Valentine v. County of Contra Costa

188 Cal. App. 2d 515, 10 Cal. Rptr. 500, 1961 Cal. App. LEXIS 2453
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 26, 1961
DocketCiv. No. 19262
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 188 Cal. App. 2d 515 (Valentine v. County of Contra Costa) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Valentine v. County of Contra Costa, 188 Cal. App. 2d 515, 10 Cal. Rptr. 500, 1961 Cal. App. LEXIS 2453 (Cal. Ct. App. 1961).

Opinion

TOBRINER, J.

Appellant seeks a declaration that his status as deputy constable of a justice court at the time it was superseded by a municipal court entitles him to the position of deputy marshal in the superseding court. We believe that appellant’s claim is sustained by the California Constitution and the provisions of the Government Code which blanket into such municipal court the personnel of the superseded court.

In April 1955, the constable of the San Pablo Judicial District’s Justice Court employed appellant to serve jury summonses and civil processes. Monies collected from such service were credited to the constable’s trustee account. Prom this account the constable paid appellant; appellant’s compensation was computed from the identical schedule for service of process and mileage fees which the constable used to compute the amounts he was entitled to deposit in his account. On April 2, 1956, the constable appointed appellant a deputy constable and, the next day, filed the written certificate signifying this appointment with the county clerk. Appellant continued working under the same arrangement as before that date, including the method by which he was compensated.

On September 13, 1957, the Superior Court of Contra Costa County found that the population of the San Pablo Judicial District exceeded 40,000 and thereupon decreed a municipal court established in that district. On October 1, 1957, the justice court of this district commenced to function as the municipal court. On the same day Marshal Wright, formerly the constable, appointed appellant a provisional deputy marshal; likewise, on the same day P. E. Emery, in his capacity as the director of personnel and executive secretary of the Contra Costa Civil Service Commission, approved this appointment. Appellant worked as deputy marshal from the time of his appointment until the commencement of the trial below.

[518]*518At the first extra session in 1958 the Legislature provided for the statutory organization of the San Pablo Municipal Court. (Stats. 1959, ch. 57, pp. 261-264.) These provisions became effective on July 23, 1958. (Stats. 1959, ch. 57, p. 261). Pursuant to this statutory organizational scheme the marshal received the authority to hire two deputies if he thought the proper administration of justice so warranted. In December 1958, the county civil service commission held an examination for the position of deputy marshal. Appellant refused to take this examination. Consequently the commission omitted his name from the list of eligible applicants which it certified to the marshal on January 15, 1959. Two weeks later appellant commenced this action for declaratory relief upon the premise that he had been blanketed into the deputy marshal’s position by virtue of Government Code sections 71085 and 71086.

The trial court found, among other things, that appellant’s appointment as deputy constable in April 1956 was filed in the county clerk’s office and that he had " occasionally assisted the Constable in some of his duties” thereafter, but that appellant “did not receive any salary from the County of Contra Costa for these services.” The court then found “That on September 13, 1957, plaintiff was not a Deputy Constable of the San Pablo Judicial District within the meaning of Section 71085 of the Government Code of California.” The court concluded that the temporary appointment of appellant as deputy marshal in October 1957 terminated 30 days after January 15, 1959, (Gov. Code, § 71183) and that, therefore, appellant “is not a Deputy Marshal of the San Pablo Judicial District” and “is not eligible to be certified by the Civil Service Commission ... as a Deputy Marshal. ...”

Our initial inquiry must be devoted to the trial court’s conclusion that appellant was not a deputy constable within the meaning of section 71085. This conclusion is apparently based upon the findings that appellant “occasionally” assisted the constable, and that he was not compensated for these services by Contra Costa County. Our second question involves whether or not the deputy constable succeeded to the position of deputy marshal of the municipal court by virtue of that section.

Turning to the first query, we note that at the time here involved section 71085 provided, in part, that “The clerk, or chief clerical officer by whatever name known, the marshal or constable, or similar official, their deputies and [519]*519attaches, and all other officers or employees of each court wholly or partly superseded by a municipal or justice court shall become the clerk, the marshal, or constable, their deputies and attaches, and officers or employees of such municipal or justice court upon its organization, so far as such positions are provided by law.” The purpose of this provision is to enable those who performed the work in the superseded court to continue in the administration of justice. The Legislature even codified this purpose in Government Code section 71092 : “So far as practical, upon the organization of the court, the clerks, deputies, and attaches or employees of the superseded court shall be assigned to positions in the municipal or justice court similar in duties and compensation to the positions held in the superseded court.”

The constable not only appointed appellant deputy constable on April 2, 1956, but, in addition, appellant performed the duties of that office, including those of bailiff during emergencies and the constable’s vacation. (Gov. Code, §§71265, 26611.) Upon the basis of the evidence1 the trial court’s finding that appellant “occasionally” assisted the constable can only be construed to mean “part time” each day. The inference of the trial court that appellant did not work full time does not necessarily denote that appellant did not perform as the deputy constable; indeed, the constable testified that appellant after leaving the office each day remained in constant contact with him so that he could furnish any desired relief. The necessity of appellant’s continued assistance was further indicated by the civil service commission’s certification of his appointment to the provisional deputy marshal’s position immediately upon the emergence of the municipal court. Appellant’s deputy status, coupled with the performance of such duties on a substantial, though part-time basis, suffices to bring him within the meaning of section 71085.

We cannot agree with the trial court’s conclusion that appellant was not a deputy within section 71085 because of his mode of compensation. As we read section 71092 its purpose in setting out the right of a person in a superseding court to assignment to positions “similar in duties and compensation” (emphasis added) was to prevent existing personnel from suffering loss of wages or positions as a result of a [520]*520court’s supersedure. It did not intend to proscribe one who had enjoyed the status and performed the specified duties from assuming similar duties in the superseding court.

Since the constable’s arrangement with appellant, here, is analogous to that of United States Marshals to their deputies in the nineteenth century, we cite the decisions which hold that the deputy occupies the office of deputy marshal even though he receives private compensation from the marshal and no payments by the United States. Thus in Douglas v. Wallace (1895), 161 U.S. 346 [16 S.Ct. 485, 40 L.Ed.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Gobel v. County of San Luis Obispo
74 Cal. App. 2d 94 (California Court of Appeal, 1977)
Martin v. County of Contra Costa
8 Cal. App. 3d 856 (California Court of Appeal, 1970)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
188 Cal. App. 2d 515, 10 Cal. Rptr. 500, 1961 Cal. App. LEXIS 2453, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/valentine-v-county-of-contra-costa-calctapp-1961.