State v. Monfort

• Decision Date: 26 January 2000
• Docket Number: No. 66S00-9904-CV-232.,66S00-9904-CV-232.
• Parties: STATE of Indiana, et al., Appellants (Defendants Below), v. Robert V. MONFORT, Appellee (Plaintiff Below).
• Court: Indiana Supreme Court

723 N.E.2d 407

STATE of Indiana, et al., Appellants (Defendants Below), v. Robert V. MONFORT, Appellee (Plaintiff Below).

No. 66S00-9904-CV-232.

Supreme Court of Indiana.

January 26, 2000.

Rehearing Denied April 14, 2000.

Jeffrey A. Modisett, Attorney General of Indiana, Jon Laramore, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, Indiana, Attorneys for Appellants.

Michael Riley, Rensselaer, Indiana, Attorney for Appellee.

BOEHM, Justice.

We hold that the legislature may constitutionally abolish a court of general jurisdiction in this state, but, because of the separation of powers among the three branches of government, that action cannot be effective before the expiration of the term of the current judge.

Factual and Procedural Background

In 1995, the General Assembly passed an omnibus bill that, among other things, abolished Jasper Superior Court No. 2. See Pub.L. No. 18-1995, §§ 17, 44-55, 125-26, 1995 Ind. Acts 1587, 1597-99, 1640.¹ Jasper Superior No. 2 had been created by the legislature in 1990 as a court of general jurisdiction. See Pub.L. No. 40-1990, § 30, 1990 Ind. Acts 1312. Judge Riley was initially appointed as the judge of the new court, and was then elected in 1992 to a six-year term. On December 31, 1993, Judge Riley joined the Indiana Court of Appeals and Judge Robert V. Monfort was appointed by Governor Bayh to serve out her term.

Public Law 18-1995 was signed by the Governor and became effective on May 10, 1995. On that day, Judge Monfort sued for both declaratory and injunctive relief to prevent the abolition of Jasper Superior No. 2. The trial court immediately granted a temporary restraining order and on August 1, 1995, issued a preliminary injunction preventing the termination of Jasper Superior No. 2. After various venue motions and an interlocutory appeal not relevant to the issues discussed here, the trial court entered summary judgment in favor of Judge Monfort, holding that §§ 17, 44-55, & 126 of Public Law 18-1995 were unconstitutional because they were "unwarranted and improper invasion[s] of the province of the judiciary reserved to it under the Constitution of the State of Indiana." The State appealed. In the meantime, by reason of the preliminary injunction, the position of Judge for Jasper Superior No. 2 was on the ballot in the 1998 general election and Judge Monfort was elected to that position. This Court has jurisdiction of this appeal pursuant to Indiana Appellate Rule 4(A)8. The parties agree that there are no issues of material fact and only questions of law are presented in this appeal.

I. Legislative Power to Create and Abolish Courts

Public Law No. 18-1995 is a statute purporting to abolish a court. Judge Monfort contends that if the Act is allowed to stand, it would violate Article III, § 1 of the Indiana Constitution, which provides for the separation of powers among the three branches of government. The State responds that the statute does not violate the separation of powers provision of the Indiana Constitution because under Article VII, § 1, the power to create courts—and implicitly the power to abolish them—is a legislative function, not a judicial one. In construing the Indiana Constitution, we look to "the language of the text in the context of the history surrounding its drafting and ratification, the purpose and structure of our constitution, and case law interpreting the specific provisions." Ajabu v. State, 693 N.E.2d 921, 929 (Ind.1998) (quoting Boehm v. Town of St. John, 675 N.E.2d 318, 321 (Ind.1996)).

A. Constitutional Text

The judicial power of the state is vested in the judicial branch by Article VII, § 1 of our current Constitution. This provision has been in the Indiana Constitution since its adoption in 1851 and was also found in the original Constitution of 1816.² The "first line of inquiry in any constitutional case" is the text of the constitution itself. Ajabu, 693 N.E.2d at 929. Article VII, § 1 states: "The judicial power of the State shall be vested in one Supreme Court, one Court of Appeals, Circuit Courts, and such other courts as the General Assembly may establish." This Court has long held that this provision means what it says. See, e.g., Stocking v. State, 7 Ind. 326, 328 (1855).

