Opinion ID: 1915740
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: What Remedy?

Text: After a careful review of the record before us, we are of the opinion that if the board concludes that either party violated the state's election laws, the remaining remedies available to the board at this late date are so insignificant and of such minimal import as to warrant the dismissal of this case in its entirety. The alleged violations at issue in this case are governed by chapter 25 of title 17, which is entitled Rhode Island Campaign Contributions and Expenditures Reporting Act. Although not a model of clarity, this act encompasses two separate and distinct areas of Rhode Island's election law, important distinctions that have been blurred by the board in this case. The first part is set forth in §§ 17-25-1 through 17-25-17. These provisions contain the limits and reporting requirements for political contributions and expenditures for both candidates and donors; they also set forth potential penalties for any violations. [13] The second part of chapter 25, §§ 17-25-18 through 17-25-30.1, implements and regulates public financing of election campaigns. [14] The statutory authority of the board over alleged violations of the campaign contributions and expenditures provisions and the public financing provisions is different. With respect to alleged violations of the contribution and expenditures provisions, § 17-25-13(a) provides that [a]ny person who willfully and knowingly violates the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) per violation. General Laws 1956 § 12-12-17(c) sets the statute of limitations for a misdemeanor at three years, a period that expired long ago. However, [t]he fact that one remedy    may have been rendered moot does not affect the viability of the case or the remaining remedies. Tanner v. Town Council of East Greenwich, 880 A.2d 784, 794-95 (R.I.2005). Section 17-25-13(b) allows the board independently to impose a fine of up to $100 for each violation of the provisions of chapter 25 of title 17. Thus, whether the advertisement constitutes a single offense or a separate violation for each of the few times that it was aired, the available remedy is de minimis. There is much wisdom in the ancient maxim,  de minimis non curat lex.  (The law does not concern itself with trifles.). In view of what little remains at stake in this case and the negligible impact a decision would have on the parties, it would be jurisprudentially unwise for us to venture into the thicket of constitutional interpretation and statutory construction that surrounded this case when it was in its infancy. The advertisement at issue was aired for only six days, and the Republican Party immediately complied with the cease-and-desist order, raising the question whether any sanction is appropriate. The board's remaining remedy, [15] under § 17-25-16(a), permits referral of alleged violations to the Attorney General for civil enforcement. [16] It has been six years since the advertisement aired and the board has not referred this matter to the Attorney General for any type of action, civil or criminal. The board failed to act on the special counsel's recommendation to refer to the Attorney General the alleged campaign contribution violation, notwithstanding the fact that the trial justice's order specifically permitted the board to transfer any documents or information in its possession to the Attorney General. [17] In light of this exceptional context and the painful travel of this controversy, this case no longer presents a sufficiently genuine case or controversy to warrant further review, and it is our judgment that it should therefore be dismissed. To remand this aged case to the board for further proceedings would require this Court to decide the constitutional issues raised by the parties. We would have to wade into an ocean of First Amendment law that has become even more voluminous and complex since the events that gave rise to this case first occurred. See, e.g., Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc., ___ U.S. ___, 127 S.Ct. 2652, 168 L.Ed.2d 329 (2007); McConnell v. Federal Election Commission, 540 U.S. 93, 124 S.Ct. 619, 157 L.Ed.2d 491 (2003). In light of the little that remains at stake in this case and the negligible impact (if any) that a decision would have on the parties, we decline to embark on such a journey of constitutional adjudication. See Spector Motor Service, Inc. v. McLaughlin, 323 U.S. 101, 105, 65 S.Ct. 152, 89 L.Ed. 101 (1944) (Frankfurter, J.) (If there is one doctrine more deeply rooted than any other in the process of constitutional adjudication, it is that we ought not to pass on questions of constitutionality    unless such adjudication is unavoidable.); see also Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow, 542 U.S. 1, 11, 124 S.Ct. 2301, 159 L.Ed.2d 98 (2004) (Stevens, J.) (Always we must balance `the heavy obligation to exercise jurisdiction,'    against the `deeply rooted' commitment not to pass on questions of constitutionality unless adjudication of the constitutional issue is necessary   .); Lead Industries Association, Inc., 898 A.2d at 1237-39 (discussing this Court's policy of declining to address constitutional questions unless strictly necessary). We are keenly aware of the grave constitutional ramifications of governmental regulation of political campaigns and the financing of such campaigns. It is not out of timidity that we today decline to opine substantively in that domain; rather, we decline to do so because the instant case has become palpably insubstantial. Although there are occasions when constitutional adjudication is appropriate even where what is at stake for the parties is not of great significance, this is not such an occasion. Here, for reasons that the record does not indicate, the arsenal of remedies that once theoretically was available to the board has, by virtue of the passage of time, shrunk to insignificance; it is for this reason that we decline to opine with respect to the weighty constitutional issues that a case such as this implicates.