Opinion ID: 543080
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Constitution as Bar

Text: 45 In addition to relying on the effect of the Resolution, appellants Friedman and Hughes argue that the IBT Constitution bars the Administrator from hearing Charge I. Friedman and Hughes make three specific arguments. The first repeats the construction of Article XIX, section 3(d), of the IBT Constitution adopted in the Resolution. Under section 3(d), an IBT officer cannot be subject to discipline for alleged pre-election misconduct, unless the allegations were not known generally by the membership of the IBT Local. Friedman and Hughes maintain that as a result of their well-publicized criminal indictments in 1986, their alleged wrongdoing was known generally prior to their re-election in 1987. Appellants' second argument is that under Article XIX, section 6(a), of the IBT Constitution, an IBT officer cannot be subject to disciplinary hearings for conduct arising from a criminal conviction while the criminal appeal is pending. Finally, Friedman and Hughes maintain that the same section contains a one-year statute of limitations that bars the instant charges. 46 With regard to the first contention, the Administrator held that Article XIX, section 3(d), by its explicit terms, precludes disciplinary charges only for generally known pre-election activity, not mere allegations, and the district court agreed. The theory of these holdings was that because Friedman and Hughes were, at the start of their terms, vigorously denying that they had engaged in the activities and actions for which they were indicted (and subsequently convicted), they could not credibly claim that their criminal activity was known generally. With regard to the second contention, the Administrator and the district court held that paragraph 6 of the Consent Decree expressly authorizes the General President or the GEB to suspend officers during the pendency of civil or criminal charges, and the Administrator possesses these same disciplinary powers. As to the third contention, the Administrator and the district court ruled that the plain language of paragraph 5 of the Consent Decree eliminates any limitations period for disciplinary charges brought by the Investigations Officer and tried before the Administrator. 47 In each of these instances, taking into account the great deference to be given to the Administrator's rulings, we cannot say that the district court erred.