Carter v. Tomlinson

220 S.W.2d 351, 1949 Tex. App. LEXIS 1749
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 11, 1949
DocketNo. 15012
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 220 S.W.2d 351 (Carter v. Tomlinson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Carter v. Tomlinson, 220 S.W.2d 351, 1949 Tex. App. LEXIS 1749 (Tex. Ct. App. 1949).

Opinions

HALL, Justice.

This is a class suit for damages for temporary and permanent injunction and for a declaratory judgment instituted in a district court of Tarrant County, Texas by Homer Tomlinson and forty-five other citizens of said County,.for themselves as individuals and as representatives of six alleged classes as follows:

Class 1. For and on behalf of qualified voters who voted in the July, 1948 primary for precinct delegates that attended the Tarrant County Convention, wherein delegates were elected to the Democratic State Convention, and who also voted for N. precinct chairmen.

Class 2. Composed of those precinct , delegates who were duly elected, attended the Tarrant County Convention and voted for the Tarrant County delegation to the State Convention.

Class 3. Composed of Tarrant County delegates who were duly elected to attend the State Convention but were prevented from attending said Convention because of the unlawful acts and conduct of defendants.

Class 4. Consist of Neville G. Penrose and Mrs. Bennett L. Smith who were duly elected in 1946 and qualified as members of the State Democratic Executive Committee and acting as such in September, 1948, and who would have been re-elected if they had not been wrongfully excluded from the State Convention.

Class 5. Consist of the Tarrant County Precinct Chairmen who were duly elected in the general primary election in 1948 and who were threatened to be removed from office by unlawful rules and regulations passed by the convention'at Fort Worth in September, 1948.

Class 6. Composed of William D. Morris, nominee of the Democratic Party for presidential elector who was elected in the May, 1948 convention and who was removed by the proceedings of the convention in question.

The defendants in the suit are: Jack Carter; Mrs. J. W. Douglas; Charles E. McKnight; J. L. Thomas; Albert Leach; John C. Calhoun; Vann M. Kennedy; Robert Calvert; Byron Skelton; Thomas L. Tyson; and W. O. Reed, all residing in •the State of Texas.

[354]*354It is alleged that the defendants, Jack Carter and Mrs. J. W- Douglas, are the unlawful claimants and pretenders to the position and office of members of the State Democratic Executive Committee from the senatorial district comprising Tarrant County, Texas; that the defendant Charles E. McKnight is County Chairman of the Tarrant County Democratic Executive Committee; that defendant J. L. Thomas is the unlawful claimant and pretender to the position and office of Democratic nominee as presidential elector; that defendant John C. Calhoun is the acting chairman of the State Democratic Executive Committee; that defendant Vann M. Kennedy is the acting secretary of the State Democratic Executive Committee; that defendants Robert Calvert, Byron Skelton, Thomas L. Tyson and W. O. Reed and all those who are claimants to the position and office of the State Democratic Executive Committee and who are acting and asserting themselves to be de jure members.

On the 18th day of October, 1948, upon the presentation of the verified petition by plaintiffs, the court entered a temporary restraining order, and set the application for a temporary injunction for hearing on October 28, 1948. After hearing a great deal of evidence, the court issued a temporary injunction on November 10, 1948.

The effect of the temporary injunction was to restrain Jack Carter and Mrs. J. W. Douglas from acting as members of the State Executive Committee and to enjoin the defendants from interfering with Ne-ville G. Penrose and Mrs. Bennett L. Smith in the exercise of their duties as members of the State Executive Committee; and further to enjoin the defendants from undertaking to exact the aforesaid pledge from Class 5 plaintiffs, the Tarrant County Precinct Chairmen, and from attempting to remove them from office.

The court refused to issue a temporary injunction with respect to the claims of William D. Morris pertaining to his nomination for presidential elector on the ground that final judgment would not likely be entered before time for casting the electoral vote. No complaint is made on appeal with respect to the last mentioned ruling.

The plaintiffs will be hereafter styled ap-pellees and the defendants designated appellants.

To the above action the appellants present this appeal predicated upon three points as follows:

“First Point: The District Court had no jurisdiction to order the temporary injunction for any of the plaintiffs.

“Second Point: The State Democratic Convention had the power to remove Party officers who would not pledge their support to Democratic nominees for President and Vice President.

“Third Point: The majority of the duly elected delegates to the State Convention of the Democratic Party had the right and power at any stage of Convention proceedings to oust those delegates ineligible under Party rules and regulations; and the trial Court erred in concluding that because of such ouster the Convention was never ‘properly constituted nor regularly organized.’ ”

In deciding the questions involved under the three points raised by appellants, we will adhere to the following rules of law:

“* * * The granting or denial of a temporary injunction is largely discretionary with the court, provided a case for relief is made by the pleadings, and the injunction will tend only to preserve the status quo, or is sought to protect the jurisdiction. The court’s action in this respect will be disturbed upon appeal only when an abuse of discretion clearly appears * * * ” 24 Tex.Jur., p. 121, sec. 85.

“The courts will not follow letter of statute when it leads away from legislature’s true intent and purpose and to conclusions inconsistent with general purpose of act.” Kilday v. Germany et al., 139 Tex. 380, 163 S.W.2d 184.

“A political party’s officers, such as members of party executive committee, are not ‘public’ or ‘governmental officers,’ even when provided for by statutory law.” Wall v. Currie, Tex.Sup., 213 S.W.2d 816.

“Except to the extent that jurisdiction is conferred by statute or that the subject has been regulated by statute, the [355]*355courts have no power to interfere with the judgments of the constituted authorities of established political parties in matters involving party government and discipline, to determine disputes within a political party as to the regularity of the election of its executive officers, or their removal, or to determine contests for the position of party committeemen or convention delegates.” 29 C.J.S., Elections, § 88, pages 121-122, Wall v. Currie, supra.

It is an action of the State rather than of the political party when the State requires a certain electoral procedure, prescribes a general election ballot made up of party nominees so chosen and limits the choice of the electorate in general elections for state offices. Smith v. Allwright, Election Judge, et al, 321 U.S. 649, 64 S.Ct. 757, 88 L.Ed. 987, 151 A.L.R. 1110.

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Bluebook (online)
220 S.W.2d 351, 1949 Tex. App. LEXIS 1749, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/carter-v-tomlinson-texapp-1949.