Kendall v. Russell
| Decision Date | 13 July 2009 |
| Docket Number | No. 08–1212.,08–1212. |
| Parties | Hon. Leon A. KENDALL v. Sen. Ronald E. RUSSELL; Luis Morales; Robert O'Connor, Jr.; Robert Malloy and Bruce Marshack, in their capacity as Members of the Virgin Islands Commission on Judicial Disabilities Sen. Ronald E. Russell; Luis Morales; Robert Malloy; Bruce Marshack, Appellants. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Maria T. Hodge [ARGUED], Hodge & Francois, Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, Counsel for Appellants.
Howard M. Cooper, Julie E. Green [ARGUED], Todd & Weld, Boston, MA, Counsel for Appellee.
Before: FISHER, JORDAN and STAPLETON, Circuit Judges.
Leon A. Kendall, a judge of the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands, filed this suit against members of the Virgin Islands Commission on Judicial Disabilities (the “Commission”), alleging that Virgin Islands Act No. 3876 (the “Commission Act” or the “Act”), which empowers the Commission to remove judges of the Superior Court, violates the separation of powers principle inherent in the Revised Organic Act of 1954 (the “ROA”). 48 U.S.C. §§ 1541 et seq. The Commission asked the District Court to abstain from hearing the case, but the Court declined and entered judgment for Judge Kendall, declaring that the Commission Act does indeed violate the ROA and enjoining the Commission members from initiating or continuing removal proceedings against Judge Kendall. Now, four members of the Commission, Ronald A. Russell, Bruce Marshack, Robert Molloy, and Luis Morales, appeal the District Court's judgment.1 Because we conclude that the District Court did not err by refusing to abstain and that the legislation at issue is in violation of the ROA, we will affirm.
I. BackgroundA. Establishment of the Commission
On September 9, 1976, the Legislature of the Virgin Islands passed the Commission Act, which instituted significant changes involving the judicial system of the Virgin Islands. One of those changes was the creation of the Commission. V.I.Code Ann. tit. 4, §§ 651–59. The Act grants the Commission the “power to retire or remove a magistrate or judge of the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands” and lists as grounds for removal conviction of a felony, willful misconduct in office, willful and persistent failure to perform judicial duties, a mental or physical disability that seriously interferes with the performance of judicial duties, or any other conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice or brings the judicial office into disrepute. Id. §§ 651, 656.
The Act further specifies that the Commission is to be composed of two members appointed by the Governor of the Virgin Islands, two members appointed by the President of the Virgin Islands Legislature, and one member appointed by the Board of Governors of the Virgin Islands Bar Association. Id. § 652. Members of the judiciary are not eligible to serve on the Commission. Id.
The Commission may investigate a judge's health or conduct on its own initiative or following a complaint. Id. § 657(b)(1). Before the Commission can issue an order affecting a judge's tenure, it must hold a hearing. Id. A judge who is subject to a Commission hearing must be given notice of the hearing and of the nature of the matters under inquiry. Id. § 657(b)(2). The judge is entitled to attend the hearing, be represented by counsel, present evidence on his own behalf, and confront and cross-examine witnesses. Id. Following a hearing, the Commission makes determinations regarding the conduct or health of the judge concerned. Id. § 657(b)(3). The concurrence of at least four members is required for the Commission to make a determination for removal or retirement. Id.
According to the terms of the Act, if the Commission makes a determination for removal or retirement, it must file an order in the District Court of the Virgin Islands. Id. § § 656(a), (b), 657(b)(3). The Act provides that the judge who is the subject of the order may then petition the District Court to review the order. Id. § 659. After reviewing the proceedings that give rise to the order, the District Court is ostensibly empowered to affirm, reverse, or remand the order to the Commission for further proceedings. Id. The District Court is directed to follow the rules of procedure governing appeals in civil actions, and its determinations are to be final and conclusive. Id.
B. Judge Kendall and the Commission
In 2003, Leon A. Kendall was appointed to serve as a judge of the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands. In June 2007, Judge Kendall received a letter informing him that the Commission had received and planned to investigate two complaints against him. The Commission served Judge Kendall with two documents on November 16, 2007, each styled as an “Order and Notice of Hearing,” and each bearing a distinct case number and hearing date.
