Judge stands firm on shutdown ruling

03/08/2006

He says constitution isn’t a ‘suicide pact’

BY PATRICK SWEENEY
Pioneer Press

Saying the Minnesota Constitution is not a “suicide pact,” Ramsey County Chief District Judge Gregg E. Johnson has refused to second-guess rulings he made last June to allow a few key parts of state government to continue operating during a partial government shutdown.

The eight-day shutdown occurred after legislators and Gov. Tim Pawlenty failed to reach agreement on a new budget for the fiscal year that began July 1.

Last August, a number of legislators filed an unusual action asking Johnson to rule that he overstepped his constitutional powers when he approved motions by Pawlenty and Attorney General Mike Hatch to keep parts of state government running, even though lawmakers had not appropriated money for them.

Now, in a ruling issued March 3, Johnson said the legislators who opposed any action by the judicial system to mitigate the shutdown’s impact could have — but did not — appear in court in June to argue their case that the constitutional doctrine of separation of powers barred the judiciary from refereeing the dispute between lawmakers and the governor.

“The constitution of the state of Minnesota … is not a suicide pact and must be interpreted to further its principle purpose of preserving the state,” Johnson said.

“The executive and judicial branches must retain the right and duty to respond to such emergencies as presented here by the inability of the legislative branch to fulfill its constitutional responsibility.”

Thirty-two lawmakers — senators and representatives, Democrats and Republicans — who challenged Johnson’s authority to maintain some state services during the shutdown now must decide if they will appeal his latest ruling.

Rep. Scott Newman, R-Hutchinson, one of the first legislators to propose the challenge, said Tuesday he hoped they would appeal.