City of Billings v. Herold

296 P.2d 263, 130 Mont. 138, 1956 Mont. LEXIS 19
CourtMontana Supreme Court
DecidedApril 20, 1956
Docket9521
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 296 P.2d 263 (City of Billings v. Herold) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Montana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Billings v. Herold, 296 P.2d 263, 130 Mont. 138, 1956 Mont. LEXIS 19 (Mo. 1956).

Opinions

MR. CHIEF JUSTICE ADAIR:

This is an appeal from a judgment of conviction entered in the district court of Yellowstone County.

Complaint. By complaint filed by a police officer in the po[140]*140lice court of the City of Billings it was charged that the appellant “Andrew Herold on or about the 10th day of November, A.D. 1951, within the corporate limits of the City of Billings, in the County of Yellowstone, State of Montana, committed the crime of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor, in that the said Andrew Herold, then and there being, did then and there on First Avenue North between 29th and 30th Streets, operate and drive a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor contrary to the ordinance of the City of Billings in such case made and provided. ’ ’

Ordinance. Section 1623A of Article XVT of Traffic Ordinance No. 1839 of the City of Billings is the ordinance which the appellant was charged with violating. Passed by the city council on December 20, 1949, such city ordinance makes ‘ ‘ Driving or operating of an automobile * * * or other motor vehicle upon or over any street, highway or public thoroughfare within the City of Billings while under the influence of intoxicating liquor, or any drug or narcotic” a misdemeanor.

Prior to and at his trial in the police court the appellant challenged the authority of the city to legislate upon the subject covered by the ordinance, contending that such ordinance is repugnant to and in conflict with the statutes and laws of the state and particularly contrary to R.C.M. 1947, sections 11-901, 31-108, 31-109, 32-1107, 32-1108, 32-1109, and 31-145. Appellant also challenged the jurisdiction of the city police court to entertain, hear, try or determine the prosecution against him. Upon the disallowance of his challenges appellant entered a plea of not guilty and was tried, convicted and sentenced to pay a fine of $100 and costs.

An appeal was taken to the district court of Yellowstone County, where, upon a trial de novo, appellant was again convicted of the offense charged and ordered to pay a fine of $100. This appeal is from the judgment of conviction so entered in the district court.

A municipal corporation is a body politic, created by the [141]*141 incorporation of the people of a prescribed locality invested with subordinate powers of legislation to assist in the civil government of the state and to regulate and administer local and internal affairs of the community. State ex rel. McIntire v. City Council of Libby, 107 Mont. 216, 82 Pac. (2d) 587. It is a legal institution formed by charter from sovereign power for the purpose and with the authority of subordinate self-government and improvement in the local and internal affairs of the community. 62 C.J.S., Municipal Corporations, section 1, page 61.

Charter. It has long been the policy of the legislature to vest in local municipal authorities the power to determine the local affairs that affect the local community, State ex rel. McIntire v. City Council of Libby, supra, and, consistent with such policy, the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Montana, by an Act approved March 10, 1885, entitled “An Act to Incorporate the City of Billings” created, organized and incorporated the City of Billings and granted it a charter. Laws of Montana, 14th Session, 1885, at pages 147 to 161.

Section 16 of Article VII of the charter provides:

‘ ‘ This act is declared to be a public act, and may be read in evidence in all courts of law and equity within this territory without proof. ’ ’ Laws of Montana, 14th Session, 1885, at page 158.

The state through its legislature primarily has the power to control and regulate the public highways and their use. This power is an exercise of the police power of the state to protect the highways and promote the safety, peace, health, morals and general welfare of the public. 40 C.J.S., Highways, section 232, pages 240, 241. In State ex rel. Charette v. District Court, 107 Mont. 489, 497, 86 Pac. (2d) 750, this court held that the right of the state to regulate the use of its own highways is not open to question. Compare State ex rel. Thompson v. District Court, 108 Mont. 362, 91 Pac. (2d) 422.

The city streets belong to the state and the city is but the [142]*142trustee thereof. Bidlingmeyer v. City of Deer Lodge, 128 Mont. 292, 274 Pac. (2d) 821, 824.

The source of the police power of municipalities is the state. While the state delegates authority over the city streets to the cities yet it may, at any time, take away or revoke a part or all of the authority which it may have theretofore delegated to the cities. Bidlingmeyer v. City of Deer Lodge, supra.

In State ex rel. Rocky Mountain Bell Telephone Co. v. Mayor of Red Lodge, 30 Mont. 338, 76 Pac. 758, 760, the court said: “The state does not surrender to municipalities entire control over its streets and highways. They are under legislative control. ‘Municipal by-laws must also be in harmony with the general laws of the state, and with the provisions of the municipal charter. Whenever they come in conflict with either, the by-law must give way.’ Cooley on Cons. Lims. [(7th Ed.) 278.] ‘Public highways are under legislative control. * * *’ People v. Eaton [100 Mich. 208], 59 N.W. 145, 24 L.R.A. 721. ‘The power conferred upon incorporated towns by the general incorporation act is but a mere grant of limited power to the municipality, which it holds subject to the general laws of the state.’ In re O’Brien, 29 Mont. 530, 75 Pac. 196. ‘But municipal corporations are subordinate parts of the state, and invested with limited powers. The Legislature, in granting such powers, does not divest itself of any power over the inhabitants of the district which it possessed before the charter was granted.’ Wilcox v. Deer Lodge County, 2 Mont. 574. ‘No city or village has the power by ordinance or by-laws to make the general laws of the state inoperative.’ People v. Kirsch [67 Mich. 539], 35 N.W. 157. See, also, Section 4703, Pol. Code Mont., which prescribes a limitation upon the powers of cities.” Compare Gamewell Co. v. City of Phoenix, 9 Cir., 216 F. (2d) 928, 933, and City of Tucson v. Polar Water Co., 76 Ariz. 404, 265 Pac. (2d) 773, 774.

In Stephens v. City of Great Falls, 119 Mont. 368, 371, 175 Pac. (2d) 408, 410, this court said: “There is no principle of law better established than that a city has no power, except such as [143]*143is conferred upon it by Legislative grant, either directly or by necessary implication. [Citing cases.] Besting as it does upon legislative grants the legislative branch of the government may, at its pleasure, modify or withdraw the power so granted. ‘It may, if it chooses, repeal any charter, or any law under which municipalities may be created, and destroy any municipal corporation at its will and pleasure.’ Brackman’s v. City of Huntington, 126 W. Va. 21, S.E. (2d) 71, 73.”

The powers conferred on cities by the general laws of the state, to regulate the use of streets, must be construed in connection with the limitations, expressed and implied, in a particular statute, such as the Highway Code, for a city’s charter or other grant of power must yield to the constitutional general laws of the state. See 37 Am. Jur., Municipal Corporations, section 279, page 907, notes 11-15; 25 Am. Jur., Highways, pages 545, 546, notes 7-16.

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City of Billings v. Herold
296 P.2d 263 (Montana Supreme Court, 1956)

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Bluebook (online)
296 P.2d 263, 130 Mont. 138, 1956 Mont. LEXIS 19, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-billings-v-herold-mont-1956.