It is beyond dispute that the Constitution gives the legislature the power to create superior courts. Included in the power to create is the power to abolish. See State ex rel. Yancey v. Hyde, 129 Ind. 296, 302, 28 N.E. 186, 188 (1891) ("The power that creates can destroy."); Mullen v. State, 34 Ind. 540, 543 (1870) (upholding act repealing Jefferson Criminal Circuit Court because the act "is not liable to any objection which would not with equal force apply to the act creating the court."). This power is limited by the text of the Constitution, with the result that the legislature cannot entirely abolish the courts whose existence is constitutionally mandated.³ With that exception, we believe that Article VII, § 1 confers upon the legislature the power both to create and to abolish courts.

B. History

Reference to the history surrounding the drafting and ratification of the Constitution seems unnecessary in view of the clarity of the language of Article VII, § 1. In any event, if there were any doubt, the debates confirm that the issue of the legislature's power to create and destroy courts was specifically considered by the framers of the 1851 Constitution, and the conscious decision was made to give that authority to the General Assembly. Judge Borden, a Delegate for Allen, Adams, and Wells counties, expressed his concern that the proposed section, which later became Article VII, § 1, "leaves the power in the General Assembly, to create and abolish Courts of Justice, at their pleasure." 2 Report of the Debates and Proceedings of the Convention for the Revision of the Constitution of the State of Indiana 1807 (Indiana Historical Collections Reprint, 1935). He further argued:

[T]here should be three great departments of the government[.] I hope that this Convention will endeavor, as far as it possibly can, to make each department independent of the other two.... [I]n order to secure this, several things are necessary. In the first place, ... no new Court should ever be created, or old one abolished, by the legislative department of the government; and in the next place, sir, the judiciary should not owe its existence to either of the other two departments of the government.... If the report of the committee on the organization of Courts of Justice is adopted, the General Assembly will be empowered to create and abolish at their pleasure, such inferior Courts as they may deem proper.... [T]he greatest objection to investing the legislative department with the power to create courts is, that if they can create them, they must necessarily have the power to abolish them; and thus the power is placed in two of the departments of the government to legislate the third out of office.

Id. at 1807-08. Despite Judge Borden's concerns, the convention passed Article VII, § 1 as proposed. In view of this history, it is clear that the language was intended to confer on the legislature the power to create and abolish courts.

C. Separation of Powers

Although the text and constitutional debates both support legislative power to abolish courts, that power is not without limitation. Constitutional provisions must be examined within the structure and purpose of the Constitution as a whole, and not in isolation. See Welsh v. Sells, 244 Ind. 423, 451, 193 N.E.2d 359, 361 (1963) ("The Constitution has to be read as a whole and not as a part."); Beavers v. State, 236 Ind. 549, 557, 141 N.E.2d 118, 122 (1957) ("If possible, the provisions of the constitution must be construed together, and not so as to create a conflict."). Judge Monfort argued, and the trial court agreed, that the separation of powers doctrine prohibits the legislature from abolishing Jasper Superior No. 2 altogether.

The separation of powers provision of the Indiana Constitution, Article III, § 1, states, "The powers of Government are divided into three separate departments; the Legislative, the Executive including the Administrative, and the Judicial; and no person, charged with official duties under one of these departments, shall exercise any of the functions of another, except as in this Constitution expressly provided." The importance of this provision was elaborated in Book v. State Office Building Commission, 238 Ind. 120, 149 N.E.2d 273 (1958). "Article 3, § 1, of the Constitution of Indiana is the keystone of our form of government and to maintain the division of powers as provided therein, its provisions will be strictly construed." Id. at 159, 149 N.E.2d at 293. "The true interpretation of this [separation of powers] is, that any one department of the government may not be controlled or even embarrassed by another department, unless so ordained in the Constitution." In re Judicial Interpretation of 1975 Senate Enrolled Act No. 441, 263 Ind. 350, 352, 332 N.E.2d 97, 98 (1975) (quoting State v. Shumaker, 200 Ind. 716, 721, 164 N.E. 408, 409 (1928)).

The separation of powers doctrine recognizes that each branch of the government has specific duties and powers that may not be usurped or infringed upon by the other branches of government. The judiciary is one of the three co-equal branches of government and its independence is essential to an effective running of the government. See Board of Comm'rs v. Stout, 136 Ind. 53, 58-59, 35 N.E. 683, 685 (1893) ("Courts are an integral part of the government, and entirely independent; deriving their powers directly from the constitution, in so far as such powers are not inherent in the very nature of the judiciary.").

In particular, it has been held in a variety of contexts that the legislature cannot interfere with the discharge of judicial duties, or attempt to control judicial functions, or otherwise dictate how the judiciary conducts its...