COM. Ex Rel. CARROLL v. TATECOM. Ex Rel. CARROLL v. TATE
- Reporters:
- , ,
- Before:
- Bell, Jones, Cohen, Eagen, O'Brien, Roberts, Pomeroy
On June 16, 1970, President Judge Vincent A. CARROLL, individually and on behalf of all of the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia, instituted this suit by a Complaint in Mandamus to compel the Mayor and City Council of Philadelphia to appropriate the additional funds requested by them for the important and necessary administration of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia for the fiscal year commencing July 1, 1970 and ending July 1, 1971.*
We shall hereinafter set forth the intricate facts involved in this suit, but, initially, we deem it important to focus on the fundamental questions involved: (1) whether the Judicial Branch of our Government has the inherent power to determine what funds are reasonably necessary for its efficient and effective operation; and (2) if the Judiciary has the power to determine what funds are reasonably necessary, does it then have the power to compel the Executive and Legislative Branches to provide such funds after the requested amount has been reduced in, or wholly or partially eliminated from, the budget proposed by the Executive Branch and approved by the Legislative Branch.
The Court of Common Pleas, pursuant to the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter of April 17, 1951, Section 8-103, on December 3, 1969, submitted to the City‘s Finance Director (on the necessary forms) its operating budget estimates of the financial needs of the Court of Common Pleas and the Municipal Court.** The total
Municipal Court Judicial Staff $ 451,532 Common Pleas Court Judicial Staff 2,126,839 Common Pleas Court Administration 13,909,892 ___________ Total $16,488,263
This present mandamus action was instituted on June 16, 1970 to compel the appropriation and payment of the Court‘s additional request of $5,230,817.
On June 23, 1970, Judge Harry M. MONTGOMERY, of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, was specially designated by this Court to hear and decide this case. Judge MONTGOMERY promptly held a pretrial conference, at which time the legal issues were delineated and an agreement was worked out by the parties that defendants would hold and keep available sufficient funds to pay any sums ultimately awarded to the Court. On July 27, 1970, Judge MONTGOMERY issued a Pretrial Order, ordering the parties to argue and brief certain issues and temporarily enjoining the defendants from enforcing a “job freeze” ordered by the Mayor against the Court, and also from reducing the Court‘s budget. Oral argument was held on August 4, 1970, and Judge MONTGOMERY filed a “Supplemental Pretrial Order” on August 12, 1970. In this Order, Judge MONTGOMERY ruled, inter alia: (1) the Court had the burden of proof to establish the reasonable necessity of its financial requests and none of the parties could take advantage of the usual presumption of reasonableness by virtue of their public office; (2) defendants, as a defense to plaintiff‘s demand for additional funds in this action of mandamus, could not “reopen” the earlier budget figures, which had been approved by the Mayor and for which appropriations had been made by the City Council, in order to prove that the present appropriation was being used inefficiently or that a more efficient use of present appropriations would cover some or all of the additional requested items; and (3) defendants had a right to a jury trial.* The record was closed on August 21, 1970, after extensive testimony had been taken and exhibits produced. At this time, the Court
On September 30, 1970, Judge MONTGOMERY issued a mandamus Order against defendants to appropriate and pay the amount of $2,458,000, and made final his injunctive Order of July 27, 1970. A complete tabulation of the original request in the complaint, the amended request, and the final award of September 30, 1970, is as follows:
Court Original Amended Order Request Request 9/30/70 Adult Probation $1,782,216 $1,071,937 $ 800,000 Juvenile Probation 539,922 345,032 250,000 Data Processing 453,934 434,175 250,000 Apprehension of Fugitives 335,910 284,322 285,000 Courtroom Personnel 224,452 152,420 100,000 Attorney Fees 300,000 300,000 300,000 Arbitration Fees 390,000 390,000 200,000 Writ Service 100,000 100,000 75,000 Gibson Building Personnel 227,036 113,518 Disallowed Probation Relocation 24,500 24,500 Disallowed Repairs — 1801 Vine Street 40,000 40,000 Disallowed Janitorial Staff 56,940 47,431 Disallowed Microfilm 96,822 88,335 Disallowed Bail Project 172,857 145,881 Disallowed Dental Equipment 10,413 10,413 Disallowed Domestic Relations 61,912 51,593 Disallowed Total Copy System 23,000 23,000 23,000 Building Services 145,377 129,449 Disallowed Law Clerks 133,206 133,206 100,000 Station Wagon 2,320 2,320 Disallowed Prothonotary Relocation 35,000 Withdrawn - Crime Commission Grant 75,000 75,000 75,000 __________ __________ __________ Totals $5,230,817 $3,962,532 $2,458,000
Both parties filed exceptions to the Order of September 30, 1970, and also to the Supplemental Pretrial
Court‘s Inherent Power
It is a basic precept of our Constitutional form of Republican Government that the Judiciary is an independent and co-equal Branch of Government, along with the Executive and Legislative Branches. Stander v. Kelley, 433 Pa. 406, 421-424, 250 A. 2d 474; Leahey v. Farrell, 362 Pa. 52, 66 A. 2d 577; Wilson v. Phila. Sch. Dist., 328 Pa. 225, 228, 195 Atl. 90; Commonwealth v. Mathues, 210 Pa. 372, 423-425, 59 Atl. 961; De Chastellux v. Fairchild, 15 Pa. 18, 20; Commonwealth v. Mann, 5 W. & S. 403, 406, 408, 410, 420-421; In re Surcharge of County Commissioners, 12 Pa. D. & C. 471. The line of separation or demarcation between the Executive, the Legislative and the Judicial, and their respective jurisdiction and powers, has never been definitely and specifically defined, and perhaps no clear line of distinction can ever be drawn. However, we must, of necessity, from time to time examine and define some of the respective powers within these undefined boundaries.
