308 Mass. 619 | Mass. | 1941
To The Honorable the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts:
The Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court respectfully submit these answers to the questions set forth in an order adopted by the House of Representatives on March 25, 1941, and transmitted to the Justices on March 28, 1941, a copy of which is hereto annexed. The questions relate to the constitutional powers of the House as the grand inquest of the Commonwealth with respect to making an impeachment of a present member of the Council, “who has held the office of Councillor continuously since January, nineteen hundred and thirty-three, by re-election for consecutive terms.”
The matter is pending before the House upon two reports of a special commission established under chapter 12 of the Resolves of 1939, which contain numerous findings and
The power of the House of Representatives as the grand inquest of the Commonwealth differs materially from its power as one branch of the General Court acting in matters of legislation. And the questions submitted relate to the power of the House in proceeding further as such grand inquest. Consequently, notwithstanding the absence of anything — such as proposed articles of impeachment — in any degree comparable to a bill pending before the House when acting in a matter of legislation to which the questions submitted are directed, we treat the order on the basis that the House has under consideration the exercise of its power to make an impeachment of the councillor referred to, and that an opinion is desired, on the questions of law submitted, “respecting pending matters, in order that assistance may be gained in the performance of present duties.” Opinion of the Justices, 216 Mass. 605; 301 Mass. 615, 616-617. Compare Answer of the Justices, 148 Mass. 623, 626; 217 Mass. 607. See Opinion of the Justices, 167 Mass. 599; 204 Mass. 616, 617-618; 208 Mass. 610; 239 Mass. 603; 243 Mass. 605.
- The constitutional provisions relating to impeachment
The questions submitted call for an interpretation of said c. 1, § 2, art. 8, as to whether a councillor is an “officer . . . of the commonwealth” within the meaning of this article so as to be subject to impeachment upon adequate grounds, and, if he is subject to impeachment, as to the nature of the grounds for impeachment described in the article with respect to “any officer or officers of the commonwealth” as “misconduct and mal-administration in their offices.”
The meaning of the words “any officer or officers of the commonwealth” in said art. 8 was considered in Opinion of the Justices, 167 Mass. 599. It was there said (pages 599-600): “By virtue of this provision, no one can be impeached except officers of the Commonwealth .... There are several classes of civil officers within the Commonwealth; for example, town or city officers, county officers, officers of districts, and State officers. In a certain sense, all of these officers may be deemed to be officers of the Commonwealth, and it is possible accordingly to take the view that all are subject to impeachment. But in our opinion this provision of the Constitution was not intended to include all civil officers of every grade within the Commonwealth. On the one hand, it seems to us that the various officers of cities
In accordance with this interpretation the Justices reached the conclusion that it was “the better construction of the constitutional provision . . . that county commissioners are not subject to impeachment as officers of the Commonwealth,” saying that the “office of county commissioner is created by statute, and the Legislature can by statute determine in what manner an incumbent may be removed from office. They have some duties or functions which concern the people of the State at large. But it seems to us that they are essentially a local body. They are elected by the people of a county, and their duties relate chiefly to the affairs and interests of the county. Some of their duties are much like duties performed by selectmen, or by a mayor and aldermen, except that their jurisdiction extends over the whole county.”
This interpretation of said art. 8 was followed by the court in Attorney General v. Tufts, 239 Mass. 458, 478-481, and in Attorney General v. Pelletier, 240 Mass. 264, 294. In each of these cases it was held that a district attorney was not within the classification of officers removable by impeachment, since such officer was neither “elected by the people at large” nor “provided for in the Constitution for the administration of matters of general or State concern.”
In accordance with this interpretation of said art. 8 a councillor is an officer of the Commonwealth subject to impeachment. The office of councillor is “provided for in the Constitution for the administration of matters of general or State concern.” The method of election of a councillor is prescribed by the Constitution, his tenure is fixed thereby and numerous duties and powers are thereby conferred upon the Council. See, especially, Constitution, Part II, c. 2, § 3 (also c. 1, § 2, art. 1). Amendments, arts.
