The V.I. Supreme Court Monday ruled that the Superior Court was wrong to dismiss a challenge to Basil Ottley’s candidacy for lieutenant governor, but did not rule on whether the candidacy was valid.
Monday’s ruling remanded the case to the Superior Court to be heard on its merits or, if the results of the Nov. 18 runoff election are certified, dismissed as moot.
At issue is the question of whether Ottley is a bona fide resident of the territory under the terms of the Revised Organic Act of 1954, as amended, which serves as the legal structure for government in the Virgin Islands. Under the act, a candidate for governor or lieutenant governor must be a bona fide resident of the territory for five years.
Ottley, a former V.I. senator, ran as a running mate to Delegate Donna Christensen in her unsuccessful gubernatorial bid. Ottley moved to Maryland when he took a job in the federal government, but said he maintained his legal residence in the territory during that time. He also maintained that he had kept his U.S. Virgin Islands voter registration and had voted in every election in the territory since 2008.
His candidacy was challenged, first by his opponents, then by Albert Haynes, acting as a private citizen.
The Superior Court dismissed the case in September, citing lack of jurisdiction because the time limit for challenging a candidacy had passed. Haynes filed suit in August in U.S. District Court, but his challenge was rejected on the grounds that one individual voter lacks standing to remove a candidate from the ballot.
In reversing the lower court’s action, the Supreme Court ruled that, "the Superior Court had jurisdiction to consider the present suit notwithstanding the fact that the five-day limitations period set forth in (the Virgin Islands Code) had passed."
The high court noted that the election has been completed, but said the appeal is not moot since the results reported by the Supervisor of Elections are, as of Monday, unofficial.
"An exception to the mootness doctrine applies to this case, in that the underlying legal issue is capable of repetition yet evading review," the court added.
The court did not express an opinion on what legal remedy is appropriate, "nor is any opinion expressed here as to whether the plaintiff has actually pled sufficient facts to succeed on the merits of any of those causes of action, or whether any affirmative defenses are available to the defendants which may defeat those claims."
Those issues were left for the Superior Court to decide.
"The October 30, 2014, order of the Superior Court is reversed and this matter is remanded for the sole purpose of allowing it to consider this complaint on the merits or, if appropriate, dismissing it as moot if the election results are subsequently certified and no legitimate reason exists to proceed into inquiry into the merits of this claim."
Christensen and Ottley finished second in the Nov. 4 general election, forcing a runoff with front runners Kenneth Mapp and his running mate Osbert Potter, as neither ticket secured a majority of the vote. But the Mapp/Potter team turned the runoff into a runaway, piling up an almost two-to-one edge in the unofficial returns.
