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Monday, December 10, 2007

Judge Anderson Lets Yankton Recall Proceed

They're weird, but they're fast: the anonymous newyankton.info folks have posted Judge Bruce Anderson's decision (faxed at 17:32 today; newyankton.info got its copy from attorney William Taylor) allowing Yankton's December 18 recall election to proceed. Judge Anderson finds that the petitioners (Mayor Bernard and Councilman Rupiper, who wanted the court to keep them from facing the judgment of the voters) were indeed grasping at legal straws, assembling a mishmash of previous cases that just don't apply to the statute in question. The judge acknowledges that the recall petitions were "not a model of clarity and are poorly drafted" [p. 7, parag. 2]. However, recognizing that restraint is the better part of judicial valor, Judge Anderson writes the following important justification for not intervening:

The judiciary must exercise restraint in interfering with the elective process which is reserved to the people in the state constitution and as per statute.... By exercising restraint in determining the legal sufficiency of recall charges, the court neither questions the truth of the charges, nor inquires into the motives of those filing the charges.... Furthermor, statutory provisions relating to recall of elected officials are to be liberally interpreted in favor of the electorate (p. 7, parag. 1).

In conclusion, and in the same vein:

This court has not made any judicial inquiry into the truth or falsity of the specific charges set forth in the recall petitions. To assess or determine the truth or falsity of the allegations in the recall petitions is left specifically to the voters and electorate of the City of Yankton [p. 9, parag. 1].

Judge Anderson's judicial restraint protects the democratic process in a way that belies the grim "funeral for democracy" cartoon posted tonight at the top of newyankton.info's homepage. Now it's up to the voters... the way it should be.

Cross-posted at KELOLand.com... which didn't get around to reporting the story until Tuesday morning, 12/11, 07:06.
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2 comments:

  1. Anonymous12/10/2007 9:03 PM

    I've met Judge Anderson (and fixed his computer a couple of times). He's definitely a guy that will put the intent of the law before his personal motivations.

    He made the right call... The people chhoose their mayor and if the people no longer think the mayor is serving their best interests, it's well within their rights to decide as a group whether or not the mayor should continue to hold his or her positiion.

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  2. Anonymous12/11/2007 4:50 AM

    I am glad that the people of Yankton stood up for what they believe in. Too many smaller town governments get away with anything because they think that they can't be stopped. Residents in towns that are unhappy should know their rights and exercise them to the best of their abilities. Too many people around here just talk and complain. It's nice to finally see some action going on. Right or wrong.. this should prove to be interesting.

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