Judge dismisses Davis’ lawsuit vs Election Commission

U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona has dismissed the lawsuit filed by John H. Davis Jr., a U.S. citizen who wants to stop the Commonwealth Election Commission from denying U.S. citizens who are not of Northern Marianas descent the right to vote on any issue regarding Article 12 of the CNMI Constitution or on any other issues.

In an order issued Thursday, Manglona, however, allowed Davis 14 days to file a second amended complaint redressing deficiencies in his lawsuit.

Manglona cited that it is expressly the province of Congress to “enforce…by appropriate legislation” the provisions of the 14th and 15th Amendments.

The judge said that any action for relief from violation of rights guaranteed by those amendments must, therefore, be grounded on federal statutes.

For example, Manglona said, 42 U.S.C. Section 1983, originally Section 1 of the Civil Rights Act of 1871, was enacted “for the purpose of ‘enforcing the Provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment.’”

Manglona ruled that the statutes on which Davis relies do not provide such a cause of action.

“Davis must look elsewhere than these statutes to establish subject matter jurisdiction,” the judge said.

The Commonwealth Election Commission, its officials, and Gov. Benigno R. Fitial, through the Office of the Attorney General, moved to dismiss the lawsuit “for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.

The OAG argued that because Davis has not pleaded a right of action under 42 U.S.C. Section 1983 to redress the alleged violation of his civil rights under the U.S. Constitution, he has not stated a cognizable legal theory for relief.

The OAG also asked the court to dismiss the claim against the Election Commission on grounds that it is not a “person” subject to suit under Section 1983.

In Thursday’s hearing, Davis, through counsel Jeanne Rayphand, asserted that “this is not a Section 1983 case, but an action for declaratory judgment and injunctive relief seeking to prevent the unconstitutional deprivation of plaintiff’s right to vote.”

At the hearing, Manglona invited Davis to reconsider his position, but he, through Rayphand, declined.

Davis, a vice principal at Marianas High School, wants the court to declare that Article 18 Section 5(c) of the CNMI Constitution violates the 14th and 15th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution and is invalid, null, and void.

Article 12 limits landownership in the CNMI only to those of NMI descent. It is up for voters’ review starting this year.

Article 18 Section 5(c) states that “in the case of a proposed amendment to Article 12, the word ‘voters’ shall be limited to eligible voters under Article 7 who are also persons of Northern Marianas descent as described in Article 12 Section 4, and the term ‘votes cast’ as used in subsection 5(b) shall mean the votes cast by such voters.”