Layden v. May

1959 OK 98, 340 P.2d 457, 1959 Okla. LEXIS 293
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedMay 26, 1959
DocketNo. 37907
StatusPublished

This text of 1959 OK 98 (Layden v. May) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Layden v. May, 1959 OK 98, 340 P.2d 457, 1959 Okla. LEXIS 293 (Okla. 1959).

Opinion

BLACKBIRD, Justice.

This appeal involves the disqualification of plaintiff in error, hereinafter referred to as respondent, to act as County Judge in the matter of the removal of defendant in error, James M. May, hereinafter referred to as petitioner,' from his position as guardian of one Ben T. Galbraith, who is serving a life sentence after conviction for murder in the District Court of Pittsburg County during 1955. In August of that year, an action was commenced by the State on relation of the Court Clerk, as plaintiff, against Galbraith to recover the sum of $2,092.94 as the total amount of court costs that had been incurred in the murder case, which said costs were alleged to have been assessed against Galbraith, as defendant therein. Respondent’s name appeared on said plaintiff’s petition as its attorney, but the recovery therein sought was never obtained.

In the fall of 1955, the Veterans’ Administration rated Galbraith as 100% disabled and incompetent, and awarded him disability compensation in the amount of $181 per month, retroactive to May 23rd of that year. During respondent’s predecessor’s tenure as county judge, petitioner was appointed guardian of Galbraith’s estate and began receiving the aforementioned disability compensation benefits.

After respondent took office as County Judge in January, 1957, petitioner requested, by petitioner filed in the Galbraith guardianship proceeding, and therein obtained, by respondent’s order, authority to pay certain debts that had been incurred by, or on behalf of, his ward, including certain sums Galbraith’s mother had advanced for his use and benefit. When, more than a month later, the Court Clerk presented to petitioner, as Galbraith’s guardian, a claim for the aforementioned $2,092.94 in court costs, petitioner refused to pay it on the ground that his ward’s funds were restricted by law against use for that purpose. In March, 1957, said court clerk filed a formal application in the Galbraith guardianship proceedings, praying the court to compel the guardian to pay said claim. At the hearing thereon, petitioner appeared with his attorney and, besides denying the merits of said application, requested respondent to disqualify as judge in the matter. Respondent refused to disqualify, and ordered plaintiff to pay said claim out of his ward’s [459]*459funds. Thereafter, petitioner lodged an appeal from said order to the district court. On May 28, 1957, the district court, after trial de novo, reversed or vacated respondent’s aforesaid order directing petitioner to pay the court clerk’s claim.

On May 29, 1957, a document was filed in the guardianship proceeding, hearing respondent’s signature and the County Court’s seal, and entitled: “Order For Hearing.” Said order was directed at petitioner, charging him, among other things, with failure to file an inventory of his Ward’s estate and with partiality and showing favoritism to “claims of creditors in the payment of certain debts, while at the same time ignoring the claims of other debtors and refusing to pay such claims * * * The order related the above-mentioned filing of the guardian’s petition for payments to his Ward’s mother and others, and charged him with totally ignoring the court clerk’s aforementioned claim for court costs and with refusing to either pay, or reject, said claim. The order directed notice to issue to petitioner to appear before respondent at 9 o’clock A.M., June 1, 1957, to show why he should not be removed as guardian of Galbraith’s estate, and further stated that, if he did not so appear, his letters of guardianship would be vacated and another person appointed as Galbraith’s guardian.

Two days later, or on May 31st, petitioner filed in said guardianship proceeding a pleading entitled “Application For Disqualification” in which he related some of the hereinbefore mentioned facts, and others concerning respondent’s previous connection with Galbraith’s prosecution and the the efforts to force payment out of Galbraith’s funds (in violation of the legal restrictions against their use for that purpose) of the court costs incurred in petitioner’s said Ward’s prosecution, and charged that, by reason thereof, respondent had become disqualified in the matter of petitioner’s removal as guardian, and should certify said disqualification so that the matter could be heard by a free and impartial special judge.

At the hearing on the disqualification application on June 1st, the matter was either continued for further hearing, or the respondent judge took his decision under advisement, until the afternoon of June 3rd. Shortly before noon on the latter date, petitioner’s attorney went to the respondent judge’s office and inquired whether or not he had “prepared” his “ruling” on the disqualification application. Respondent told him he had not, but that his “ruling would be that” he “would refuse to certify” his disqualification.

Later the same day, petitioner commenced the present district court action, seeking a writ of mandamus from said court to compel the respondent to certify his disqualification to preside, or act as a judge, in the matter of petitioner’s removal as Galbraith’s guardian. Petitioner’s attorney immediately went to the district court room, where he called the District Judge’s attention to the Application for the Writ, and, after the respondent had stepped into said court room, served formal written notice upon him that petitioner would apply for the writ that day; and obtained from said District Judge an order entitled “Alternative Writ of Mandamus.” A pertinent part of said Order, or Writ, “commanded” the respondent “that immediately after receipt of” the Writ, he disqualify as “presiding County Judge” in hearing the removal of petitioner as Galbraith’s guardian, or appear before the District Court on June 8, 1957, to show cause for his refusal.

The sheriff’s service of said Writ on respondent did not occur until 3:10 o’clock on the same afternoon of June 3rd.

Before the hearing scheduled for June 8th in the Mandamus action, respondent filed two pleadings, the first of which was denominated “Motion to Quash Alternative Writ of Mandamus”, and the second was entitled “Return of Alternative Writ Supplementing Motion To Quash.” In both of said pleadings, respondent sought to make it appear that petitioner had already been removed as Galbraith’s guardian when the “Alternative Writ” was served upon [460]*460him, by alleging that he issued the order removing petitioner at 2:15 P.M., on June 3rd, before being served with the writ at 3:10 P.M., the same day. In his said Return to the Writ, respondent further alleged :

“2. That the alternative writ was improperly issued for the reason that the petition or motion is not made upon an affidavit by plaintiff or his attorney and the issuance of the alternative writ is void.
“3. The alternative writ does not concisely show the obligation of this defendant to disqualify and it does not show his omission to perform same.
“4. The alternative writ should not have been issued because there is a plain adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law available to the plaintiff.
“5. The petition fails to show any facts substantiating the conclusion that this defendant is prejudiced.
“6. That this defendant is not prejudiced against James M. May, Guardian of the estate of Ben T. Galbraith, incompetent.”

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1954 OK 273 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1954)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1959 OK 98, 340 P.2d 457, 1959 Okla. LEXIS 293, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/layden-v-may-okla-1959.