State ex rel. Board of Trustees v. Vogel

169 Ohio St. (N.S.) 243
CourtOhio Supreme Court
DecidedMay 27, 1959
DocketNo. 35863
StatusPublished

This text of 169 Ohio St. (N.S.) 243 (State ex rel. Board of Trustees v. Vogel) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State ex rel. Board of Trustees v. Vogel, 169 Ohio St. (N.S.) 243 (Ohio 1959).

Opinion

Matthias, J.

This is an action by the board of trustees of the law library association against the city finance director to compel him to distribute to it a portion of certain money received by him, pursuant to the provisions of Sections 4513.35 and 5503.04, Revised Code. The issue which is dispositive of the cause is whether Section 3375.53, Revised Code, provides a source of income to the law library association through such finance director, which is separate from and independent of other sources of income to such association, as set out in other sections of the Revised Code.

Sections 3375.50, 3375.52, 3375.53, 5503.04 and 4513.35, Revised Code, are pertinent to our inquiry.

Section 3375.50, so far as'it is pertinent, reads as follows:

“All moneys collected by a municipal corporation accruing from fines * * * [etc.] for offenses and misdemeanors brought for prosecution in the name of a municipal corporation under a penal ordinance thereof, where there is in force a state statute under which the offense might be prosecuted * * * [except for that part of such money needed to pay certain specified salaries] shall be retained by the clerk of such municipal, police, or mayor’s court, and be paid by him forthwith, each month, to the board of trustees of the law library association in the county in which such municipal corporation is located.”

The statute then provides, inter alia, that “the total amount paid under this section in any one calendar year by the clerks of all municipal, police, and mayor’s courts in any one county to the board of trustees of such law library association shall in no event exceed seventy-five hundred dollars and the maximum amount paid by any one of such courts shall in no event exceed three thousand dollars in any one calendar year”; that “the maximum amount to be paid by each such clerk shall be determined by the county auditor in December of each year for the next succeeding calendar year”; and that, “when such amount, so determined by the auditor, has been paid to the board of trustees of such law library association, then no further payments shall be required thereunder in that calendar year from the clerk of such court.”

Section 3375.52, so far as it is pertinent, reads:

[245]*245'■‘In each county of the state, all moneys arising from fines ® * * [etc.] taken by the Court of Common Pleas and the Probate Court of such county * * * on account of offenses and misdemeanors brought for prosecution in such courts in the name of the state, shall be retained and paid monthly by the clerk of such courts to the board of trustees of the law library association. The total sums so paid therefrom shall not exceed twelve hundred fifty dollars per annum, and when that amount has been paid to such board, in accordance with this section, then no further payments shall be required thereunder in that calendar year from the clerks of such respective courts. ’ ’

Section 3375.53, so far as it is pertinent, reads:

“In each county, 50 per cent of all moneys arising from fines * * * [etc.] on account of offenses brought for prosecution in any court in such county under Chapters 4301 and 4303 of the Revised Code [chapters entitled “Liquor Control Law” and “Liquor Permits”] and the state traffic latos shall be paid monthly by the treasurer of the county or municipal corporation to the board of trustees of the law library association in such county, but the sum so paid to such board by each treasurer shall not exceed twelve hundred dollars per annum under Chapters 4301 and 4303 of the Revised. Code, and when that amount has been so paid to such board in accordance with this section, then no further payments shall be required thereunder in that calendar year from such treasurers.” (Emphasis added.)

To recapitulate at this point, it is seen that the statutes quoted contemplate seven separate and distinct sources from which a county law library association is to receive portions of money resulting from various types of prosecutions. They are, clerks of municipal, police and mayor's courts (Section 3375.50), clerks of Common Pleas and Probate Courts (Section 3375.52), treasurers of counties and treasurers of municipal corporations (Section 3375.53). It must be emphasized that this action concerns only the latter source — treasurers of municipal corporations — and, therefore, only those parts of the statutes which relate thereto.

Section 3375.53 is the statute which relator says imposes a [246]*246clear legal duty on respondent, and that statute must be read in pari materia with Sections 4301.57, 4513.35 and 5503.04, Revised Code, in order to be fitted into its proper place in the legislative scheme of providing financial support for county law library associations.

Section 4301.57 states that “money from fines and forfeited bonds collected under any of the penal laws of this state relating to the manufacture, importation, transportation, distribution or sale of beer or intoxicating liquor shall be paid as follows: one half to the credit of the general revenue fund and one half to the treasury of the county where the prosecution is held.”

That is, of course, a special statute which controls, and it is seen that since none of the money derived from fines for violations of liquor laws is designated for distribution to treasurers of municipalities, none can be said to be designated for distribution by them to law library associations, pursuant to the provisions of Section 3375.53. We again call attention to the fact that we are not herein concerned with the distribution duties imposed by Section 3375.53 ’upon county treasurers, but only with the distribution dutieá; imposed by that statute upon the treasurers of municipal corporations. Stated simply, municipal treasurers never see any of the money collected from fines for violations of the liquor laws and, therefore, cannot disburse to law library associations that, which they do not have.

The situation is different, however, with respect to money arising from prosecutions under state traffic laws.

Section 4513.35, Revised Code, is another special statute which controls general statutes on the same subject. It reads:

“All fines collected under Sections 4511.01 to 4511.78, inclusive, 4511.99 [comprising the chapter entitled “Traffic Laws —Operation of Motor Vehicles”] and 4513.01 to 4513.37, inclusive, of the Revised Code [encompassing most of the sections in the chapter entitled “Traffic Laws— Equipment; Loads”] shall be paid into the county treasury * * * provided that all fines collected from, or moneys arising from bonds forfeited by, persons apprehended or arrested by state highway patrolmen [247]*247shall he distributed as provided in Section 5503.04 of the Revised Coded’ '(Emphasis added.)

Thus, money received from prosecutions for violations of state traffic laws goes exclusively to counties unless municipalities are included as beneficiaries under the noted exception of money derived from apprehensions and arrests by state highway patrolmen. Such money is specifically excepted from distribution under Section 4513.35, and distribution of such money is specifically ordered to be in accordance with Section 5503.04, Revised Code.

Section 5503.04, so far as it is pertinent, reads as follows:

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Bluebook (online)
169 Ohio St. (N.S.) 243, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-board-of-trustees-v-vogel-ohio-1959.