The City of Sun Valley this week successfully turned away litigation trying to force city officials to process an initiative petition to legalize marijuana.
In 5th District Court in Hailey on Monday, Feb. 28, Judge Robert Elgee issued a summary judgment in favor of the city, ruling that a 2004 pro-marijuana initiative filed by the Bellevue-based Liberty Lobby of Idaho is unconstitutional.
Adam King, assistant city attorney, said Elgee also ruled Monday that the city does not have the authority to process an unconstitutional initiative petition and cannot be made to put such a petition before citizens for a vote.
Although the ruling this week does effectively bring the litigation between the city and the Liberty Lobby to a close, the case can be appealed to the Idaho Supreme Court.
"We're very pleased with the outcome," King said.
Ryan Davidson, chairman and legal representative of the Liberty Lobby, said Tuesday that he intends to appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court.
"That's where we're headed as far as we're concerned," Davidson said.
Davidson said he would like the Supreme Court to rule on whether the city's initiative petition laws are properly aligned with state laws.
At issue in court Monday were two competing lawsuits that surfaced last September.
First, the Liberty Lobby filed suit against Sun Valley City Clerk Janis Wright because she had declined to process the organization's petition to have citizens vote on whether it should be legal to grow, possess, use and distribute marijuana in the city, under certain restrictions.
The Liberty Lobby filed an initiative petition Aug. 25, the same day it filed similar petitions in the cities of Ketchum and Hailey.
In its suit, the Liberty Lobby alleged that the city did not follow established procedures for processing citizen-led ballot initiatives.
Soon after, Sun Valley City Attorney Rand Peebles filed a countersuit against the Liberty Lobby. The city complaint contended that the organization's proposal to legalize and regulate the sale of marijuana is "unconstitutional" and to hold an election on the issue "would be in excess of the city's jurisdiction."
Eventually, the 5th District Court decided to consolidate the two competing lawsuits.
Both parties then asked the court to render a "summary judgment" on the dispute, a definitive ruling based on mutually accepted facts.
Davidson argued that the city does not have the authority to deny the petition or the authority to determine matters of constitutionality.
King argued that the city does not have the power to establish a new city ordinance that would conflict with state laws declaring marijuana as an illegal substance.
State law declares that possession of three ounces or more of marijuana is a felony that can bring five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Like Sun Valley, Hailey and Ketchum also declined to allow the Liberty Lobby's initiatives to proceed.
Davidson said he is proceeding with a similar lawsuit in 5th District Court against the city of Hailey and intends to file by next week a third suit against the city of Ketchum. The Ketchum suit would be filed directly with the state Supreme Court, he said.
