State ex rel. Racicot v. District Court of Seventh Judicial Dist. of State of Mont., In and For County of Dawson

• Decision Date: 19 September 1990
• Docket Number: No. 90-421,90-421
• Citation: 244 Mont. 521,798 P.2d 1004
• Parties: STATE of Montana, ex rel. Marc RACICOT, Attorney General for the State of Montana, Relators, v. The DISTRICT COURT OF the SEVENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF the STATE OF MONTANA, In and For the COUNTY OF DAWSON, and the Honorable H. R. Obert, District Judge, Respondents.
• Court: Montana Supreme Court

Page 1004

798 P.2d 1004

244 Mont. 521

STATE of Montana, ex rel. Marc RACICOT, Attorney General for the State of Montana, Relators, v. The DISTRICT COURT OF the SEVENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF the STATE OF MONTANA, In and For the COUNTY OF DAWSON and the Honorable H. R. Obert, District Judge, Respondents.

No. 90-421.

Supreme Court of Montana.

Submitted Sept. 5, 1990.

Decided Sept. 19, 1990.

Marc Racicot, Atty. Gen., Elisabeth S. Baker, Asst. Atty. Gen., Garth Jacobson, Sp. Asst. Atty. Gen., Helena, for relators.

Richard A. Simonton & Lorraine A. Schneider, Simonton, Howe & Schneider, Glendive, for respondents.

SHEEHY, Justice.

Richard A. Simonton, after years of estimable public service as County Attorney of Dawson County, was defeated in his bid for re-nomination as a candidate of the Democratic party by Gerald Navratil in the primary election held on June 5, 1990.

On July 23, 1990, Simonton and Lorraine A. Schneider filed a complaint for declaratory relief in the District Court, Seventh Judicial District, Dawson County, alleging that Sec. 13-10-503, MCA, barred Simonton's name from being placed on the ballot as an independent candidate for the office of County Attorney of Dawson County; that the said section denied Lorraine A. Schneider her opportunity to vote for the candidate of her choice at the time of the general election; that the plaintiffs were each denied the right to equal protection and freedom of association under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, and Art. II, Sec. 4 of the Montana Constitution; and for declaratory judgment that Sec. 13-10-503, MCA, was unconstitutional.

On August 7, 1990, Simonton presented his petition for nomination as an independent candidate for the office of County Attorney of Dawson County together with the requisite signatures and filing fee to the Dawson County Election Administrator. She rejected his petition on the grounds that Sec. 13-10-503, MCA, required the petition for nomination as an independent candidate to be submitted one week prior to the filing deadline for candidates running for state political office.

The defendant in the declaratory judgment action was Patricia Peterson Boje, the Dawson County Election Administrator, who was represented in this case by the office of the Attorney General of the State. On August 10, 1990, the District Court entered findings of fact and conclusions of law, to the effect that Simonton's petition met the requirements of law for placement on the general election ballot in November, 1990, and that Sec. 13-10-503 was unconstitutional and unconstitutional as applied, and further ordered the County Election Administrator to place the name of Simonton on the general election ballot as an independent candidate for Dawson County Attorney, provided that Simonton submitted to the Election Administrator the requisite petition, signatures, oath of office and filing fee on or before August 10, 1990.

On August 22, 1990, the Attorney General, by and through his special assistant, Garth Jacobson, filed herein a petition and memorandum in support thereof for supervisory control or other appropriate relief from the order of the District Court entered on August 10, 1990.

On receipt of the petition of the Attorney General, on August 23, 1990, this Court ordered the District Court and all counsel of record to prepare, serve and file written responses to the application for writ of supervisory control, together with appropriate legal memoranda and exhibits in support thereof on or before September 4, 1990; and that the Court would determine upon receipt of those responses whether oral argument was necessary.

On the 5th day of September, 1990, this Court entered an order in this cause finding there was no need for oral argument, and further stating that the application of the Attorney General for writ of supervisory control was granted. The District Court and presiding judge were ordered to take such steps as may be necessary to reverse the decision of August 10, 1990, to inform the proper election officials, and to remove from the general election ballot of November, 1990, the name of Richard A. Simonton as an independent candidate for the office of County Attorney. We also stated that a full Opinion respecting the matter would issue later. This Opinion is in fulfillment of that statement.

