Opinion ID: 1743456
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: did necaise allege with particularity the grounds of his challenge to ladner's qualifications in his petition before the election commission and/or before the circuit court?

Text: ¶ 7. We find that Necaise's petition met the statutory requirement of specifically setting forth the grounds of his challenge because Necaise identified the suspect signatures and indicated why he believed that Ladner's petition was invalid, and we affirm the circuit court on this issue. Necaise alleged in his petition that there were fourteen names on Ladner's petition for office that were not signed by the individuals listed. He included affidavits from those fourteen people. Necaise also listed ten names that were suspect and that he alleged needed to be verified. Of those ten suspect names, there was testimony at trial and the judge found that four of those names had not been signed by the listed individuals. ¶ 8. Ladner asserts that Necaise did not follow that statutory dictate that the petition to challenge his qualifications should specifically set forth the grounds of the challenge. See Miss.Code Ann. § 23-15-963. Necaise met the requirement of specifically setting forth the grounds of his challenge when he stated that Ladner's petition failed for want of the requisite number of valid signatures, listed those signatures which were in question, and obtained as many affidavits as time and circumstance allowed showing that his allegations had merit. This Court has held that specifically setting forth means that a petition is reasonably specific and does not contain general language. Harris v. Stewart, 187 Miss. 489, 193 So. 339, 343-44 (1940). ¶ 9. The list of names given to Ladner in the petition challenging his qualifications was certainly specific enough to put him on notice that there was an allegation concerning those ten suspect names, allowing him ample opportunity to defend against those allegations at trial before the circuit court. This issue is without merit.