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Pennsylvania Prison Society v. Commonwealth

In case where plaintiff challenged constitutionality of proposed constitutional amendment governing confirmation process of gubernatorial appointments to Board of Pardons, judgment on pleadings in favor of plaintiff reversed; even though ballot question violated separate vote requirement, proposed amendment did not effectuate a substantive change to confirmation process, so ballot question was not constitutionally infirm.

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ARGUED: May 1, 2000

OPINION

This is a direct appeal filed on behalf of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Governor Tom Ridge, the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons, and the Secretary of the Commonwealth (Appellants) from the order of the Commonwealth Court granting the motion for judgment on the pleadings filed by the Pennsylvania Prison Society, Julia D. Hall and others (collectively referred to as the Prison Society). The Prison Society challenged the constitutionality of a proposed constitutional amendment to Article IV, Section 9 of the Pennsylvania Constitution that was placed on the November 4, 1997 ballot. The Commonwealth Court determined that the ballot question was null and void, as the single ballot question contained five amendments to the Pennsylvania Constitution in violation of Article XI, Section 1. We find that the ballot question in fact proposed two separate amendments to Article IV, Section 9, contrary to the separate vote requirement of Article XI, Section 1. Due to the unique circumstances underlying the proposed amendment to the provision of Article IV, Section 9, governing the confirmation process of gubernatorial appointments to the Board of Pardons, however, we conclude that the ballot question was not constitutionally infirm in this case. For the following reasons, we reverse the order of the Commonwealth Court.

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