Opinion in Peter Bell v. Afleitch

[Emsworth]

Peter Bell v. Afleitch

Justice Emsworth delivered the opinion of the Court, in which the Chief Justice (TCash) and Justice Colin Wixted joined.

Part I
From April 21 to April 24 2006, the Mideast Region held a public poll asking its citizens whether they wished to apply to the federal government for a Constitutional Convention. The proposal, listed as Proposition 33, was approved by the region. Senator Peter Bell has filed suit, questioning the validity of the poll, since it lasted for only three days as opposed to one week.

Part II
The Constitution provides: "Upon application of the citizens of a majority of the Regions, the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall call a Constitutional Convention to amend or replace this Constitution. The Convention shall be constituted under regulations determined by the Senate. Such amendments or the replacement proposed by the Convention shall become operative when ratified by two-thirds of the Convention and the citizens of three-quarters of the Regions, in a public poll administered by the Governor or other officer as Regional Law may provide. All public polls mandated under this section shall be via public post and shall last for exactly one week" (Article VII, Section 2).

This provision does not require that all public polls whatsoever last for exactly one week. On the contrary, it only requires that "[a]ll public polls mandated under this section ... shall last for exactly one week." The question before this Court is whether the poll held in the Mideast was mandated under Section 2.

This section provides that, upon the application of a majority of the regions, the President shall call a Constitutional Convention. It authorizes the regions to initiate a Constitutional Convention, but it does not compel them to do so. It allows the regions to hold public polls on whether to apply for a Convention, but it does not require them to do so. It mandates post-Convention ratification polls, but it does not mandate pre-Convention application polls.

Accordingly, we find that the poll held in the Mideast does not constitute a poll mandated by Article VII, Section 2. Therefore, there is no constitutional requirement that this poll last for exactly one week. We uphold the poll as a lawful and legitimate application by the Mideast for a Constitutional Convention.

[afleitch]

Thank you for the courts decision.

[Colin]

I concur in this decision as well and I thank Chief Justice TCash and Justice Emsworth for bringing this opinion forward as soon as it was decided since I was unavailable for the past couple of days.

[Sam Spade]

Makes sense to me.

[Јas]

[Peter]

Thank you for delivering the opinion. It was mostly what I expected, but I wanted it settled as a matter of case law.