209 N.E.3d 438
Ind. Ct. App.2023Background
- Indiana law (Ind. Code § 3-8-2-7) requires primary candidates to show party affiliation either by having voted in the two most recent primaries of that party or by county chair certification.
- Thomas Bookwalter submitted a CAN-2 declaration for the 2022 Republican primary but left the party-affiliation boxes blank.
- Two challengers filed CAN-1 challenges; the Indiana Election Commission held a hearing, found Bookwalter failed to establish affiliation, and unanimously upheld the challenges.
- Bookwalter filed a petition for judicial review under AOPA and a complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief on March 14, 2022 (24 days after the Commission decision); he sought a stay but the trial court denied it.
- Bookwalter did not file the certified agency record within the 30-day statutory deadline (or request an extension), and the primary occurred on May 3, 2022 with absentee ballots already printed/mailed.
- The trial court dismissed his AOPA petition for failure to file the agency record and ruled his declaratory/injunctive claims moot; the Court of Appeals affirmed.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dismissal of AOPA petition for failure to file agency record | Bookwalter: dismissal improper when facts are undisputed; requests court to reach merits | Commission: statutory rule mandates dismissal if agency record not filed within time | Court: dismissal proper under TOPS/First Am. Title Ins.; no timely record or extension filed |
| Applicability of Meyer exception (excuse for missing record) | Bookwalter: Meyer allows exception where facts are undisputed and merits can be resolved | Commission: Meyer was narrow; TOPS forecloses exceptions | Court: Meyer inapplicable — no conceded factual error and Commission never conceded outcome |
| Mootness of declaratory/injunctive relief after primary | Bookwalter: public-importance exception should save the appeal | Commission: relief impossible after election; moot | Court: claims moot; Bookwalter failed to show issues are likely to recur or meet great-public-interest exception; delay in filing undercuts live controversy |
| Review of constitutional challenges to statute | Bookwalter: Statute violates freedom of association, vagueness, overbreadth, ex post facto as applied | Commission: enforcement and procedural defenses; mootness bars review | Court: declined to reach constitutional questions because dismissal and mootness resolved case (constitutional avoidance) |
Key Cases Cited
- Ind. Wholesale Wine & Liquor Co., Inc. v. State ex rel. Ind. Alcoholic Beverage Comm’n, 695 N.E.2d 99 (Ind. 1998) (judicial restraint/constitutional avoidance principle)
- Snyder v. King, 958 N.E.2d 764 (Ind. 2011) (courts should decide constitutionality only when absolutely necessary)
- Teaching Our Posterity Success, Inc. v. Ind. Dep’t of Educ. & State Bd. of Educ., 20 N.E.3d 149 (Ind. 2014) (failure to file statutorily-defined agency record requires dismissal)
- First Am. Title Ins. v. Robertson, 19 N.E.3d 757 (Ind. 2014) (reaffirming dismissal where agency record not filed)
- Ind. Family & Soc. Servs. Admin. v. Meyer, 927 N.E.2d 367 (Ind. 2010) (narrow circumstance excusing missing record where undisputed factual error is dispositive)
- T.W. v. St. Vincent Hosp. & Health Care Ctr., Inc., 121 N.E.3d 1039 (Ind. 2019) (public-importance exception to mootness doctrine)