State Ex Rel. Carroll v. Simmons

377 P.2d 421, 61 Wash. 2d 146, 1962 Wash. LEXIS 263
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 27, 1962
Docket36474
StatusPublished
Cited by38 cases

This text of 377 P.2d 421 (State Ex Rel. Carroll v. Simmons) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Washington 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. Carroll v. Simmons, 377 P.2d 421, 61 Wash. 2d 146, 1962 Wash. LEXIS 263 (Wash. 1962).

Opinion

Hunter, J.

The respondent William H. Simmons, Judge of the Municipal Court of the City of Seattle, was convicted of the crime of assault in the second degree by jury trial on December 7, 1960. Judgment and sentence was entered on February 21, 1961. A 20 days’ notice and summons and an information in quo warranto were served upon the respondent and were filed on March 7, 1961.

On the same day, an ex parte application by the relator State of Washington for an order to restrain the respondent temporarily from acting as municipal court judge was made to the Superior Court for King County. It was supported by an affidavit stating that the respondent had been convicted of the crime of second-degree assault and that he had forfeited his office under RCW 9.92.120 by reason of the conviction. An order was issued and served upon the respondent directing him to show cause on the following day why he should not be restrained from performing the *148 duties of his office pending the final determination of the issues in the quo warranto proceeding.

On March 8, 1961, the respondent appeared personally and moved to quash the order to show cause for the reason that the court had no jurisdiction to issue the order. The motion was orally denied. Pursuant to a hearing upon the show cause order a temporary injunction was entered on March 9, 1961, restraining the respondent from the performance of the duties of his office.

Or, March 27, 1961, the respondent served and filed certain motions challenging the sufficiency of the information and sought to have certain portions of the information stricken and to require the relator to make an election as to whether the quo warranto proceeding was brought to determine the authority of respondent to hold his office, to oust the respondent from his office, or because the respondent had failed to vacate his office. Respondent further moved that the quo warranto proceeding be dismissed for failure to join an indispensable party.

On March 28,1961, the relator filed a motion for summary judgment, as a matter of law upon the pleadings, supported by affidavit stating there was no issue of fact present in the cause.

On April 3, 1961, the respondent’s motions were brought on for hearing. The ruling on the motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction over the respondent was reserved until 9 a. m. on April 7, 1961. The remainder of the motions were denied except the motion to strike certain paragraphs from the quo warranto information which was granted, but which is not raised as an issue on this appeal.

On April 7,1961, the motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction over the respondent was denied.

On April 11, 1961, the respondent filed the following objections to the summary judgment proceedings:

“1. The Court has no jurisdiction of the subject matter of the cause.

“2. The Relator’s motion is not timely in that Respondent’s motions heretofore filed and served remain undisposed of.

*149 “3. The affidavit in support of Relator’s motion for summary judgment does not establish a basis for entry of summary judgment.”

On April 14, 1961, relator served and filed notice of presentation of order granting summary judgment, findings of fact and judgment of ouster to be heard on April 20, 1961. On April 20, without taking testimony, the relator’s motion for summary judgment was granted and the court entered findings of fact, conclusions of law and judgment forfeiting the respondent’s office and ousting him thereof. The respondent appeals.

The appellant (respondent below) contends the trial court failed to follow the statutory procedure when it issued the order to show cause and entered the order granting a temporary injunction.

This was an appealable order. Rule on Appeal 14(3), RCW Vol. O. No appeal was timely taken and, therefore, we have no jurisdiction to review the order. Lewis Pac. Dairymen’s Ass’n v. Turner, 50 Wn. (2d) 762, 314 P. (2d) 625 (1957). The temporary injunction was also merged in the final judgment and any question as to the propriety of the entry of such an order is now moot. Valentine v. Valentine, 31 Wn. (2d) 650, 198 P. (2d) 494 (1948).

The appellant contends the trial court erred in entering findings of fact and conclusions of law in conjunction with the summary judgment. We agree that findings of fact and conclusions of law were unnecessary; however, they were merely superfluous and of no prejudice to the appellant.

The appellant contends he was denied due process under Art. 1, § 3, of the state constitution and under the fourteenth amendment to the United States Constitution in that he was denied 10 additional days in which to answer after the court’s disposition of his motions, as provided in Rule of Pleading, Practice and Procedure 12(a), RCW Vol. O.

This rule is not applicable to a summary judgment proceeding. Under Rule of Pleading, Practice and Procedure 56 (a), RCW Vol. 0, a motion for summary judgment may be made at any time after the expiration of the period *150 within which the defendant is required to appear. See 3 Barron & Holtzoff, Federal Practice and Procedure § 1233. The motion for summary judgment was made subsequent to this period, and the order, therefore, is valid since its validity is determined by the period in which the defendant must appear and not by the period in which he must answer.

The appellant contends the following statute, relied upon' by the trial court in entering the judgment removing appellant from office, is unconstitutional in that it denies the appellant the right to appeal, as guaranteed by Art. 1, § 22, of our state constitution. RCW 9.92.120 provides:

“The conviction of a public officer of any felony or malfeasance in office shall entail, in addition to such other penalty as may be imposed, the forfeiture of his office, and shall disqualify him from ever afterward holding any public office in this state.”

This same question was squarely passed upon by this court, in a divided opinion, in State ex rel. Zempel v. Twitchell, 59 Wn. (2d) 419, 367 P. (2d) 985 (1962). The rule in that case is the law of this state and is controlling here since the majority of the court adhere to the views therein expressed. In the majority opinion, we held that the guarantee to right of appeal in Art. 1, § 22, of the state constitution is limited to criminal cases; that a quo warranto proceeding is not a criminal case; that the statute is based on sound public policy; and that one of the qualifications for holding an office of public trust is that one may not be convicted “of any offense involving a violation of his official oath.” RCW 42.12.010. The qualification is more specifically spelled out in RCW 9.92.120, supra.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
377 P.2d 421, 61 Wash. 2d 146, 1962 Wash. LEXIS 263, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-carroll-v-simmons-wash-1962.