State ex rel. Griffith v. Vineyard

72 P. 824, 9 Idaho 134, 1903 Ida. LEXIS 14
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedJune 1, 1903
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 72 P. 824 (State ex rel. Griffith v. Vineyard) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho 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. Griffith v. Vineyard, 72 P. 824, 9 Idaho 134, 1903 Ida. LEXIS 14 (Idaho 1903).

Opinion

SULLIVAN, C. J.

This is an appeal from a judgment adjudging that the respondent lawfully holds, and is entitled to hold, the office of justice of the peace of North Grangeville precinct, Idaho county.

The pleadings put in issue the right of respondent to hold said office. The case was tried on stipulated facts and judgment entered in favor of the respondent, from which judgment this appeal is taken.

It is contended by counsel for appellant that the board of county commissioners never have created or established a justice’s precinct in Idaho county; that the only precincts established by said board in said county have been election precincts, and that an election precinct is not the kind of precinct in which the law provides that there shall be elected two justices and one constable.

The stipulation of facts shows, among other facts, the following: That no precinct designated in terms as a justice or constable precinct, or otherwise than by the general term “election precinct,” has ever been established or created in said county of Idaho. That the said county has, by the order of the board of county commissioners thereof prior to every general election that has been holden therein since the adoption of the state constitution, been divided into election precincts, and that the boundaries of said precincts have been duly defined, but that none of said precincts have ever in terms been designated as justice’s precincts in said order. That prior to the said several general elections, respectively, proclamations of election were duly made by the clerk of the board of county commissioners of said county, giving notice, among other things, of the election of two justices of the peace, and one constable in each and all of said precincts so created. That the said precincts, so created, have at all times been accepted and created by the county commissioners and by the officers of said county, by the electors and citizens thereof, and by the public generally as justice’s and constable’s precincts. That all justices and constables that [136]*136have held and performed the duties of such offices since the adoption of the state constitution have been elected and have qualified and acted in reference to the precincts so created and! not otherwise; and that from time to time during said period vacancies have been filled and appointments have been made to said offices of justice of the peace and constable with like reference to such precincts. That the board of county commissioners at the July term preceding the general election of 1902 duly divided said county into a number of election precincts, accurately defining the boundaries and the extent df each, and that among such precincts is the precinct designated as North Grangeville precinct. That said North Grangeville precinct was in all respects duly and legally established and created by the said board of county commissioners and ever since has existed as such. That said precinct is not within any incorporated city. That a registrar and election judges were duly appointed therefor. That a proclamation of election was thereafter and within the time required by law before said general election of 1902, duly made by the clerk of the said board of county commissioners, giving notice to the electors of said county, among other things, of an election of two justices of the peace and one constable of and for said North Grangeville precinct; that said proclamation was by said clerk duly delivered to said registrar of said North Grangeville precinct, and by her posted in-three public places within said precinct. That the said general election within said county was holden and said precinct officers voted upon, respectively, within'each of said precincts throughout said county, without any protest or objections as to the manner or the sufficiency of the creation of said precincts, or any of the said precincts, by any elector of the county; and that the electors and citizens of the county, and all its officers, understood said precincts to be and treated the same as though created, among other things, for the purpose of dividing the county into justice and constable precincts, and defining the territory in which said precinct officers should be elected, and that said elections throughout the entire county were so holden while said precincts were so accepted and treated by the said board of county commissioners, the election officers, [137]*137the electors, citizens and the public. That at the said general election so holden on the fourth day of November, 1902, an election for two justices of the peace and a constable was duly holden at and within the said North Grangeville precinct, as created and defined by said board of county commissioners, and in pursuance to said election proclamation, and at said election the defendant was a candidate for said office of justice of the peace of the said North Grangeville precinct, and was duly elected by the electors within said precinct to the said office. That thereafter the judges of said election for said North Grangeville precinct duly certified the returns thereof to the said board of county commissioners acting as a board of canvassers, and that said board of canvassers thereafter canvassed said election returns, and, having found and determined that defendant had the highest number of votes cast at said election for said office, duly made and delivered to the said defendant a certificate of election to the said office of justice of the peace of said North Grangeville precinct.

It is thus shown that said North Grangeville precinct was established by the board and under its supervision justices of the peace were elected, qualified and acted as such, and it appears that no other precincts were created or established by said board in said county than those known and commonly called election precincts. It also appears that such election precincts were treated and considered as precincts in which justices of the peace should be and were elected.

Applying the law to those facts, was North Grangeville precinct entitled to two justices of the peace, or, in other words, a justice’s precinct? Section 1759, Eevised Statutes, specifies the jurisdiction and power of the board of county commissioners, and subdivisions 2 and 3 thereof are as follows: “2. To divide the counties into precincts, school, road and other districts required by law, change the same and create others, as convenience requires; 3. To establish, abolish and change election precincts, and to appoint judges of elections, canvass all election returns, declare the result, and issue certificates thereof.”

[138]*138■" Said second subdivision provides that the board shall divide its county into precincts,' etc., and may change the same and create others, as convenience requires. And subdivision 3 gives the board authority to establish, 'abolish and change election precincts, etc.

, Section 1813, Eevised Statutes, provides that the officers of precincts are two justices of the peace and one constable, and such other inferior and subordinate officers as are provided by law or by the board of county commissioners.

Section 466, Eevised Statutes, inter alia, that at each general election there shall be elected “two justices of the peace and one constable for each precinct of each county,” which provision was substantially re-enacted by the first state legislature in 1891. (See Sess. Laws 1891, p..60, see. 11.) It is there provided that “At the general election, A. D.

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Bluebook (online)
72 P. 824, 9 Idaho 134, 1903 Ida. LEXIS 14, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-griffith-v-vineyard-idaho-1903.