Opinion ID: 1517343
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Removal of the GWM of the Eastern Star, D.C. From Office

Text: The only provision directly relating to the removal of a GWM by a MWGM appears in Article XIV, § 5 of Prince Hall, D.C.'s Constitution. This section gives the MWGM the power to arrest [remove] the Jewel of Office of any officer, grand or subordinate . . ., pending the next session of the Grand Lodge or a Masonic trial by a commission of Master Masons assembled for that purpose, which ever is earlier. Article VII of the GT Chapter's By-Laws, relating to the powers and duties of the GWM, contains no power to remove a grand officer. [12] Despite Ms. Levant's insistence that she was entitled to a masonic trial, Article XIV, § 5, specifies that the removal of a grand officer may be considered at the earlier of either the next session of the Grand Lodge or a masonic trial. In that regard, Ms. Levant's appeal of her removal by the MWGM ultimately was considered by the next session of the Grand Lodge. We see nothing in the record to suggest that there was a purposeful effort to avoid a masonic trial. Moreover, an examination of the procedures followed before her case was considered by the Grand Lodge reveals no procedural unfairness. In the case before us, the MWGM's letter of June 2, 1998 provided detailed notice of the charges against the GWM, and the reasons for her removal from office. When the Prince Hall, D.C. Grievance Committee asked Ms. Levant to specify the reasons for her appeal, she was given her first opportunity to be heard with respect to her removal. Her response came in the form of a detailed letter of July 13, 1998 to the Grievance Committee. Ms. Levant was afforded a second opportunity to be heard when she was interviewed by the Grievance Committee. Not only did the Grievance Committee's procedures include an interview with Ms. Levant, but also one with Mr. Whitley, as well as twenty-three other persons, prior to rendering its decision concluding that the MWGM violated no written or unwritten Masonic law, and acted within his authority in removing the GWM. Ms. Levant complains that she was not allowed to have an attorney present during her interview, but we are unable to find anything in the masonic documents, that are part of the record, mandating the presence of an attorney when a person is interviewed by the Grievance Committee. The final decision on Ms. Levant's removal as GWM was taken by Prince Hall, D.C. through its Grand Lodge which, under Article XIII, § 2 of its Constitution, is the supreme authority in its jurisdiction with the power not only to prescribe. . . regulations for the administration of. . . Appendant Bodies [such as the GT Grand Chapter], but also to hear appeals from aggrieved parties. In addition, under this article and section of the Prince Hall, D.C. Constitution, the GT Grand Chapter owes faithful allegiance and implicit obedience to Prince Hall, D.C.'s Grand Lodge. Therefore, by accepting the report of the Grievance Committee, the Grand Lodge implicitly rejected Ms. Levant's appeal from the MWGM's decision to remove her as GWM. Assuming that judicial inquiry is appropriate here, we conclude that the process accorded Ms. Levant, with regard to her challenge of the MWGM's removal decision, was fundamentally fair and not in conflict with designated procedures, and tainted neither by fraud, nor bad faith, nor arbitrary action by Prince Hall, D.C. and its MWGM. See Golding, supra . This conclusion also is consistent with a case involving the expulsion of a member of a Maryland chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star by its own Grand Chapter. As the court concluded in that case: The judgment of the tribunal created by the laws of the [O]rder [of the Eastern Star] should be regarded as final and conclusive in the absence of any suggestion that the right of the appellee to a fair and regular hearing was not duly protected. Grand Chapter, Order of Eastern Star v. Klutch, 144 Md. 491, 125 A. 72, 74 (1924). See also Moran, supra, determining that the procedures used by the Order of the Eastern Star to expel a member were substantially in accordance with the Constitution and By-Laws of the [organization] and me[ ]t the requirements of substantial fairness. Id. at 870. Furthermore, the case before us is different from that in Universal Lodge No. 14 Free and Accepted Masons v. Valentine, 134 Md. 505, 107 A. 531 (1919) where the appellant, who was expelled, learned on the day of his scheduled trial that charges had been filed against him and that a masonic committee would convene on that same day to investigate the charges. There, the Court of Appeals of Maryland declared that: [A] member charged with such a serious offense as to warrant his expulsion from the [O]rder should be given some notice of the charge and a reasonable opportunity to defend himself before the tribunal appointed to try him. Id. at 535. Ms. Levant was given ample time to respond to Mr. Whitley's June 2, 1998 letter. Accordingly, for the reasons stated, we conclude that judicial intervention in this dispute between the leaders of two private voluntary membership associations is inappropriate, and we affirm the judgment of the trial court insofar as it concerns Ms. Levant's removal as GWM. We turn now to Ms. Levant's other arguments on appeal.