Janer v. Barnes.
| Decision Date | 17 June 2010 |
| Docket Number | Docket No. 298401. |
| Citation | 795 N.W.2d 183,288 Mich.App. 735 |
| Parties | JANERv.BARNES. |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Michigan — District of US |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Kim A. Higgs, Bay City, for Mark Janer and Steven J. Jacobs.Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone, P.L.C., Lansing (by Michael J. Hodge and Scott R. Eldridge), for Jennifer Cass Barnes.Michael A. Cox, Attorney General, B. Eric Restuccia, Solicitor General, and Ann M. Sherman and Denise C. Barton, Assistant Attorneys General, for the Secretary of State and the Department of State, Bureau of Elections.Braun Kendrick Finkbeiner P.L.C., Saginaw (by C. Patrick Kaltenbach and Matthew A. Tarrant) for the Bay County Clerk.Before: O'CONNELL, P.J., and OWENS and BORRELLO, JJ.
Plaintiffs appeal as of right the trial court's order denying their request for a declaratory judgment, mandamus, and injunctive relief in this election case. We affirm.
In April 2010, plaintiffs and defendant Jennifer Cass Barnes timely filed nominating petitions to become candidates on the ballot for the position of 74th District Court Judge in the August 3, 2010, primary election. The position was designated a nonincumbent position, because incumbent Judge Scott J. Newcombe had announced his intention to resign on May 31, 2010. On April 23, 2010, Governor Jennifer M. Granholm appointed Barnes to replace Judge Newcombe and serve the remainder of his term. Barnes assumed the duties of her office on June 1, 2010.
Plaintiffs filed a complaint for a declaratory judgment, seeking a writ of mandamus and injunctive relief to prevent Barnes from receiving an incumbency designation on the primary election ballot. They argued that because Barnes filed nominating petitions to access the ballot as a nonincumbent, and because her appointment occurred after the deadline for incumbent judges to access the ballot, she is not entitled to the incumbency designation on the ballot. The trial court denied the requested relief, ruled that Barnes will have the incumbency designation on the August primary election ballot, and dismissed the complaint with prejudice.
This Court reviews de novo a trial court's ruling in a declaratory judgment action. Toll Northville Ltd. v. Northville Twp., 480 Mich. 6, 10, 743 N.W.2d 902 (2008). This Court also reviews de novo issues of constitutional and statutory law. Wayne Co. v. Hathcock, 471 Mich. 445, 455, 684 N.W.2d 765 (2004).
Incumbent judges must be given the incumbency designation on the ballot as a matter of constitutional and statutory law. Const. 1963, art 6, § 24, provides: “There shall be printed upon the ballot under the name of each incumbent justice or judge who is a candidate for nomination or election to the same office the designation of that office.” The Legislature codified this provision to require the incumbency designation on the ballot for incumbent district court judges: “There shall be printed upon the ballot under the name of each incumbent district judge who is a candidate for nomination or election to the same office the designation of that office.” MCL 168.467c(2). The word “shall” ... denotes mandatory conduct. See Hughes v. Almena Twp., 284 Mich.App. 50, 62, 771 N.W.2d 453 (2009) (...
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