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Friday, January 14, 2005

Ind. Decisions - Councilmen regain seats: Judge says ouster of convicted officials relied on wrong statute

"Councilmen regain seats: Judge says ouster of convicted officials relied on wrong statute" is the headline to this story today in the Munster Times. Some quotes:

EAST CHICAGO | Joe De La Cruz and Frank Kollintzas on Thursday won their East Chicago Common Council seats back despite their recent felony convictions in federal court.

Lake County Democratic Central Committee Chairman Stephen "Bob" Stiglich had attempted to remove the men from the council, citing a state law he said made them ineligible to serve. * * *

But in answer to arguments made the day before, Lake Superior Court Judge Diane Kavadias Schneider on Thursday morning ruled the law that Stiglich cited was not the correct statute.

Attorney James Wieser and Nathaniel Ruff, representing Stiglich and the Democratic Central Committee, were basing the men's removal from the council on a state law that disqualifies a candidate for public office or "public officer" from holding office if convicted of a felony.

Attorney Michael Bosch, on behalf of De La Cruz and Kollintzas, argued that a different state law disqualifies the holder of an elected office only upon sentencing, not at the time of conviction.

In her opinion, Kavadias Schneider wrote: "The legislative intent was to differentiate between a person who is a convicted felon prior to become a candidate for elected office or assuming office and a person who becomes a convicted felon during his term of office."

I'd love to be able to post a copy of this opinion, rather than just relying on a news story -- please contact me if you can help.

Some of you may remember an April 11, 2003 post titled "Dealing with Election of Candidates Ineligible for Office." It begins:

In decisions yesterday, the Madison County Superior Court decided what happens when individuals, who are not statutorily eligible to hold elective office because of past felony convictions, are in fact elected to office and are then challenged by the losing candidates.
Also of interest is this March 12, 2004 ILB entry summarizing a Court of Appeals decision (2nd case) in the same Madison County Council election. A quote from the Court's decision in Franklin E. Patterson v. Daniel W. Dykes (3/12/04 IndCtApp):
At the outset, we note that we have not previously had the opportunity to consider the effect of a Pardon on the eligibility of a candidate for public office, when the Pardon is granted subsequent to the election. * * *

Relevant portions of Indiana Code section 3-8-1-5(b) provide: “[a] person is disqualified from holding or being a candidate for an elected office if the person has been convicted of a felony.” The record shows that, in 1974, Patterson was convicted of theft, a Class D felony. Thus, pursuant to I.C. § 3-8-1-5(b), he was disqualified from being a candidate for the Madison County Council seat. Nevertheless, Patterson ran for the office and won by a majority of votes. However, as a convicted felon, he is disqualified from holding the office.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 14, 2005 12:43 PM
Posted to Ind. Trial Ct. Decisions