Expressed in other words, the Judiciary must possess the inherent power to determine and compel payment of those sums of money which are reasonable and necessary to carry out its mandated responsibilities, and its powers and duties to administer Justice, if it is to be in reality a co-equal, independent Branch of our Government. This principle has long been recognized, not only in this Commonwealth but also throughout our Nation. See, e.g., Leahey v. Farrell, 362 Pa., supra; Commonwealth v. Mann, 5 W. & S., supra; Commissioners v. Hall, 7 Watts 290; Commonwealth v. Brownmiller, 141 Pa. Superior Ct. 107, 112, 14 A.2d 907; In re Surcharge of County Commissioners, 12 Pa. D. & C., supra; Carlson v. State ex rel. Stodola, 247 Ind. 631, 220 N.E. 2d 532; Noble County Council v. State ex rel. Fifer, 234 Ind. 172, 125 N.E. 2d 709; Knox v. State, 217 Ind. 493, 29 N.E. 2d 405; Judges for Third Judicial Cir. v. County of Wayne, 383 Mich. 10, 172 N.W. 2d 436; Smith v. Miller, 153 Colo. 35, 384 P.2d 738; In re Appointment of Clerk of Court of Appeals, 297 S.W. 2d 764 (Ky.); State ex rel. Schneider v. Cunningham, 39 Mont. 165, 101 Pac. 962; State ex rel. Kitzmeyer v. Davis, 26 Nev. 373, 68 Pac. 689; 20 Am. Jur. 2d, Courts, §§ 78, 79; 21 C.J.S., Courts, § 14; Kaplan, There Must Be No Interference with the Courts, VI, Munic. Ct. Rev. 15.
The very genius of our tripartite Government is based upon the proper exercise of their respective powers together with harmonious cooperation between the three independent Branches. Leahey v. Farrell, 362 Pa., supra (page 57). However, if this cooperation breaks down, the Judiciary must exercise its inherent power to preserve the efficient and expeditious administration of Justice and protect it from being impaired or destroyed. Leahey v. Farrell, 362 Pa., supra (pages 57-58, 59-60); Commonwealth v. Brownmiller, 141 Pa. Superior Ct., supra; In re Surcharge of County Commissioners, 12 Pa. D. & C., supra (page 475).
Reasonable Necessity
In the leading case of Leahey v. Farrell,* 362 Pa., supra, the Court of Common Pleas of Cambria County entered a mandamus Order against the County Commissioners and County Controller to compel the payment of funds necessary for salary increases given to the Court stenographers. The Court of Common Pleas had entered the Order without first complying with the provisions of Section 23 of the Act of July 5, 1947, P.L. 1308,
Leahey correctly holds (by necessary implication) that the burden is on the Court to establish that the money it requests is reasonably necessary for “the efficient administration of justice.” If a Court is unable to provide an efficient administration of Justice because of insufficient funds to have adequate personnel, or reasonable salaries for personnel, or for other necessary Court administration services, or for construction and maintenance of essential Court facilities, then our whole system of Justice and its administration will undoubtedly be greatly impaired, if not destroyed.
