Opting not to tie up the matter further in court, Gov. John deJongh Jr. forwarded the draft constitution submitted in June by the Fifth Constitutional Convention onto President Barack Obama Thursday for comments — but not before detailing in a letter his strong objections to the document.
"The most general and generous reading of this draft Constitution showed it to be inconsistent with basic tenets of equal protection and fairness as established by the U.S. Constitution," deJongh wrote in his letter to the president. "As such it was unacceptable to me on both legal and moral grounds."
DeJongh first announced that he would not be forwarding on the document during a press conference held soon after the document was submitted. Because the document failed to recognize the U.S. Constitution as the "supreme law of the land" and gave ancestral native and native Virgin Islanders rights and benefits that would not be available to all other residents, deJongh said at the time that it did not meet requirements set up by either local or federal law.
DeJongh’s speech from the press conference was also attached to the letter sent Thursday to Obama.
The governor’s decision was backed up by a legal opinion from Attorney General Vincent Frazer, which quickly developed into a court battle after Constitutional Convention delegates Gerard Luz James II and Mary Moorhead filed suit in District Court, saying that only the president could comment on content of the document.
The government attempted to get the suit dismissed, saying the convention or any of the delegates acting in their official capacities did not have the power to sue or be sued. There was also no indication that the other delegates gave James and Moorhead permission to file the lawsuit on their behalf, according to the government’s motion.
In a subsequent ruling, V.I. Superior Court Presiding Judge Darryl D. Donohue partially agreed with the government’s motion, but said James and Moorhead could refile the suit as private citizens, which they eventually did.
On Dec. 23, Donohue ruled in favor of James and Moorhead, saying that the law does not specify any role for the governor other than forwarding on the document. He also issued a writ of mandamus compelling deJongh to send the document on to Obama within 10 business days.
In his letter to the president Thursday, deJongh said that he would rather not continue the court battle.
"Without reaching the constitutional issues presented in the matter, a V.I. judge has now concluded that my ‘…only duty with respect to the proposed Constitution was to submit it…’ to you. Rather than further delay this process with more litigation here in the territory focused on process and not substance, I am forwarding the document for your review," the governor wrote to Obama.
Ultimately, Congress will decide the fate of the document and how the territory will move ahead with "increased local governmental autonomy," he added.
Obama will have 60 days upon receiving the document to add his comments, and will then forward it to the U.S. Congress, which will also have 60 days to look it over. Delegate Donna Christensen and other officials may testify, and Congress has the power to add or delete by amendment.
If passed, the constitution will go to Obama for signing — much like any other U.S. law — and will then be sent back to the territory to be voted on in referendum.