox, Kitch, Saurbier, Drutchas, Wagner & Kenney, Detroit, Mich., James F. Schoener, Washington, D.C., for plaintiff Heitmanis, et al.
Michael A. Gagleard, Gagleard, Addis, Imbrunone, Troy, Mich., for intervening plaintiff.
Gary P. Gordon, Asst. Atty. Gen., Lansing, Mich., for defendant Richard Austin, et al.
David W. McKeague, Foster, Swift, Collins & Coey, Lansing, Mich., for intervening defendants.
Plaintiffs bring this constitutional challenge to several sections of the Michigan Election Law, Mich.Comp.Laws (M.C.L.) § 168.1 et seq. The state statute grants automatic delegate status at state and county conventions, as well as automatic membership on county executive committees, to party nominees and party legislators. As such, claim plaintiffs, the statute violates their First Amendment rights of free association and free expression, as well as their right to vote. Defendants, in addition to arguing the constitutionality of the state statute, raise several procedural barriers to the relief requested by plaintiffs. These barriers include the doctrine of abstention, absence of state action, and justiciability. Defendants base their abstention argument on a parallel proceeding brought by intervening defendants in state court. Ehlers v. Michigan Republican State Central Committee, No. 87-56036-CZ (Kent Cty. Circuit Ct.), aff'd, Nos. 105399 & 105690 (Mich.Ct. App.), leave to appeal denied, 429 Mich. 894 (1988).
Plaintiffs are five individuals who have been elected delegates to the January 14, 1988 county and district conventions of the Republican Party of Michigan. Defendants serve as Secretary of State and Director of Elections for the State of Michigan. The Michigan Republican State Central Committee (State Central Committee) has intervened as plaintiff. Three of the five original plaintiffs, George Heitmanis, John Pafford, and Richard Bobosky, are also members of the State Central Committee. Intervening defendants consist of numerous county and state officeholders and nominees. As officeholders and nominees, they had the right under the election statute to participate as at-large delegates or precinct delegates to county and district conventions held on January 14, 1988.
Prior to the January 14, 1988 conventions, however, the State Central Committee adopted rules prohibiting intervening defendants from participating as at-large delegates to the conventions. As a result of the conflict between the State Central Committee (attempting to enforce newly adopted delegate selection rules) and intervening defendants (officeholders and nominees asserting statutory right to participate in county conventions), competing delegations have been elected in the county conventions. Party rules require that issues of competing delegations be resolved at the State Convention to be held on January 30, 1988.1 Plaintiffs, however, believe that the dispute can be resolved as a matter of constitutional law.
Before addressing the procedural barriers to plaintiffs' claims, an outline must be given of the delegate selection process provisions of the Michigan Election Law and the various rules adopted by the National Republican Party and the Michigan Republican Party.
Plaintiffs in their first amended complaint seek declaratory relief that M.C.L. §§ 168.595a & 168.599(5) are unconstitutional as applied to the Michigan Republican Party. In their Memorandum of Law in support of their motion for summary judgment, plaintiffs additionally request that M.C.L. §§ 168.611, 168.593, 168.595, 168.598 & 168.599(1) be declared unconstitutional. These sections may be summarized as follows:
National Republican Party rules governing the selection of national convention delegates and alternates are adopted at the preceding national convention. For example, the 1988 Republican National Convention rules were adopted at the 1984 convention. Republican National Party Rule 31(r), adopted at the 1980 Republican National Convention, did not permit "automatic delegates at any level of the delegate selection procedures who serve by virtue of party position or elective office." Rule 5 of the 1984 Michigan Republican Convention Rules expressly incorporated national rule 31(r).
Intervening defendants offer an affidavit of Roger Allan Moore, general counsel to the Republican National Committee and to the Standing Committee on Rules of the Republican National Committee. He states that following the 1980 Republican National Convention, the Technical Amendments Subcommittee became aware that 18 states permitted or required participation of party or elected officials as automatic delegates in county (or precinct) caucuses or conventions. To make the National Party rules consistent with the procedures adopted by those states, the Standing Committee on Rules of the Republican National Committee recommended a revision of the prohibition against automatic delegates. Accordingly, on August 20, 1984, the 1984 Republican National Convention adopted a recommendation of the Committee on Rules and Order of Business and amended rule 31(r). The amended rule, renumbered as rule 32(b)(7), provides that "there shall be no automatic delegates to the national convention who serve by virtue of party position or elective office." As indicated above, 32(b)(7) applies to all 1988 delegate selection procedures. Moore states that the 1988 Republican National Party rules do not prohibit automatic delegates to any county, district, or state conventions conducted for the purpose of electing national convention delegates. Moore Affidavit ¶¶ 6-8.
Moore also discusses the effect of rule 32(a), which reads as follows:
According to Moore, the 1988 National Republican Party Rules incorporate state law by reference. The National Party Rules also take precedence over state party rules. In his view, because the 1988 Rules incorporate state law, any state party that adopts rules that conflict with state law runs the risk that the Committee on Credentials, as well as the 1988 Republican National Convention, will find that the rules of the National Party bar the seating of any delegates and alternate delegates elected in violation of such state law. Moore Affidavit ¶¶ 10, 14; see also National Rules Nos. 38-40 ().
On December 7, 1985, the State Central Committee adopted rules for the selection of delegates to the 1988 Republican Party county, district, state, and national conventions. The rules deleted the previous reference to National Party Rule 31(r) that appeared in the 1984 State Party rules. The rules also removed provisions barring nominees for county and state...
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Heitmanis v. Austin
...fight between factions of the State Party; and (4) the Election Law was not facially unconstitutional. Heitmanis v. Austin, 677 F.Supp. 1347 (E.D.Mich.1988). II. A. The district court ruled that the Party Delegates' claim was not justiciable. The court first held that the State Party rules ......
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