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Favorable ruling sought in suit vs CEC
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Posted on Feb 03 2012
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
Reporter
Marianas High School vice principal John H. Davis Jr. on Wednesday asked the federal court to issue a judgment in his favor in connection with his lawsuit against the Commonwealth Election Commission.
Davis, through counsel Jeanne H. Rayphand, said he is entitled to declaratory judgment and injunctive relief, preventing the commission and the other defendants from denying him and other U.S. citizens who are not of Northern Marianas descent the right to vote.
In his motion for summary judgment, Davis asked the U.S. District Court for the NMI to rule that Article 18 Section 5(c) of the CNMI Constitution violates the 14th and 15th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution and is therefore invalid, null, and void.
Article 12 limits landownership in the CNMI only to those of NMI descent. It is up for voter review this year. Article 18 Section 5(c) restricts voting on this issue only to those of NMI descent.
Rayphand said the court should a issue summary judgment as there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that Davis is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.
Rayphand asserted that the 15th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states that “the right of citizens of the U.S. to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the U.S. or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”
The lawyer said the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states that “no State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the U.S; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
Both 14th and 15th Amendments, Rayphand said, are applicable within the CNMI as if the CNMI were one of several states.
The other defendants in the case are CEC chair Frances M. Sablan, CEC executive director Robert A. Guerrero, and Gov. Benigno R. Fitial.