Acceptance of Jurisdiction

Since this cause is an original proceeding in this Court, the first question to be met is whether the petition and the responses thereto present a cause sufficient to move the remedial jurisdiction of this Court.

The Supreme Court of this state is given general supervisory control over all of the state courts. Art. VII, Sec. 2(2), Mont. Const. Our Rule 17(a), Montana Rules of Appellate Procedure, recognizes that the institution of original proceedings in the Supreme Court is sometimes justified by circumstances of an emergency nature, when supervision of a trial court other than by appeal is deemed necessary or proper. We have found that an assumption of original jurisdiction is proper when (1) constitutional issues of major statewide importance are involved; (2) the case involves purely legal questions of statutory and constitutional construction; and (3) urgency and emergency factors exist, making the normal appeal process inadequate. State ex rel. Greely v. Water Court, State of Montana (1984), 214 Mont. 143, 691 P.2d 833. We will accept declaratory judgment proceedings "where the issues have impact of major importance on a statewide basis, or upon a major segment of the state, and where the purpose of the declaratory judgment proceedings will serve the office of a writ provided by law ..." Grossman v. State, Department of Natural Resources (1984), 209 Mont. 427, 436, 682 P.2d 1319, 1324.

We find that the criteria for exercising original jurisdiction are present in this case and have accepted jurisdiction for the purpose of determining what relief should be granted.

Grounds Used By District Court To Grant Relief

The District Court found that Sec. 13-10-503(2), MCA, and the procedure for the inclusion of an independent candidate's name on the general election ballot is unconstitutional because it deprived the independent candidate of equal protection of the law afforded by the Fourteenth Amendment, and because it deprived the electorate of an effective right to exercise free speech and the right of association protected by the First Amendment. The District Court found that it was arbitrary and capricious to require independent candidates to file their petitions for office with the Election Administrator prior to the primary filing deadline. The District Court also found no rational basis or compelling state interest for requiring an independent candidate to secure signatures and to submit them in the form of a petition to the Election Administrator at least one week before the primary deadline when the same commitment was not required of major party candidates and when the independent candidate's name does not appear on the primary ballot. The court further said there was no rational basis for requiring independent candidates for offices other than President or Vice-President to submit petitions prior to the primary deadline when the same is not required of Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates.

The District Court further stated that Sec. 13-10-503(2), MCA, infringed on Simonton's right to an effective and meaningful access to the general election ballot and served only to shield party candidates from independent competition in the general election.

Basis For The Constitutional Issue

The parts of our statutes which are pertinent follow:

13-10-501. Petition for nomination by independent candidates. (1) ... nominations for public office by an independent candidate ... may be made by a petition for nomination.

(2) The petition must contain the same information and the oath of the candidate required for a declaration for nomination.

13-10-503. Filing Deadlines. (1) A petition for nomination, accompanied by the required filing fee, shall be filed with the same officer with whom other nominations for the office sought are filed. Petitions must be submitted, at least 1 week before the deadline for filing, to the election administrator in the county where the signer resides for verification and certification ... In the event there are insufficient signatures on the petition, additional signatures may be submitted before the deadline for filing.

(2) ... each petition shall be filed on or before the filing deadline for the primary election or for the special or general election if no primary election is scheduled.

13-10-504. Independent or minor party candidates for president or vice-president. (1) An individual who desires to run for president or vice-president as an independent candidate ... must file a petition for nomination with the secretary of state 90 days prior to the date of the general election.

(2) The petition must first be submitted, at least 1 week before the deadline for filing, to the election administrator in the county where the signer resides for verification and certification ...

In addition, Sec. 13-10-327, MCA, provides that if a party candidate dies or withdraws after the primary and before the general election, the affected political party shall appoint someone to replace the candidate. Such appointments to fill vacancies must be made no later than 75 days before the election. Section 13-10-327(2), MCA.

Candidates on a partisan ticket for an elective office must file their declarations for nomination under Sec. 13-10-201(6), MCA, at least 75 days before the date of the primary election.

Insofar as the foregoing statutes affect this case, the primary election was held on June 5, 1990. The final filing date was March 22, 1990. Independent candidates were required to submit their petitions for candidacy by March 15, 1990, to be final by March...