Overall v. County of Tulare

34 P. 519, 100 Cal. 61, 1893 Cal. LEXIS 747
CourtCalifornia Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 13, 1893
DocketNo. 18116
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 34 P. 519 (Overall v. County of Tulare) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Overall v. County of Tulare, 34 P. 519, 100 Cal. 61, 1893 Cal. LEXIS 747 (Cal. 1893).

Opinion

The Court

The plaintiff was sheriff of Tulare county from January 7, 1889, until January 5, 18.91. During that time no salary was attached to his office, [62]*62but he was entitled to charge and receive for official services such fees as were allowed by law. On November 29, 1890, he presented to the board of supervisors for allowance a claim against the county for $770.40. Of this claim $284.70 was for “ miles traveled hunting for” one McFarlane, and $485.30 for miles traveled in hunting for” one McKinney, both of whom had been charged with the commission of crime. On January 12, 1891, the hoard allowed and ordered paid $201 on this claim.

On January 30, 1891, plaintiff presented to the board of supervisors for allowance another claim against the county for $690.50. This claim was for services in traveling to places away from the county-seat and arresting and bringing before justices of the peace a large number of alleged criminal offenders. On March 5, 1891, the board allowed and ordered paid $461.50 on this claim.

Plaintiff was not, satisfied with the amounts so allowed and refused to accept the same, and thereupon he commenced this action to recover the full amount of his two claims, setting out a separate cause of action upon each claim. Attached to the complaint are copies of the claims presented to the board, duly itemized and marked respectively “ Exhibit A” and “ Exhibit B.”

The gist of the first cause of action is stated in the complaint as follows:

“ That between the twenty-sixth day of November, 1889, and the first day of February, 1890, the plaintiff as such sheriff necessarily traveled 2,568 miles within said state in executing warrants in criminal cases. And that thereby said defendant became and still is justly indebted to plaintiff in the sum of $770.40, no part of which has been paid.”

And the gist of the second cause of action is thus stated:

That between the tenth day of November, 1890, and the fifth day of January, 1,891, defendant became and still is justly indebted to plaintiff for services performed [63]*63as such sheriff, for mileage necessarily traveled and for serving subpoenas and warrants in criminal cases to the amount of $689.50, no part of which has been paid.” The answer denied all the material averments of the complaint, and upon the issues thus raised the case was tried by.the court without a jury. The court found that the plaintiff was entitled to recover the full amount claimed, less the sum of $27.60, which had been twice charged in “Exhibit B.” Judgment was accordingly entered in favor of the plaintiff for the sum of $1,432.30 and costs of suit.

From this judgment and an order denying its motion for a new trial the defendant appeals.

The law fixing the traveling fees of the sheriff of Tulare county, during the time plaintiff held that office, is found in section 9 of the Act of March 5, 1870, Stats, of 1869-70, p. 159, and see Stats, of 1877-78, p. 559. The provision is as follows:

For every mile necessarily traveled in going only, in executing any warrant of arrest, subpoena, or venire, bringing up a prisoner on habeas corpus, taking prisoners before a magistrate or to prison, or for mileage in any criminal case or proceeding; provided, that in serving a subpoena or venire, when two or more jurors or witnesses live in the same direction, but one mileage shall be charged, thirty cents.”

And the County Government Act provides:

The salaries and fees provided in this act shall be in full compensation for all services of every kind and description rendered by the officers therein named. . . . . provided further, that the board of supervisors shall allow to the sheriff his necessary expenses for pursuing criminals or transacting any criminal business without the boundaries of his county.” (Stats. 1887, p. 207, sec. 211.)

In support of the first cause of action it was shown that McFarlane and McKinney were in the county jail, and escaped therefrom during the night of November 25 or 26, 1889. On the morning of the 27th plaintiff [64]*64started out hunting for them, having warrants for their arrest, and continued such hunting until December 14th. While so engaged he traveled 940 miles, most of which traveling was outside of his county. After December 14th, plaintiff discontinued his hunting until January 9, 1890, when he started out again in quest of McKinney, and arrested him in Rawlins, Wyoming Territory. Jn going and returning on this last trip he traveled 670 miles within this state. Subsequently, in December, 1890, plaintiff started out again after McFarlane, and found and arrested him in the town of San Marcial, in New Mexico. For this last service he after-wards presented another claim against the county, and it was allowed and paid in full.

The 940 miles and 670 miles traveled as before stated, the first number, however, being duplicated, because the hunting was for two alleged criminals at the same time, constitute the plaintiff’s claim as set forth in his “ Exhibit A”; and the only question is, was he entitled to a larger allowance on it than was made by the board of Supervisors?

Plaintiff testified: “During the time I did this traveling, hunting for McKinney, from and including November 27, 1889, to December 14, 1889, I did not arrest McKinney, or have him in my custody. These places where I traveled in hunting were several hundred miles from where I finally arrested McKinney. Between the fourteenth day of December, 1889, and January 9, 1890, I did not do any traveling in hunting for McKinney. It was nearly a month after I did this traveling in hunting for McKinney before I arrested him, nearly a month before I started out again to hunt him.....

“ I arrested McFarlane some time in December, 1890. I arrested him several hundred miles from the place where I did the hunting for him as set forth in my complaint in ‘Exhibit A.’ ....
“I arrested both McFarlane and McKinney in opposite directions from the places where I traveled in hunting [65]*65for them as set forth in my claim marked Exhibit A’; not exactly opposite, but in a different direction. The arrest of McFarlane by me was made nearly a year after the time I traveled hunting for him, as set out in my claim marked ‘ Exhibit A.’ ”

It will be observed that the plaintiff was allowed by the supervisors all that he was entitled to claim under the statute for the 670 miles traveled in making the arrest of McKinney, and also all that he claimed for making the arrest of McFarlane, and that only his claim for the miles traveled which did not result in any arrest was disallowed.

In Broughton v. Santa Barbara Co., 65 Cal. 257, the sheriff of that county sought to recover, under section 9 of the Statute of 1869-70, above quoted, a certain sum of money as “mileage” for traveling to serve a warrant of arrest on one charged with felony; and it was held that the statute did not allow mileage for traveling in different directions in looking for one charged with a crime who is not arrested.

That case we consider directly in point and decisive of the first cause of action in this. It is true/that Mc-Farlane and McKinney were subsequently found and arrested, but that fact, under the circumstances shown, does not materially distinguish this case from that.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
34 P. 519, 100 Cal. 61, 1893 Cal. LEXIS 747, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/overall-v-county-of-tulare-cal-1893.