156823 - Fred Paquin v City of St. Ignace
Attorney Information
Fred Paquin,
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Joseph Kwiatkowski
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Plaintiff-Appellant,
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v
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(Appeal from Ct of
Appeals)
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(Mackinac – Carmody, W.)
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City of St. Ignace
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Charles Palmer
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Defendant-Appellee,
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and
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Attorney General,
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Heather Meingast
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Intervening Appellee.
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Order Link
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Summary
Page Content
A state constitutional
provision makes a person ineligible to run for public office if he or she was
previously convicted of a felony involving fraud while “holding any elective
office or position of employment in local, state, or federal government.” Const
1963, art 11, § 8. Plaintiff was convicted in federal court of conspiring to
defraud the federal government, arising out of the misuse of grant funds while
he served as the chief of police and chairperson of the board of directors of a
federally recognized Indian tribe. Plaintiff later tried to run for defendant’s
city council, but the city manager denied his request to be placed on the
ballot, stating that plaintiff was ineligible under Const 1963, art 11,
§ 8. Plaintiff filed a declaratory judgment action, seeking a ruling that
the constitutional disqualification did not apply to him because his elective
office or position of employment had been in a tribal government, not a “local,
state, or federal government.” The trial court ruled in favor of defendant city.
In a published opinion, the Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that plaintiff’s
service in tribal government constituted service in “local government” for
purposes of § 8. The Supreme Court has directed oral argument on plaintiff’s
application for leave to appeal to address whether plaintiff’s holding elective
office with and being employed by an Indian tribe constitutes “any elective
office or position of employment in local, state, or federal government” under
Const 1963, art 11, § 8.