The confidence, reliance and trust in our Courts and in our Judicial system on the part of the Bench
The demands upon our Judicial system have increased tremendously in the last decade, especially in the criminal field. Violent crimes have increased 10% or more every year.* The increase in criminal and civil trials, and the number of required pretrial, presentencing and post-trial hearings have virtually swamped the Courts of this Commonwealth, particularly in Philadelphia. New programs, techniques, facilities and expanded personnel have been and will continue to be necessary to meet the mandate of providing and administering a more efficient Judicial system and making Justice for all speedier and more certain.
Defendants contend, inter alia, that the overall problem of financial difficulties which undoubtedly confront and harass the City of Philadelphia should be considered in determining what is “reasonably necessary” for the “efficient administration of Justice by the Courts.” The demand, often amounting to necessity, for additional funds for both the maintenance and the improvement of public services and general public welfare, and the essential increases in wages, and the unfortunate rise in costs of nearly every description, is widespread. Nevertheless, the deplorable financial conditions in Philadelphia must yield to the Constitutional mandate that the Judiciary shall be free and independent and able to provide an efficient and effective system of Justice.
Mr. Chief Justice MARSHALL said in McCulloch v. Maryland, 17 U.S. 316, 431, “. . . the power to tax involves the power to destroy; . . .” A Legislature has the power of life and death over all the Courts and over the entire Judicial system. Unless the Legislature can be compelled by the Courts to provide the money which is reasonably necessary for the proper functioning and administration of the Courts, our entire Judicial system could be extirpated, and the Legislature could make a mockery of our form of Government with its three co-equal branches — the Executive, the Legislative and the Judicial.
We have carefully considered all of the defendants’ contentions, as well as all of the Court‘s contentions, but deem further discussion thereof unnecessary.
We agree with Judge MONTGOMERY‘S conclusion that “the amount recommended by Mayor Tate and approved by Council is inadequate to meet the reasonable needs of the Court [of Common Pleas] for the present fiscal year.” We also agree with his Order of September 30, 1970, allowing the Court $2,458,000. This represents his allowance and specific allocation of certain of the amounts requested by the Court and his disallowance of certain items which the Court had requested. Judge MONTGOMERY‘S award was based upon nine months remaining in the City‘s fiscal year, July 1, 1970 to July 1, 1971. We accordingly reduce the award to reflect the amount of time remaining in this fiscal year (five months from February 1, 1971) and award the Court of Common Pleas the sum of $1,365,555.
Mr. Justice COHEN took no part in the decision of this case.
CONCURRING OPINION BY MR. JUSTICE JONES:
While I concur in the result achieved by the majority, I must note my disagreement with the precedent thereby established.
At first glance, the majority‘s statement — “the deplorable financial conditions in Philadelphia must yield to the Constitutional mandate that the Judiciary shall be free and independent and able to provide an efficient and effective system of Justice” — would appear most commendable. Stated differently, the majority essentially holds that whatever amount is “reasonably necessary” for judicial administration must be awarded even though the City may have no available funds. With this proposition I cannot agree; in my opinion, the computation of a “reasonably necessary” amount must consider the financial resources available to the city. However, the record demonstrates that these additional funds have already been set aside and that the City of Philadelphia will not be forced into “involuntary bankruptcy.” It is for this fact that I am able to concur.
The majority fails to realize the full import of its standard. If this Court holds that funds must be afforded the Judiciary if “reasonably necessary,” could a future majority, while stressing the fundamental co-equality of all three branches of government, logically deny this same standard to the Executive branch of government (the Legislative branch already controlling the power of the purse)? Unless that majority is prepared to nominate the Judiciary for a primus inter pares status, this question must be answered in the negative. Although the Executive, unlike the Judiciary,
Predictably, a future City Council could then be swamped by “reasonably necessary” requests from the Police Department, Sanitation Department, Recreation Department and all other departments of the Executive branch. Unquestionably more money would enable each of these departments to better serve the community. However, the sum of these “reasonably necessary” requests may very well, in some future instance, exceed a municipality‘s available revenue resources. Projecting the present majority‘s original premise and realizing all three branches operate in an imperfect world, I must take issue with the majority‘s overly optimistic precedent.
Certainly taxes could be increased to cover any impending deficit. Certainly those of us in the Judicial branch of government must zealously defend our independence. Perhaps my prediction is a bit too gloomy. However, I would all too eagerly embrace the majority if only it would recognize that what is “reasonably necessary” cannot fail to consider the financial plight of the city.
Mr. Justice EAGEN joins in this concurring opinion.
