State ex rel. Citizens for Responsible Green Government v. City of Green

The Supreme Court dismissed this expedited relations case based on laches and denied the relator’s motion for leave to supplement the evidence.Relator, Citizens for Responsible Green Government, sought a writ of mandamus to compel Respondents, the City of Green, the City’s Finance Director, and the Summit County Board of Elections, to place a referendum on the November 6, 2018 general election ballot. The finance director declared the referendum petition “facially invalid and insufficient” on June 11, 2018, and the relator filed this mandamus complaint on August 6, fifty-six days later. The Supreme Court held (1) prejudice exists for purposes of a laches analysis in election cases when the relator files the complaint so close in time to the ninety-day cut off that expediting the proceedings becomes a practical necessity; and (2) laches barred the relief requested in this case due to the committee’s failure to exercise any diligence whatsoever. View "State ex rel. Citizens for Responsible Green Government v. City of Green" on Justia Law