Chambers v. Waterbury

18 P.2d 957, 129 Cal. App. 511, 1933 Cal. App. LEXIS 1132
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 7, 1933
DocketDocket No. 1418.
StatusPublished

This text of 18 P.2d 957 (Chambers v. Waterbury) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Chambers v. Waterbury, 18 P.2d 957, 129 Cal. App. 511, 1933 Cal. App. LEXIS 1132 (Cal. Ct. App. 1933).

Opinion

BARNARD, P. J.

This is a petition for a writ of mandate commanding the respondent, as auditor of the city of San Diego, to audit, approve and pay a claim of petitioner for salary as police judge, presiding over the police court of said city.

Prior to January 1, 1932, the city of San Diego had no provision in its charter for a police court and for some years before that date the usual functions of such a court were exercised by and through a city justice’s court, established and existing nnder and by virtue of the general laws *513 of the state. Under this arrangement, all fines levied and collected were paid into the city treasury and the salary of the city justice was paid by the city. The petitioner was elected city justice at the general "election held in November, 1930, and, it is alleged, has been since January, 1931, and now is, acting city justice of the peace of said city. On January 1, 1932, a new charter adopted by the city of San Diego, duly ratified and approved, went into effect containing provisions for a police court, of which the following are material here:

“Section 202. Jurisdiction of City Police Court. There is hereby created and established a Police Court for The City of San Diego, which shall have all the jurisdiction and exercise all the powers which are now or may hereafter be provided for Police Courts in cities by the General Laws of the State of California.
“Section 203. Qualifications of Police Judge. The Police Court of The City of San Diego shall be presided over by a Police Judge, who shall be elected by the qualified electors of said City once every four years. . . .
“Section 204. Salary. The Police Judge shall receive as compensation for his services such salary as shall be paid to Justices of the Peace of San Diego Township under the General Laws of the State of California.
“Section 209. Present City Court. The present City Justice of the Peace shall preside over the new Police Court established under this Charter until the end of his term of office, and shall continue to hold such office until a Police Judge is elected pursuant to the terms of this Charter at the regular Municipal Election to be held under this Charter in 1935.”

The petitioner alleges that he has at all times entered into and discharged fhe duties of this new police court, as provided for in the city charter; that justices of the peace of San Diego Township are paid the sum of $5,000 per year; that a claim for his salary as said police judge has been regularly filed and presented; and that payment thereof has been refused. It appears that the salary of the city justice of the peace, to which office the petitioner was elected, is $3,000 per year. There is presented to this court a question as to the validity of section 209 of this charter, as to whether the city of San Diego or the county of San *514 Diego should pay the salary of petitioner, with the further question as to which salary applies in the event of a holding that the city should pay the same.

The respondent concedes that since the jurisdiction of the police court, created by the new charter, is not that of a “municipal court”, as defined by section 8% of article XI of the Constitution, its creation did not have the effect of abolishing the existing city justice’s court. It is contended that two courts now exist, each presided over by the petitioner ; that the city may no longer receive fines levied by the city justice court; that the expense of said city justice’s court is now a proper charge upon the county; and that the city, authorized to expend city money in the exercise of municipal functions only, is precluded from paying any part of the expense of any court other than the new police court. It is then argued that since these two courts are presided over by one individual who can draw but one salary, he must be paid either by the city as police judge with the county receiving his services as justice of the peace without salary burden, or by the county as city justice with the city receiving free his services as a police judge. While the injustice of this situation is recognized, it is argued that the latter alternative is sanctioned by law.

It is conceded that the jurisdiction of this new police court is not coextensive with that of the existing city justice court. While the right of a city to create, through its charter, a court having exclusive jurisdiction over certain municipal matters is now thoroughly established, it is equally well settled that a court so created does not have the effect of abolishing a city justice’s court created in accordance with the state law, unless its jurisdiction be coextensive therewith (Church v. Board of Supervisors, 211 Cal. 367 [295 Pac. 516]). Otherwise, the city justice’s court continues as a part of the state system (Graham v. Fresno, 151 Cal. 465 [91 Pac. 147]). It is clear that the new charter of San Diego has achieved this result after the new police court created thereby is fully established through the election of a police judge in 1935. An attempt has been made to establish such a new police court during the intervening period which, if valid, creates the same situation. However, if these provisions for the interim are valid, during that period there will exist two courts, one created under the charter *515 and the other existing as part of the state system of justices’ courts,. both presided over by the same judge operating under a divided authority received from separate political subdivisions, with resulting services and benefits to each, while the entire salary burden rests upon one alone. The very statement of the situation thus attempted to be created calls for an inquiry as to the validity of the provision responsible therefor, and as to whether a city, in exercising the undoubted right given to it by the Constitution to create its own police court, has the right to thus invade the domain of another court, established and existing as a part of the state system, and to thus interfere with the working thereof.

It is contended that this dual arrangement is expressly authorized by section 6 of article XI of the Constitution permitting municipal functions to be performed by county officers, when the same is authorized both by a city charter and by a county charter or general law. It is argued that section 103 of the Code of Civil Procedure provides for the exercise of police court functions by city justices’ courts, thus bringing this situation within this provision of the Constitution. As we have pointed out, these general provisions for the exercise of municipal police court functions by a city justice’s court, while applicable in the absence of charter provisions for a police court, are ineffective and. no longer apply to a particular city after such a police court is created by its charter (Graham, v. Fresno, supra; McClung v. Johnson, 106 Cal. App. 264 [289 Pac. 199]). We find nothing in this, or any other, general law to justify a city, after removing itself from the operation of the general law, in taking over the services of a county or township officer on its own motion alone.

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Related

People Ex Rel. Goodell v. Garrett
237 P. 829 (California Court of Appeal, 1925)
McClung v. Johnson
289 P. 199 (California Court of Appeal, 1930)
Church v. Board of Supervisors
295 P. 516 (California Supreme Court, 1931)
Graham v. Mayor & Bd. of Trs. of Fresno
91 P. 147 (California Supreme Court, 1907)
Gay v. Torrance
78 P. 540 (California Supreme Court, 1904)
People v. Toal
24 P. 603 (California Supreme Court, 1890)
Milner v. Reibenstein
24 P. 935 (California Supreme Court, 1890)

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Bluebook (online)
18 P.2d 957, 129 Cal. App. 511, 1933 Cal. App. LEXIS 1132, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chambers-v-waterbury-calctapp-1933.