Opinion ID: 1931027
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The Supremacy Clause and Article 3, Section 6

Text: Even if this Court were to agree with McKenna's assertion that Chief Justice Williams's appointment to the review panel violates the terms of article 3, section 6, of the Rhode Island Constitution, which we do not, such an interpretation would, in our view, run afoul of the United States Constitution. To begin, we note that courts in several states which prohibit dual office holding in their constitutions have specifically held that military service does not fall within the ambit of constitutional proscription. [18] In a 1943 opinion of the California Supreme Court interpreting the applicability of a state constitutional provision prohibiting dual state and federal office holding to a state judge who had been commissioned as a captain in the United States Army, the Court reasoned that: It was never the intent or purpose of article IV, section 20, of the Constitution of this state to discourage public employees from rendering military or naval service, to deter them from answering, or induce them to evade such a call, or to tend to impede the federal government in its effort to mobilize the citizenry   . The constitutional provision can neither be construed nor applied to effect such a result. People v. Sischo, 23 Cal.2d 478, 144 P.2d 785, 788 (1943) (quoting McCoy v. Board of Supervisors, 18 Cal.2d 193, 114 P.2d 569, 571 (1941)). We take note of the California Supreme Court's refusal to interpret its constitution in a way that would prove a disservice to both our nation and the men and women who are called to serve on its behalf during times of national need. See Kennedy v. Cook, 285 Ky. 9, 146 S.W.2d 56, 57, 58 (1940) (a circuit clerk who retained his commission as captain in the National Guard did not forfeit state office on grounds of holding incompatible offices); State ex rel. McGaughey v. Grayston, 349 Mo. 700, 163 S.W.2d 335, 341 (1942) (en banc) (Missouri constitutional provision did not mandate vacation of judicial position as a result of military service. Every citizen, the untrained as well as the trained, owes to his government the duty to render military service in time of need. In order to survive it is necessarily the policy of the State law to aid, not impede our common defense.); Critchlow v. Monson, 102 Utah 378, 131 P.2d 794, 799 (1942) (Utah Supreme Court justice did not automatically forfeit his office by accepting a commission in the army. Constitutional provision prohibiting dual office holding has no reference to those who are called to military duty.). It seems to us that the framers did not intend for the Rhode Island Constitution to interfere with our citizens' willingness to render service to their nation; to do so may fly in the face of the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution. Article VI of the United States Constitution provides that the Constitution and the laws of the United States shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, any thing in the constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding. Thus, state constitutional and statutory law is subordinate to the constitutional powers of the federal government, and the Constitution and the laws passed pursuant to it are the supreme laws of the land, binding alike upon states, courts, and the people   . Testa v. Katt, 330 U.S. 386, 391, 392, 67 S.Ct. 810, 91 L.Ed. 967 (1947) (holding that the state of Rhode Island had no right to deny enforcement to claims arising out of a valid federal law). Under Article II, section 2, of the United States Constitution, the President is the commander in chief of the army and navy, and shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the supreme court, and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for   . Further, the power to raise and support armies lies in Congress's hands. U.S. Const. Art. I, sec. 8. Therefore, any Rhode Island constitutional provision or statute that interferes with these federal powers would not withstand constitutional scrutiny. Any interpretation of article 3, section 6, of the Rhode Island Constitution that prohibits a judge from serving the United States Department of Defense in this capacity without forfeiting his state office would result in a clash between federal and state law. The United States Supreme Court has spoken on this issue. See generally Hines v. Davidowitz, 312 U.S. 52, 61 S.Ct. 399, 85 L.Ed. 581 (1941). This Court, in considering the validity of state laws in the light of treaties or federal laws touching the same subject, has made use of the following expressions: conflicting; contrary to; occupying the field; repugnance; difference; irreconcilability; inconsistency; violation; curtailment; and interference. But none of these expressions provides an infallible constitutional test or an exclusive constitutional yardstick. In the final analysis, there can be no one crystal clear distinctly marked formula. Our primary function is to determine whether, under the circumstances of this particular case, [the law in question] stands as an obstacle to the accomplishment and execution of the full purposes and objectives of Congress.  Id. at 67, 61 S.Ct. 399. (Emphasis added.) See also Crosby v. National Foreign Trade Council, 530 U.S. 363, 372, 120 S.Ct. 2288, 147 L.Ed.2d 352 (2000); accord American Insurance Association v. Garamendi, 539 U.S. 396, 421, 123 S.Ct. 2374, 156 L.Ed.2d 376 (2003) (The exercise of the federal executive authority means that state law must give way where    there is evidence of clear conflict between the policies adopted by the two.). Can we require state officials to choose between their livelihood and service to their nation? Can we interpret our state constitution as forcing an official to abandon his or her career when answering the call of duty? Can the Rhode Island Constitution stand as even the slightest obstacle to the maintaining of the military as the federal government sees fit? In our opinion, it cannot. Even if our state constitution were to be interpreted as prohibiting dual office holding under all circumstances, we must still recognize that whatever power a state may have is subordinate to supreme national law. Hines, 312 U.S. at 68, 61 S.Ct. 399. Therefore, when applying article 3, section 6, of the Rhode Island Constitution to our Chief Justice and his service on the Military Review Panel, we must consider that the President has exercised his authority as commander in chief in appointing Chief Justice Williams to this position. The interpretation McKenna urges upon us would most certainly stand as an obstacle to the accomplishment of constitutionally ordained objectives of the federal government.