Posted on: Saturday, October 16, 2004

ACLU sues to halt amendment query

Associated Press

The American Civil Liberties Union of Hawai'i filed a lawsuit yesterday to disqualify one of the four constitutional amendment questions in the Nov. 2 general election.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of eight registered voters against Gov. Linda Lingle and elections chief Dwayne Yoshina. It asks the court to stop the placement of question No. 1 on the ballot because the Legislature failed to follow procedures required of a constitutional amendment before the electorate votes.

Proposed amendments are required to pass three readings in each chamber before being sent to the governor. The question started out as a bill in the House and only became a proposed constitutional amendment after it reached the Senate, the ACLU said.

"Because the state constitution represents the core of our democracy, procedures to amend it must be followed strictly. The Legislature failed to do this," said Earle Partington, an attorney assisting the ACLU. "As a result of their attempt to short-cut this process, constitutional amendment Question 1 is invalid."

The question asks whether the constitution be amended "to provide that the Legislature may define what behavior constitutes a continuing course of conduct in sexual assault crimes."

If the proposed amendment passes, it would erode fundamental rights of the accused by eliminating the requirement that a jury be unanimous before an individual can be convicted, the ACLU said.

Deputy Attorney General Charleen Aina said the state disagrees with the lawsuit and that the current ballot meets all requirements. She said the bill, in different forms, was read by the Legislature a total of four times with the final reading in April.

The lawsuit is the second of its kind filed by the ACLU in recent years.