Judge Kendall considered the pending hearings to be “continuing looming threats” to his judicial independence.2(See App. II at 66.) On October 4, 2007, he filed a complaint in the District Court of the Virgin Islands against the members of the Commission in their official capacities. In his suit, Judge Kendall sought a judgment declaring that the provisions of the Act granting the Commission the power to investigate and remove Superior Court judges constitute a violation of the separation of powers principle inherent in the ROA. He also petitioned the Court to enjoin members of the Commission from commencing or continuing removal proceedings against him.
The next day, October 5, Judge Kendall filed a Motion for a Preliminary Injunction. The District Court consolidated the hearing on the motion with a trial on the merits and heard testimony and arguments on December 13, 2007. On January 16, 2008, the Court issued a judgment in favor of Judge Kendall, holding that the provisions of the Act empowering the Commission to remove Superior Court judges violate the ROA, and enjoining Commission members from initiating or continuing removal proceedings against Judge Kendall.
The Court also issued a thorough memorandum opinion explaining its decision. It began by determining that it had jurisdiction over the case and that Judge Kendall had standing to bring his claims. It then turned to whether it had discretion to abstain from considering the claims because of the ongoing Commission proceedings. After analyzing the case law on Younger abstention,3 the Court focused on whether the removal proceedings provided an opportunity for judicial review of Commission orders and a forum for Judge Kendall to raise his separation of powers claims. The Court noted that, under the Act, Commission orders do not take effect until they are approved by the District Court. The Court held, however, that it actually had no jurisdiction to review such orders and that the Legislature of the Virgin Islands could not expand the jurisdiction of a federal court. Consequently, the District Court concluded that it could not review the Commission's orders and that judicial review of Commission proceedings is thus effectively unavailable. According to the District Court, since the Commission proceedings are not subject to judicial review, they are not judicial in nature and do not provide an adequate forum for Judge Kendall to raise his separation of powers concerns. Based on that reasoning, the Court determined that the Younger factors weighed against abstention and in favor of reviewing Judge Kendall's claims.
Next, the Court turned to the merits of those claims. It began by establishing that, for a local legislature to have the power to remove a judge, the legislature must be expressly granted that power by some legal authority, usually a state constitution. Noting that the ROA serves as the Constitution of the Virgin Islands, the Court reviewed the relevant portions of the ROA and concluded that it does not grant the Legislature power to remove judges. Without having such power itself, the Legislature could not delegate it to the Commission. Hence, the Court concluded, the portions of the Act establishing the Commission violate the ROA.
Four members of the Commission (“Appellants”) filed a timely notice of appeal. They assert that the District Court erred in refusing to abstain from ruling while there were proceedings before the Commission. On a related point, they argue that the District Court erred in construing the Act as not providing for judicial review of Commission orders. Finally, they contend that the District Court erred in holding that the provisions of the Act granting the Commission power to remove Superior Court judges are invalid and unenforceable under the ROA.
II. Discussion4
We first consider abstention and then turn to the validity of the contested provisions of the Act.
“A federal district court has discretion to abstain from exercising jurisdiction over a particular claim where resolution of that claim in federal court would offend principles of comity by interfering with an ongoing state proceeding.” Addiction Specialists, Inc. v. Twp. of Hampton, 411 F.3d 399, 408 (3d Cir.2005) (citing Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37, 91 S.Ct. 746, 27 L.Ed.2d 669 (1971)). As noted earlier, the Younger doctrine allows a district court to abstain, but that discretion can properly be exercised only when (1) there are ongoing state proceedings that are judicial in nature; (2) the state proceedings implicate important state interests; and (3) the state proceedings afford an adequate opportunity to raise federal claims. Matusow v. Trans–County Title Agency, LLC, 545 F.3d 241, 248 (3d Cir.2008). It is beyond dispute that the second element of that tripartite test is present in this case. Judicial accountability and the regulation of the judiciary are obviously important state interests, and the government of the Virgin Islands is rightly concerned with the competence and integrity of the men and women who serve on the...
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