Last week was a rough week for the State of North Dakota. Here's the Bismarck Tribune report:
Dave Weiler entered the guilty plea via a written plea agreement on Tuesday. Bismarck Municipal Judge William Severin approved the agreement on Wednesday, which deferred imposition of sentence for one year on the conditions that Weiler obtain a psychological evaluation by June 15, get any recommended treatment by Oct. 15 and complete domestic violence offender treatment by April 15, 2010.
“The defendant admits that on March 27, 2009 ... he willfully caused injury to his wife, Nicole Weiler, by pushing her and causing her to fall to the ground at the Loaf & Jug at Century Avenue and North Washington Street,” the plea agreement said.
Weiler had pleaded not guilty during a brief court appearance on April 9. He did not appear in court to plead guilty on Tuesday but instead entered a written plea as is allowed for defendants in misdemeanor cases under the North Dakota Rules of Criminal Procedure.
Why is Rep. Weiler still a member of the State House of Representatives?
Mr. Weiler is a confessed domestic criminal. He should resign immediately.
Should he decide to drag this out there are a few options of how to remove him from his seat:
Let's pull out our handy dandy North Dakota Constitution:
Option 1-Recall:
Article III Section 1: While the legislative power of this state shall be vested in a legislative assembly consisting of a senate and a house of representatives, the people reserve the power to propose and enact laws by the initiative, including the call for a constitutional convention; to approve or reject legislative Acts, or parts thereof, by the referendum; to propose and adopt constitutional amendments by the initiative; and to recall certain elected officials. This article is self-executing and all of its provisions are mandatory. Laws may be enacted to facilitate and safeguard, but not to hamper, restrict, or impair these powers.
Section 10: Any elected official of the state, of any county or of any legislative or county commissioner district shall be subject to recall by petition of electors equal in number to twenty-five percent of those who voted at the preceding general election for the office of governor in the state, county, or district in which the official is to be recalled.
The petition shall be filed with the official with whom a petition for nomination to the office in question is filed, who shall call a special election if he finds the petition valid and sufficient. No elector may remove his name from a recall petition.
The name of the official to be recalled shall be placed on the ballot unless he resigns within ten days after the filing of the petition. Other candidates for the office may be nominated in a manner provided by law. When the election results have been officially declared, the candidate receiving the highest number of votes shall be deemed elected for the remainder of the term. No official shall be subject twice to recall during the term for which he was elected.
Option 2-Expulsion:
Article IV Section 12, Paragraph 3: Each house shall determine its rules of procedure, and may punish its members or other persons for contempt or disorderly behavior in its presence. With the concurrence of two-thirds of its elected members, either house may expel a member.
(Emphasis Mine)
It's highly unlikely that the second option is a viable one. There R-D ratio in the house is nearly 2-1 and the Republicans are very defensive of their own
No matter the party, a member of any legislature that has been convicted or has plead guilty to a misdemeanor or felony should not be a member of the legislature. None of these processes are easy, and none of them is faster than the simplest route available: on Monday morning pursuant to NDCC § 44-02-03, House Speaker David Monson should have waiting on his desk a letter of resignation from Rep Weiler. That's all that needs to happen.
This is extremely disappointing. Rep. Weiler needs to go. If he wants to make this easy for everyone (except maybe the Democrats in District 30) then he should just resign. Forcing an expulsion or recall vote is a sure fire way to make sure that a very reliably Republican district(the Senate Majority leader's district) elects a Democrat. It is in Weiler's best interests, the Republican Party's best interests, the public's best interests, and--most importantly--his family's best interests if this is made as painless as possible.
I also do know that the person that ran against Weiler in 2008 is starting a recall petition effort. I hope it doesn't come to that. Weiler should not bring his family's issues into the public square. I said it back with John Edwards' affair and the same applies here. Family issues should not be up for public debate. It's not helpful to the public, but more importantly, Weiler has two children that are still fairly young. They should not have to have their parents' altercation dragged out and argued by the likes of bloggers, pundits, and members of the media.
The easiest way out of this for everybody involved is for Weiler to simply resign. Why he hasn't already is beyond me.