July 20, 2007 — Swearing-in ceremonies for delegates to the upcoming Constitutional Convention have been pushed back a week, giving St. John resident Harry Daniel a chance to contest the results of the June 12 special election in the V.I. Superior Court.
On Friday, Superior Court Judge James S. Carroll III granted a temporary restraining order recently filed by Daniel's attorney, Clive Rivers, who has argued that a redesign of the special-election ballot went against V.I. law and placed a cap on the number of delegates elected from St. John.
Both the ballot design and the final tabulation of the special-election results cost Daniel a spot on the Constitutional Convention roster, Rivers said during recent meetings of the St. Thomas-St. John District Board of Elections. (See "Boards Bow Out of Election-Results Dispute; Court Hearing Set for Friday.")
While Daniel's efforts to appeal to the Board of Elections members in both districts have so far proven unsuccessful, Carroll has decided to take on the matter, scheduling a hearing for 9 a.m. next Friday.
In his ruling, Carroll found that Daniel would have suffered "irreparable harm" if the restraining order delaying the ceremonies were not granted. He also said that Daniel’s case has "demonstrated some likelihood of success" in terms of the ballot design and the way in which Elections board members tabulated the special-election results.
"The delegates are currently scheduled to be sworn in this coming Monday morning," Carroll wrote. "Without a restraining order, plaintiff (Daniel) will be denied the opportunity to participate as an elected delegate in the work of the Constitutional Convention."
Granting the restraining order would be less damaging, since local law does not specifically stipulate that the Constitutional Convention must begin with swearing-in ceremonies on July 23, Carroll added.
"Finally, the court finds that the people of the Virgin Islands have a fundamental right to have the important work of the Constitutional Convention performed by the delegates who they duly elected to serve in that capacity," Carroll wrote. "Thus the public interest will not be adversely affected — and in fact will be best served — by granting a temporary restraining order until the question regarding the election results is resolved."
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