IN
THE COMMONWEALTH COURT
OF
PENNSYLVANIA
In
Re: Barack Hussein Obama, Aka Barack Hussein Obama, Aka Barack
H
Obama, Objection of: Charles
F
Kerchner, Jr.: and Dale
A
Laudenslager
OR ER
No. 85 M.D.
2012
NOW, March 2, 2012,
after
hearing on
objectors
petition
to set
aside
nomination petition,
and following
ar
gu
ment
on Candidate's motion
to
dismiss,
the
motion
to
dismiss is gra
nt
ed.
As
set
forth
in
the
Pennsy
lv
ania Election Code (Code), Act
of
June 3,
1937,
P.L.
1333,
as
ame
nded, 25
P S
§§2600-3591,
and case law
interpreting
it,
objectors
can seek
to
set
aside a candidate's nomination
petition
by:
(1)
challenging individu
al
signatures on
the
nomination
petition
pursuant
to
Section
908
of
th
e Code, 25
P S
§2868;
(2)
challenging a
circulator s
affidavit
p
urs
uant
to Section 909
of
the
Election Code, 25
P S
§2869;
(3)
challenging a candidate's
affidavit pursuant
to
Sections 910 and 951
of
the
Code, 25 P.S. §§
2870
and
2911(e);
and
(4)
challenging the candidate's
state
me
nt
of
financial
interest under
the
Public Official and Employees Ethics
Act
,
65
Pa
C.S. §§
1101-1113.
Presently,
Objectors
have filed a challenge
to
Candidate's
nominat
ion
pet
ition,
asserting
he is ineligible and unqualified
for
office under Article , Sec
tion
I
of
the
United States Constitution.
In
In
re Nomination Petition of Jones,
505
Pa
50, 476
A.2d
1287
(1984), our
Supreme Court concluded
the
Pennsylvania Constitution did
not
confer jurisdiction to
courts
of
this
Commonwealth
to
determine
the
qualifications
of
a candidate.
We
In
this
regard, the
Court opined:
The
rule
of
nonjusticiability
in
this
area is
not to
be
construed
as an
absolute prohibition
against judicial consideration
of
the constitutional
qualifications
of
one
claiming
an office.
believe such a conclusion is equally applicable
to
objections involving the
United States Constitution.
As
noted above, this Court has,
neverthele
ss
,
ent
ertained objections
to
a candidate s qualifications
for
office in those i
nst
an
ces where
the
affidavit
of
the
candidate has been challenged.
Se
e
In
re: Nomination Petition
of
PiPPYr
711 A.2d
1048
CPa
Cmwlth.
1998). Stat
ed
another
waYr
in
the context
of
objections
to
nomination petitions where objectors assert a global challenge
to
a candidate s qualifications
to
hold office, this Court can
only
reach
the
issue
of
the
candidate s qualifications
where
a challenge
to the
candidate s
affidavit
is implicated.
In this
case, Candidate has filed a
nomination
petition seeking
the nomination
for
the
office
of
President of the United States. Section 910
of
the
Code, 25 P.S.
§2870,
explic
it
ly
exclud
es
presidential candidates
from the
affidavit requirement stati
ng in
pertinent part,
In
the
case
of
a candidate
for
nomination
as Preside
nt
of
the
United States,
it
shall
not
be necessary
for
such candidate
to
file the
affidavit
required in this section
to
be filed by candidates,
but
the post-office address
of
such candidate shall be stated in such
nominati
on pe
tit
ion.
t
follows
that
because Candidate in this action was
not
required
to
file a candidate s affidavitr
this
Court is
without
jurisdiction
to
ente
rtain
Objectors'
challenge
to
his perceived ineligibility
for
office.
Ma
nifestly,
the court
has
jurisdiction to entertain
a claim
of
an
el
ected
prospective
office
holder
that
his
or her
right
to
sit
has been
unconstitutionally
denied
....
However, a
right to
intervene
in
that
situation
does
not
flow
from the constitutional
section
setting
forth the
qualifications,
but rather from our
well recognized
jurisdiction to
intervene when
there
is
ali
allegation
of
an
infringement
of
constitutional rights
....
The
consideration
of
the qualifications
as set
forth
by
the constitutional mandate
is
merely
tangential to the
underlying inquiry. Additionally, the remedy
of
quo warranto
is available
to
test
an
individual's right to
hold a
public
office. Jones, 505
Pa
at
61,476
A.2d
1292
(citations
omitted).
For
these
reasons, we
grant
Candidate s motion and dismiss
this
action with
prejudice
ertified
from
the
Record
M R
02
2 1l
nd
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