State ex rel. Patterson v. Lentz

146 P. 932, 50 Mont. 322, 1915 Mont. LEXIS 22
CourtMontana Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 24, 1915
DocketNo. 3,611
StatusPublished
Cited by26 cases

This text of 146 P. 932 (State ex rel. Patterson v. Lentz) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Montana 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. Patterson v. Lentz, 146 P. 932, 50 Mont. 322, 1915 Mont. LEXIS 22 (Mo. 1915).

Opinion

MR. CHIEF JUSTICE BRANTLT

delivered the opinion of the court.

This is an original proceeding, in the nature of quo warranto to determine the title of respondent to the office of judge of the fourth judicial district. After the issues had been made up, the parties entered into a stipulation as to the facts, and settled them in a formal written statement. The controversy was submitted on this statement, which discloses the following: By an Act approved February 11, 1913 (Laws 1913, Chap. 14, p. 14), a third judgeship was created in the fourth judicial district. Section 2 of the Act provides: “The governor shall appoint some fit and qualified person as additional judge of the said fourth judicial [333]*333district to bold his office until the first" Monday of January, 1917, or until his successor is duly elected and qualified.” On February 21, in pursuance of the Act, the governor appointed the relator to the office, the commission issued to him stating that he was to hold the same until the first Monday in January, 1917. "The relator qualified at once and entered upon and continued in the discharge of the duties appertaining to the office, until this controversy arose. Prior to the general election held on November 3, 1914, no party nominations were made for the election of a successor to the relator; but more than thirty days prior to the election the relator, the respondent, and Welling Nap ton, Esq., all possessing the necessary qualifications for the office, circulated petitions and secured the number of signatures required to nominate themselves as independent candidates. In due time these petitions were filed with the secretary of state, and thereafter the names of all the nominees were by him duly certified to the clerks of the counties composing the district, viz., Missoula, Ravalli, Sanders and Mineral, to be printed upon the official ballots in the appropriate column with other independent candidates. Theretofore, and on August 6, the governor had issued his proclamation calling for the general election for November 3. The proclamation enumerated all the officers to be elected throughout the state, including state, district and county officers, but contained no reference to the office of district judge, other than the following: “Also a district judge in any judicial district where a vacancy may exist.” Within the time required by law, the proclamation was published, and notice of the election was posted in the voting precincts in the several counties, by authority of their respective boards of commissioners. In Ravalli and Mineral counties the notices informed the electors that one judge was to be elected in the district. This information was omitted from those published and posted in Sanders’ and Missoula counties. In all the counties the official ballots had printed upon them a separate column headed “Independent,” except that in Mineral county the heading was “Independent Party.” The names of the candidates appeared [334]*334therein under the designation, “For Judge of the Fourth Judicial District.” During the thirty days preceding the election, the several candidates were active in bringing their respective claims to the attention of the electors throughout the district, by advertisements and notices published at the various county seats and at other towns in the district. These publications were made at the instance of the candidates themselves or of friendly advocates of their respective claims. The statement published at the instance of the relator called the attention of the electors to the fact (which it was suggested many of them did not know) that the office of district judge then held by him was put in issue at that time. It also stated, in substance, that while the relator was of the opinion that his tenure under his appointment would not expire until the first Monday in January, 1917, since a question had arisen on the subject too late to permit him to present himself for nomination on the Democratic ticket, in order to avoid all future question as to his right he was seeking an election on the Independent ticket to succeed himself. The relaior also caused to be distributed among the electors 7,500 cards, announcing his candidacy. These cards had printed upon them the substance of the statement referred to above. The respondent had distributed in the same way 8,000 cards, announcing his candidacy, and he also caused to be posted, in prominent places in every precinct in the district, placards upon which were printed his portrait and the announcement of his candidacy. Napton caused to be distributed 6,000 candidate’s cards. The relator and the respondent each wrote and mailed to individual electors in the district many hundreds of personal letters, announcing their respective candidacies and urging their claims, In addition to these means of publicity, the several candidates visited a great number of the precincts in the district; the respondent visiting all, except five small ones in remote localities. Candidates for other offices, as well as party speakers, who participated in the campaign for state and local offices, on many occasions • and in different places called the attention of the electors to the necessity of voting for some one of the candidates [335]*335for tbe office of district judge. The numbers of registered voters in the counties were: In Missoula county, 4,198; Ravalli county, 2,344; Sanders county, 1,353; Mineral county, 720 — a total of 8,615. The votes cast for the office of district judge were: In Missoula county, 1,749; Ravalli county, 582; Sanders county, 221; Mineral county, 537 — a total of 2,889, or an average of 33% per cent of the whole number of registered votes. The votes cast for the candidates in each county were:

For the office of associate justice of the supreme court, three candidates, whose names appeared on the party tickets, received, in Missoula county, 3,698; Ravalli county, 1,735; Sanders county, 1,135; Mineral county, 487 — a total of 7,055, or an average of about 82 per cent of the whole number of registered votes. Upon the ascertainment by the state board of canvassers of the result, the governor issued a certificate of election to the respondent. He thereafter took the oath of office, and on January 4 of this year assumed possession of and began to discharge the duties appertaining to it.

The claim is made that by his appointment by the governor under authority of the statute, supra, the relator became entitled to hold until the first Monday in January, 1917, and that the respondent has unlawfully intruded himself into and usurped the office. The claim is also made that the admitted facts disclose that, in so far as the election included candidates for the office of district "judge, it was invalid, in that it had not been proclaimed by the governor, and hence that the right of the relator to retain the office under his appointment was not affected by it.

As we understand counsel for the relator, they concede, at least do not controvert, the proposition that, upon the approval [1] of the Act creating the additional judgeship, there was ipso facto a vacancy in the office until it was filled by the gov-[336]*336emor by appointment. We shall not stop to consider again the question whether this is so. Whatever may be the rule in other jurisdictions, we deem it settled in this state by the decision in State ex rel. Buckner v. City of Butte, 41 Mont. 377, 109 Pac. 710.

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Bluebook (online)
146 P. 932, 50 Mont. 322, 1915 Mont. LEXIS 22, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-patterson-v-lentz-mont-1915.