Constitutional Court of Washingtonia

Constitutional Court of Washingtonia
Established	22 September 1913
Jurisdiction	Kingdom of Washingtonia
Location	Constitutional Court Building, Foundersville
Composition method	Executive nomination, legislative confirmation
Authorized by	Constitution of Washingtonia
Number of positions	Five Justices, including the Chief Justice
Website	http://www.concourt.gov.wa
Motto
Rule, only by law
Chief Justice
Currently	Allen Howsham
Since	27 January 1996

The Constitutional Court of the Kingdom of Washingtonia (CC) is the highest constitutional authority in the Kingdom, established by the Constitution of 1913. It is a special court of sorts - only being able to review and handle appeal cases which involve interpretation of the Constitution, and review the constitutionality of legislation and decrees passed in the Kingdom. It does not handle normal cases which do not involve interpretation of the Constitution, which all have their final appeal to the Supreme Court.

The Court's bench consists of five justices - the Chief Justice and his four Justices. The current Chief Justice is Allen Howsham CJ. The President nominates candidates for all seats, similar to the Supreme Court, however, they must all be legislatively confirmed by the Grand Washingtonian Assembly. The Bench consists of five Justices to avoid any tie votes (abstentions are disallowed). All Justices serve for life, or until they retire or are declared incapable to execute the duties required of them by the Grand Assembly.

The Court is the first "constitutional court" ever established, and has set the template for many which followed.

Constitutional basis

Main article: Constitution of Washingtonia

Chapter 5 of the Constitution, which deals with the Presidency, provides -

"8. The duties of the President follows:

...

8(h) To nominate the Chief Justice and the Justices of the Constitutional Court and to nominate the judicial presiding officers of the Supreme Court and of any other court of law established by the Grand Assembly."

Chapter 6, which deals specifically with the Judiciary, provides -

"1. The highest court of law in Washingtonia is the Constitutional Court, which is the final court of appeal in any and all matters concerning this Constitution.

1(a) The Chief Justice is the chairperson of the Constitutional Court.

1(b) The Chief Justice is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Grand Assembly.

1(c) Four other Justices appointed in the same manner share the judicial bench with the Chief Justice."

History

Main article: History of the judiciary of Washingtonia

The current legal resolution system in Washingtonia was in large part completely established by the 1913 Constitution. The Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court were the two judicial bodies established, in addition to the Presidency and the Grand Washingtonian Assembly. However, before the Constitution, the highest court in the land was the Kingdom Court (previously the High Court), which had a similar role as the current Constitutional Court.

The Kingdom Court was responsible for hearing cases involving the Monarchy, similar to how the Constitutional Court hears cases involving the Constitution - both sovereign entities in their respective periods. The Justician General, as well as two other judges, officially "impartially" heard Kingdom Court cases. This was highly disputed considering the Justician General was a royally-appointed office. He did at his leisure choose the judges chairing cases with him.

A notable case in 1873, Meyer vs. the King, KC, further damaged the credibility of the court. James Meyer, a rich landowner and vassal of the Concord family in South Island, alleged the King, John I, had an extramarital affair with his daughter, 21 year old Katherine Meyer, while both the King and Katherine were married. Meyer claimed his daughter had been coerced into the affair. Washingtonia, having then too been a highly Christian nation with various elements of canon law applying universally, forbade extramarital affairs, especially if it involved already married couples. The Justician General, Roland Northbrook, delivering the short three line judgment, held that the King was drugged by Katherine and forced into intercourse. Katherine was put to death by stoning, in line with Leviticus 20:10. The judgment ignored the fact that the relationship had taken place over a long time period with Katherine being summoned to the Royal Palace by the King repeatedly during that time. This judgment angered the Meyers and their lords liege, the Concords, and is considered to have been an early contribution to the Civil War.

The old Constitutional Court Building (1915-2003).

Not only that, but execution and enforcement of the law under John I was draconian and inconsistent in general. The Kingdom Court played a large part in this which led to the Constitutional Assembly's decision to dissolve it after the Civil War, despite many royalists' calls for it to be kept. The Constitutional Court was established with the enactment of the Constitution with a more democratic selection process. Justices must act "without fear, favor or prejudice" (Chap. 6 Sec. 3) and if they do not, risk impeachment by the Grand Assembly. The Constitution Court is the first of its kind in the world.

The Court has since its establishment had a relatively positive history if one takes the patriarchal context of Washingtonia into account. It has found against the Monarchy and government far more than its predecessors. The Constitutional Crisis of 1946 is the most notable example of this. Given Washingtonia's history, the Court is still considered to be executive minded and conservative given its many findings which reaffirm Washingtonia's alleged misogynist legal order and traditionalist culture. However recent history has produced several more progressive Justices which have gone against the judicial status quo. Justice Daniel LeClaire, who currently serves on the Bench, is but one example of this. He often dissents from the conservative majority judgment.

Composition

Selection

List of current Justices

Name	Born	Appt. by	First day / Length of service	Previous positions
Allen Howsham CJ (Chief Justice)	11 March 1949 (age 64) in Alberttown, North Island	Malcolm Lexington	27 January 1996 17 years	Judge of Appeals, Court of Appeals (1988-1996) Associate Professor, Dandridge University Law School (1982-1987) Private practice (1969-1982)
Thomas Cooper J	3 August 1942 (age 71) in Dandridge, South Island	Malcolm Lexington	27 April 1992 21 years	Provincial Judge, South Island PC (1978-1992) Dean, University of Reynard Law School (1972-1978) Associate Professor, UR Law School (1965-1972)
Daniel LeClaire J	16 March 1951 (age 62) in Dandridge, South Island	Wilson Evrard	21 February 1997 16 years	Provincial Judge, South Island PC (1993-1997) Professor, DU Law School (1985-1993) Prosecutor, KLPS (1975-1985)
Isaac Fay J	18 December 1953 (age 60) in Foundersville, North Island	Wilson Evrard	11 February 2003 10 years	Attorney General (1992-2003) Provincial Judge, North Island PC (1986-1992) Professor, DU Law School (1984-1986) Private practice (1875-1984)
Max Sean J	28 June 1959 (age 54) in Landing, North Island	Xander Perrot	9 September 2010 3 years	Judge of Appeals, Court of Appeals (1999-2010) Prosecutor General, KLPS (1989-1999) Prosecutor, KLPS (1979-1989)

List of former Chief Justices

#	Name	Appt. by	Term
8	Frederick Robnett	Sébastian R. LeClerc	1985-1996
7	Paul Hart	Gavin T. Levis	1966-1985
6	Thomas Gabriel	Gavin T. Levis	1962-1966
5	John Gilbert	Martin Laut	1950-1962
4	Stephen Cardin	Ferdinand W. Montfort	1936-1950
3	Jon Vincent	Richard Tomason	1927-1936
2	Alfred Trembly	Richard Tomason	1916-1927
1	Shaun Weral	Constitutional Assembly	1913-1916

List of former Justicians General in judicial capacity (1793-1913)

• Roland Northbrook (1873)

Constitutional Court Building

The new Constitutional Court Building.

The old Constitutional Court Building was purpose-built in 1915 and housed the Court until 2003, when it moved to its new modern headquarters on the outskirts of Downtown Foundersville. The Supreme Court now occupies the former building, which is now known as the Supreme Court Building.

See also

• Judiciary of Washingtonia
• Law of Washingtonia