Canton v. Todman

259 F. Supp. 22, 5 V.I. 410, 1966 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7382
CourtDistrict Court, Virgin Islands
DecidedOctober 1, 1966
DocketCivil No. 267-1966
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 259 F. Supp. 22 (Canton v. Todman) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, Virgin Islands primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Canton v. Todman, 259 F. Supp. 22, 5 V.I. 410, 1966 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7382 (vid 1966).

Opinion

GORDON, District Judge

Plaintiffs have brought this action to require the defendant to accept their nomination papers of the Republican Party for the 1966 Virgin Islands elections without the loyalty oath referred to in § 11(b) of Act No. 1815 (September 1, 1966) or, in the alternative, to declare § 11 of Act No. 1815 (September 1, 1966) to be invalid.

This Court on September 12, 1966, issued a temporary restraining order, ordering in substance that the defendant be restrained and prohibited from requiring the plaintiffs to take the oath provided in Act No. 1815, § 11(b) from accepting said oaths from any other candidates for the general election of November 1966 and from administering § 11, Act 1815, until the Court rendered its declaratory judgment herein.

On September 13, 1966, the defendant appeared and requested an extension of time on the restraining order hearing until September 19, 1966, to enable her to obtain counsel. Said request was granted. The restraining order hearing and the hearing on the preliminary injunction were held on September 19 and 20, 1966. Counsel for both parties at that time discussed and understood that the order with respect to said hearings would be issued on or before October 2, 1966, pursuant to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 65; and further stipulated that Act No. 1819 would be governed by the decision; and further stipulated that the defendant would accept the plaintiff’s peti[413]*413tions subject to the objection that the oath in issue was not filed. Said temporary restraining hearing and a hearing upon the preliminary injunction came on before this Court on September 19th and 20th, 1966. Plaintiffs appeared in person and by Attorneys Ronald Tonkin and Marvin Karpatkin of counsel; defendant appeared in person and by Attorneys Everett Birch and Alfred Scanlan of counsel. Testimony was taken and counsel were heard.

The issues presented were as follows:

1. Does § 11(b) of Act No. 1815 (September 1, 1966) in substance provide that the defendant may refuse to accept plaintiffs’ petitions for nomination for public office if the plaintiffs have not, in addition, filed the oath prescribed in Act 1815, § 11(b) on or before September 12, 1966?

2. Is § 11 of Act No. 1815 (September 1, 1966) amending 18 V.I.C. § 344, invalid per se for one or both of the following reasons: (a) It violates the provisions of the Revised Organic Act; (b) It denies to the plaintiffs their constitutional rights?

I

With respect to the first issue above, § 11(b) and the pertinent portions of § 11(c) of Act No. 1815 (September 1, 1966) amending 18 V.I.C. § 344 provides as follows:

“(b) In addition to other requirements of the law, every person who files for nomination for public office at the primary election of 1966, pursuant to subsection (b) or (c) of section 344, Title 18, V.I.C., as amended shall submit to the office of the Supervisor of Elections or her deputy not later than September 12, 1966, and not later than the ordinary closing hour of the office of the Supervisor of Elections or her deputy on that date, a signed oath of allegiance to the political party in whose primary election he wishes to be a candidate, in the following form:
“ T,............, do solemnly pledge that I will espouse and pursue the principles and policies of the ................ Party of the Virgin Islands and that I will support every candidate of the ................ [414]*414Party who is nominated for public office at the 1966 primary election and I will not support any candidate or any other political party or body or any independent candidate for public office at the 1966 general election.’
“(c) No person who refuses or fails to submit the oath required by subsection (b) of this section shall have his name printed on the 1966 primary ballot of a political party for which he files a nomination petition. . . .”

Title 18 V.I.C. § 844 specifically sets forth the requirements for filing nomination petitions for the primary elections. Prior to its amendment by Act 1815 § 11 in issue, § 344(a) provided that:

“The name of no candidate shall be placed upon the official ballot of a political party to be used at a primary unless a petition in accordance with the provisions of this section shall have been filed in his behalf. . . .” (Italics provided.)

Section 11 of Act No. 1815 (September 1, 1966) added an additional requirement for those persons filing for nomination for public office at the 1966 primary elections. That additional requirement was that the person filing, in addition to the other requirements of the law, shall submit the oath set forth in subparagraph (b) to the Supervisor of Elections no later than September 12, 1966. Subsection (c) of § 11 also amended § 344 and was also enacted by Bill No. 3060. Subsection (c) of § 11 provides in part and in brief that if a person does not comply with the filing as prescribed, then his name shall not appear on the 1966 primary ballot of the party for which he filed nomination.

The Legislature has clearly set forth the additional filing requirement and the penalty for failing to comply. Section 344 as amended does not prescribe that the Supervisor of Elections shall refuse to accept a petition without the oath. (In fact, it provides for acceptance and that the oath may be filed later.) Neither does it prescribe that the Supervisor of Elections shall receive the peti[415]*415tions conditioned upon receipt of the oath and refuse to accept the filing of the petitions if the oath is not received.

In fact, it appears from § 344, before it was amended, that the Legislature intended as its only penalty for noncompliance with § 344 provisions was not to allow the petitioner’s name to appear on the primary ballot. Act 1815 amending § 344 does not show a change of intention for it, too, provides only one penalty for failure to file the oath; that is, that the petitioner’s name shall not appear on the primary ballot.

Section (a) of Act 1815 (passed in conjunction with §§ 11(b) and 11(c)) setting forth Legislative purpose in passing the amendment, says in part:

. . One of the means adopted was to grant by statute the power to political party conventions and committees to require an oath of loyalty and support of all those who wish to participate in the party’s primaries as voter or candidate. Fiat, American Parties and Elections 378 (1952) ‘The requirement of a pledge from the candidate participating in a primary to support the nominee is not unusual . . Ray v. Blair, 343 U.S. 214, 221.” (Italics supplied.)

Here again, the Legislative intent appears to be control over the participation, not the filing itself.

“. . . It is a familiar rule of statutory construction that statutes should be construed so as to give force and effect to each and every part and provision thereof, and that a harmonious construction should be adopted. . . .” Swindel v. State Election Board, et al. (1934), 32 P.2d 691.

The decision of this Court is that 18 V.I.C.

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Smith v. State Executive Committee of Dem. Party of Ga.
288 F. Supp. 371 (N.D. Georgia, 1968)

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Bluebook (online)
259 F. Supp. 22, 5 V.I. 410, 1966 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7382, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/canton-v-todman-vid-1966.