Stapleton v. Clerk for City of Inkster

• Decision Date: 29 April 1970
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 34614.
• Citation: 311 F. Supp. 1187
• Parties: Rolland Lee STAPLETON, William Spaulding, Thomas Leavens, Margaret Kuptz, Jesse Caines, John Hohenadl, Edwin Hughes, Jerry Murley, Plaintiffs, v. CLERK FOR the CITY OF INKSTER and Election Commission for the City of Inkster, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of Michigan

311 F. Supp. 1187

Rolland Lee STAPLETON, William Spaulding, Thomas Leavens, Margaret Kuptz, Jesse Caines, John Hohenadl, Edwin Hughes, Jerry Murley, Plaintiffs, v. CLERK FOR the CITY OF INKSTER and Election Commission for the City of Inkster, Defendants.

Civ. A. No. 34614.

United States District Court, E. D. Michigan, S. D.

April 29, 1970.

Abdeen M. Jabara, Lafferty, Reosti, Jabara, Papakhian, James, Stickgold & Smith, Detroit, Mich., for plaintiffs.

Albert H. Schlenker, Jr., Inkster Corporation Counsel, Inkster, Mich., for defendants.

OPINION

FREEMAN, Chief Judge.

This is a suit by Rolland Lee Stapleton, in his capacity as a potential candidate for the office of councilman of the City of Inkster, Michigan, and seven electors of that City, alleging that Section 5.1(a) of the Charter of the City of Inkster is unconstitutional for the reason that it violates their respective rights under the equal protection clause of the federal constitution. Plaintiffs seek a declaratory judgment and a writ in the nature of mandamus, directing the City Clerk to place plaintiff Stapleton's name on the ballot for the April 6, 1970, primary election. Alternatively, plaintiffs seek a declaratory judgment that the term "property" as used in Section 5.1(a) of the City Charter includes both real and personal property.

The complaint in this case was filed on March 16, 1970. In view of the imminence of the primary election and consequent need for an immediate determination of the issues presented, on March 30 the court ruled that Section 5.1(a) of the Charter violated the equal protection clause and directed that plaintiff Stapleton's name be placed on the ballot. This Opinion sets forth the reasons for that ruling.

I

Section 5.1(a) of the Charter of the City of Inkster reads in relevant part as follows:

"No person shall hold any elective office of the City unless he is and has been a resident and a property owner of the City for at least two years immediately prior to, and was a registered elector on, the last day for filing petitions for such office, * *."

It is necessary first to dispose of plaintiff's contention that the term "property" as used in this section includes both real and personal property. If this contention can be sustained, there is no need to decide the more difficult constitutional questions presented.

The Defendant City Clerk claims that the term "property" means only real property and the court agrees with this contention. It seems obvious that no other construction could have been intended by the framers of the Charter. If the term is to include personal property, then it is meaningless, since everyone owns some personal property — if only the clothes on his back.

II

In turning to the more difficult constitutional questions presented by this case, it is first of all pertinent to note what is not involved here. Plaintiffs do not challenge the right of the City to impose reasonable qualifications for office such as age, residence, and citizenship. Moreover, it is conceded by defendants that plaintiff Stapleton has met all of the requirements for having his name placed on the primary ballot except that of "being a property owner of the City for two years immediately prior to filing for public office." See Exhibit 1 attached to the complaint. The sole issue before this court is whether the City of Inkster, a home rule city, may require as a qualification for the office of city councilman that the officeholder be an owner of real property for a period of two years prior to the last day for filing nominating petitions for such office without violating the equal protection clause of the federal constitution.

It is now established law that a person has

"a federal constitutional right to be considered for public service without the burden of invidiously discriminatory disqualifications. The State may not deny to some the privilege of holding public office that it extends to others on the basis of distinctions that violate federal constitutional guarantees." Turner v. Fouche, 396 U.S. 346, 362-363, 90 S.Ct. 532, 541, 24 L.Ed. 2d 567 (1970).

The question remains whether the requirement of Section 5.1(a) that an officeholder own real property for two years in the City is invidiously discriminatory.

It is unclear whether the traditional standard or the more exacting "compelling interest" standard should be used to measure this office qualification. Compare McGowan v. Maryland, 366 U.S. 420, 425, 426, 81 S.Ct. 1101, 6 L.Ed.2d 393 (1961), with Williams v. Rhodes, 393 U.S. 23, 31, 89 S.Ct. 5, 21 L.Ed.2d 24 (1968), and Kramer v. Union Free School District No. 15, 395 U.S. 621, 628, 89 S.Ct. 1886, 23 L.Ed.2d 583 (1969). The Supreme Court declined to resolve this issue in the Turner case, supra. After examining the cases cited above and the other authorities, this court has concluded that defendant must demonstrate a "compelling" city interest in order to justify the qualification.

