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Measure 7 litigation moves to Oregon Supreme Court

By David Hunnicutt


In a somewhat surprising move, the Oregon Court of Appeals recently agreed to transfer the court challenge to Measure 7 directly to the Oregon Supreme Court. The Oregon Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case.

The Court of Appeals decision is highly unusual. "It is rare for the Court of Appeals to agree to transfer a case directly to the Supreme Court," said Dave Hunnicutt, Director of Legal Affairs for Oregonians In Action. "When the Court of Appeals agrees that a case should be transferred directly to the Oregon Supreme Court, that usually means that the case is tremendously important. Obviously, we agree that the Measure 7 litigation is tremendously important."

Immediately after Measure 7 was approved by the voters last November, groups opposed to Measure 7, including the City Councils of Portland, Eugene, and Salem, filed lawsuits to block Measure 7. The main thrust of the lawsuits is that Measure 7 violates two provisions of the Oregon Constitution, the "full text" requirement of Article IV, Section 1(2)(d), and the "separate
votes" requirement of Article XVII, Section 1.

The "full text" provision requires an initiative petition to contain the "full text of the proposed law or amendment to the Constitution." The "separate votes" provision prohibits a single initiative or legislative referral from making more than one amendment to the Constitution. The purpose for the "separate votes" provision is to prohibit "log-rolling," where the legislature or the sponsors of an initiative would incorporate a popular idea and an unpopular idea into one initiative, hoping that the voters would approve the change to the Constitution even though it contained an unpopular idea.

Both the "full text" and "separate votes" provisions make perfect sense. Fortunately, the lawsuits challenging Measure 7 do not.

"The obvious flaw with the Measure 7 lawsuits lies in their reach," said Hunnicutt. "If the Oregon Supreme Court declares Measure 7 unconstitutional, they will open the door to "full text" and "separate votes" challenges to every constitutional amendment adopted by the Oregon voters since 1908. I don’t think the Court wants to go there."

Hunnicutt believes that a ruling against Measure 7 could cripple the state. "Recent lawsuits have already been filed challenging constitutional amendments that Oregon voters adopted years ago. If the Supreme Court agrees with the Measure 7 opponents, then challenges to nearly every constitutional amendment adopted in the last century will be possible. I believe that we will have a constitutional crisis in Oregon if this occurs."

Oral argument to the Supreme Court is scheduled for September 10 in Salem. A decision by the court should be published within one year.

Previous articles about Measure 7:

Legislature gives up on Measure 7
OIA defends Measure 7 in courts, State Capitol
Measure 7: The peoples response to gov't shenanigans
Passage Of Measure 7 Plugs An Unfair Loophole --
Critisims mount over Measure 7 judge

Text of Measure 7