Opinion ID: 1670280
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: jurisdiction

Text: Defendants challenged this court's jurisdiction over the constitutional issues in these consolidated cases. The Attorney General contests jurisdiction in both cases, and the Office of Employment Security contests jurisdiction only in the Pierre case. The administrative records and findings reflect the only issue in the Richards case was whether the wages earned subsequent to her disqualification should requalify her for benefits, notwithstanding her failure to meet the prior-claim requirement. Richards did not contend she was not guilty of misconduct. The constitutional issue in her case is properly before this court. In his initial petition for judicial review, Pierre raised the constitutional issue and contested the Board of Review's finding of misconduct. The district court remanded his case to the Board of Review for the taking of additional evidence, pursuant to LSA-R.S. 23:1634(B). In his remand order, the district judge provided for submission of additional evidence on the following issues: 1) whether the claimant was terminated from the named employer due to intentional misconduct; 2) whether the severity of the disqualification assessed against the claimant is appropriate, considering the gravity of the claimant's offense; 3) whether the disqualification should have been purged by any wages that the claimant earned subsequent to his discharge from the named employer. The Board of Review affirmed its prior decision finding Pierre guilty of misconduct, and denying benefits to Pierre because he failed to fulfill the prior-claim requirement. The district judge did not rule on the soundness of the Board's finding of misconduct. Defendants contend we are without jurisdiction to adjudicate the constitutional issue until there has been a judicial ruling on the misconduct question. Then, we may rule on the constitutional issue only if the finding of misconduct is affirmed. There is ample evidence in the record to support the finding of misconduct. Charles Pierre was not represented by counsel when he filed his original petition for judicial review. He has not challenged the finding of misconduct in his appeal to this court, wherein he was represented by counsel. In fact, his counsel, in oral argument before this court, conceded Mr. Pierre was guilty of misconduct. The failure of the district judge to rule on the misconduct issue does not divest this court of jurisdiction over the constitutional issue. It simply means we could decline to rule on the constitutional issue and order a remand for judicial determination of the misconduct question. In this case, however, a remand would serve no useful purpose and would frustrate the objectives of judicial economy.