Harisay v. Clarno
Oregon Supreme Court · 2020-10-08 · cited 8×
In this case, plaintiffs sought to have the Oregon Secretary of State certify an initiative petition that would call on Congress to convene a federal constitutional convention under Article V of the U.S. Constitution to address corporate personhood and campaign finance issues. The Secretary refused to certify the petition, the circuit court granted judgment on the pleadings for the Secretary, and the Court of Appeals affirmed. The Oregon Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the matter remained justiciable and that courts could review whether the petition proposed a "law" under the state constitution's initiative provision. The court reasoned that Oregon voters who adopted Article IV, section 1(2)(a), intended the people's initiative power to apply only to changes in state law, not to applications for amending the federal constitution, and that the petition here sought no change to Oregon law. The Secretary therefore correctly declined to certify it.