In Kramer v. Union Free School District No. 15, supra, the Supreme Court explained the reason for requiring the stricter standard of a "compelling" state interest in cases involving restrictions on the right to vote, in the following terms:

"Any unjustified discrimination in determining who may participate in political affairs or in the selection of public officials undermines the legitimacy of representative government.

"* * * Statutes granting the franchise to residents on a selective basis always pose the danger of denying some citizens any effective voice in the governmental affairs which substantially affect their lives. Therefore, if a challenged state statute grants the right to vote to some bona fide residents of requisite age and citizenship and denies the franchise to others, the Court must determine whether the exclusions are necessary to promote a compelling state interest. See Carrington v. Rash, supra, 380 U.S. 89, at 96, 85 S.Ct. 775 at 780 , 13 L.Ed.2d 675.

"And, for these reasons, the deference usually given to the judgment of legislators does not extend to decisions concerning which resident citizens may participate in the election of legislators and other public officials * * Accordingly, when we are reviewing statutes which deny some residents the right to vote, the general presumption of constitutionality afforded state statutes and the traditional approval given state classifications if the Court can conceive of a `rational basis' for the distinctions made are not applicable. See Harper v. Virginia State Bd. of Elections, 383 U.S. 663, 670, 86 S.Ct. 1079, 16 L.Ed.2d 169 (1966). The presumption of constitutionality and the approval given `rational' classifications in other types of enactments are based on an assumption that the institutions of state government are structured so as to represent fairly all the people. However, when the challenge to the statute is in effect a challenge of this basic assumption, the assumption can no longer serve as the basis for presuming constitutionality. And, the assumption is no less under attack because the legislature which decides who may participate at the various levels of political choice is fairly elected." 395 U.S. at pp. 626-628, 89 S.Ct. at 1890. (Emphasis added.)

It appears to this court that the reasons given for requiring the compelling interest standard in voting cases are equally applicable to cases challenging qualifications for public office; in both situations the challenge is directed to the assumption that the institutions of state government are structured so as to fairly represent all the people. Thus, the City must demonstrate a compelling interest to justify the ownership of real property in the City as a qualification to hold office and the City does not have the advantage of the usual presumption that the Charter is constitutional.

It also appears to the court that the "compelling interest" standard must be applied, since this requirement also burdens the voter plaintiffs' right to vote. It is unquestioned that a voter has a constitutionally protected right to vote for the candidate of his choice and to have his votes counted. Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533, 84 S.Ct. 1362, 12 L.Ed.2d 506 (1964). It is also established, as pointed out previously, that a person has a constitutionally protected right to be considered for public office without the burden of invidiously discriminatory disqualifications. Turner v. Fouche, 396 U.S. 346, 362, 90 S.Ct. 532, 24 L.Ed.2d 567 (1970). It seems clear to this court that a restriction upon who may be a candidate necessarily affects the efficacy of a person's vote. The effectiveness of the franchise can just as certainly be curtailed by restricting the group from whom candidates may be drawn as by restricting those entitled to cast a vote or by malapportioning a legislative body.

It is clear that restrictions on the right to vote must meet the "compelling interest" standard. Kramer v. Union Free School District No. 15, 395 U.S. 621, 89 S.Ct. 1886, 23 L.Ed.2d 583 (1969); Williams v. Rhodes, 393 U.S. 23, 89 S.Ct. 5, 21 L.Ed.2d 24 (1968); and Carrington v. Rash, 380 U.S. 89, 85 S.Ct. 775, 13 L.Ed.2d 675 (1965). However, since the Supreme Court did decline in Turner to determine whether the compelling interest standard should be applied to qualifications to hold office, this court will analyze the real property ownership requirement under both the compelling interest standard and the traditional test for a denial of equal protection.

III

Under the traditional standard, the court must determine "whether the challenged classification rests on grounds wholly irrelevant to the achievement of a valid state objective." Turner v. Fouche, supra, 396 U.S. at 362, 90 S.Ct. at 541.

The City has urged that the classification imposed here is rational because property owners are less transient than renters and that they have a tendency to take a greater interest in community affairs, as well as other grounds to be discussed...