The grounds as provided by said art. 8 upon which “any officer or officers of the commonwealth” may be impeached are “misconduct and mal-administration in their offices.” The questions submitted — other than the question whether a councillor is an officer of the Commonwealth subject to impeachment — relate to the meaning of these words in their general application. This constitutional provision, with its related provision in Part II, c. 1, § 3, art. 6, is to be “given a construction adapted to carry into effect its purpose.” Tax Commissioner v. Putnam, 227 Mass. 522, 524. Mount Washington v. Cook, 288 Mass. 67, 70. Opinion of the Justices, 297 Mass. 577, 580. These provisions were contained in the Constitution when it was first adopted and have not been changed since. And the Constitution “was written to be understood by the voters to whom it was submitted for approval.” Yont v. Secretary of the Commonwealth, 275 Mass. 365, 366. Bigney v. Secretary of the Commonwealth, 301 Mass. 107, 111. Its words and phrases are to be interpreted “in the sense most obvious to the common understanding, because they were proposed for adoption by all the people entitled to vote.” Opinion of the Justices, 243 Mass. 605, 607. See also Attorney General v. Methuen, 236 Mass. 564, 573; Opinion of the Justices, 262 Mass. 603, 605; 266 Mass. 583, 588; Bigney v. Secretary of the Commonwealth, 301 Mass. 107, 111. Such words and phrases “are chosen to express generic ideas, and not nice shades of distinction.” Attorney General v. Methuen, 236 Mass. 564, 573. They are “not to be given a constricted meaning.” Opinion of the Justices, 262 Mass. 603, 605; 297 Mass. 577, 580; ante, 601, 613-614.
The primary purpose of the constitutional provisions relating to impeachment was to provide a method of removing persons whose “misconduct and mal-administration in their offices” had demonstrated their unfitness to continue
It appears from the order that the questions submitted relate to “a present member of the Council . . . who has held the office of Councillor continuously since January, nineteen hundred and thirty-three, by re-election for consecutive terms,” and one of these questions is: “Do acts or omissions of a Councillor otherwise constituting grounds for impeachment constitute grounds therefor, if such acts or omissions occurred during a term of office prior to the term which he is serving when the impeachment is made by the House of Representatives?” — obviously referring to the situation described in the order.
It cannot be doubted that in this situation misconduct or maladministration of a councillor in a previous term may be of such a nature that it can be said reasonably to render him unfit to continue to hold the office of councillor during his present term. The obvious purpose of the provisions for impeachment would fail to a considerable degree if
, Moreover, the permissible penalty goes beyond removal from office and disqualification to hold the office during the remainder of the term in which the misconduct or maladministration occurs, indicating that, even if an impeachment of an officer can be made only while he is in office, such impeachment does not relate solely to the existing term of office. Furthermore, the probable practical difficulty of discovering misconduct and maladministration and trying an impeachment therefor during the term of office in which they occurred — particularly where, as at the time the Constitution was adopted, the term was only one year —■ furnishes an additional reason for concluding that the provisions for impeachment were not intended to be interpreted to limit such proceedings so narrowly. In Attorney General v. Tufts, 239 Mass. 458, 482, and in Attorney General v. Pelletier, 240 Mass. 264, 300, it was held
It follows that the questions submitted are to be answered as follows.
We answer .question 1: “Yes.”
We answer questions 2 and 3: The words “misconduct and mal-administration in their offices,” used in art. 8, and the word “misconduct” as used therein include acts or omissions of a councillor while holding the office of councillor that can be said reasonably to render him unfit to continue to hold the office. In view of the somewhat indefinite nature of some of the words used in these questions, we think this answer is a more accurate statement of the law than can be made in the terms used in the question.
We answer question 4: It is not necessary that there be both misconduct and maladministration in order to constitute a ground for impeachment.
We answer question 5: “Yes.”
Fred T. Field.
Charles H. Donahue.
Henry T. Lummus.
Stanley E. Qua.
Arthur W. Dolan.
Louis S. Cox.
James J. Honan.