CONCURRING AND DISSENTING OPINION BY MR. JUSTICE ROBERTS:
I concur in the main with the majority‘s disposition of this appeal. The Judiciary has the power to command reasonably necessary funds, not only because of its intended status as an independent and co-equal branch of government but also by virtue of the clear mandate of
I must dissent, however, from that portion of the majority‘s decision affirming the disallowance of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas’ request for $145,881 to institute and maintain its proposed bail project. The purpose of the desired project is to evaluate persons accused of crime who cannot afford money bail and to inform the court of those within that group who deserve to be released on their own recognizance. The trial court conceded the laudable motives of the project but held that it fell “without the limits of judicial responsibility.” I cannot agree.
As I stated in my recent dissenting opinion in Commonwealth ex rel. Hartage v. Hendrick, 439 Pa. 584, 594, 268 A. 2d 451, 455 (1970): “The imprisonment of an accused prior to a determination of guilt is a rather awesome thing: it costs the taxpayers tremendous sums of money; it deprives the affected individual of his most precious freedom, liberty; it deprives him of his ability to support himself and his family; it quite possibly costs him his job; it restricts his ability to participate in his own defense; it subjects him to the dehumanization of prison; it separates him from his family; and, without trial, it casts over him an aura of criminality and guilt. These deprivations are especially unjustifiable in view of the fact that many of those who are accused of crime and jailed before trial are eventually acquitted. In Philadelphia alone, over twenty-five percent of those accused who are imprisoned prior to trial are eventually discharged of all criminal liability, and many more accused spend more time in
There is no goal more central to the essence of the judicial function than that of ensuring the quality of justice, and to the extent that the proposed bail project would begin to ameliorate some of the injustices arising out of the current administration of bail, funds for its implementation are certainly reasonably necessary. Indeed, the record in the instant case indicates that the proposed bail project has a favorable chance for successful results. The project was modeled after a similar program operated in 1966 and 1967 under the sponsorship of the Philadelphia Bar Foundation. In eighteen months of operation, the Bar Foundation program secured the release of 878 defendants on their own recognizance. Of that group, 229 were eventually discharged from all criminal liability. Edmund DePaul, executive director of the Bar Foundation bail project, testified that the bail project “skip rate” was between 1.9% and 4%, and compared most favorably with an estimated bonding company skip rate of 20%.
It should also be borne in mind that opposition to innovative judicial reform in this area prompted by considerations of economy is likely to be misplaced. At the time of our Hartage decision, the estimated yearly cost of pretrial incarceration in Philadelphia alone was more than $5,000,000 (1,484 prisoners incarcerated and waiting trial at a cost of $8.10 per prisoner per day), see 439 Pa. at 601 n.11, 268 A. 2d at 459 n.11, and the
In sum, the proposed bail project presents a rare and realistic opportunity to improve the administration of justice and minimize the social costs of pretrial imprisonment, all at a substantial savings to the taxpayers. For this reason, I would allow the funds requested by the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas for its implementation and dissent from the majority‘s disallowance of those funds.
CONCURRING OPINION BY MR. JUSTICE POMEROY:
I join in the opinion of the Court. Much more could, of course, be written about the financial problems of Philadelphia which give rise to this controversy, about the details of the request for additional funds made by the Court of Common Pleas upon the City, and the nature of and need for the activities and facilities they represent. More could and perhaps should be said concerning the difficulties and dangers of this sort of litigation in our framework of government, involving as it does a type of confrontation between the legislative and judicial branches of government in a major metropolitan area, which should be avoided wherever possible, and resorted to only when all else
I deem it appropriate, nevertheless, to comment briefly on one passage in the Court‘s opinion, and in so doing to indicate some additional considerations which have convinced me of the rightness of the result here reached.
The passage is as follows: “The confidence, reliance and trust in our Courts and in our Judicial system on the part of the Bench and the Bar, as well as the general public, have been seriously eroded. We cannot permit this to continue. In order to improve and expedite Justice, it is both important and imperative that we reexamine and reevaluate our Courts and their administration, our Judicial processes and our entire Judicial system.” I am in complete agreement with this comment. I think it should be made clear, however, that the erosion referred to cannot be laid at the door of the defendants in this case, nor can the reappraisal of the judicial processes and system, even in Philadelphia, be considered their sole responsibility. The imperative reexamination which the Court has called for is, as I view it, one which must engage the attention and energy of all branches of government and of the public as well, but remain a principal preoccupation and responsibility of the members of the judiciary, particularly this Court,1 and of the bar.
It perhaps goes without saying, but no harm can be done by observing, also, that the erosion of confidence in our courts and judicial system is not a recent phenomenon, nor one having a geographical focus in Philadelphia or Pennsylvania. It has been with us in its
Space will not permit a cataloging either of the complaints and alarms concerning the administration of justice both nationally and locally in recent years,3
All of this is not to say that the City Council of Philadelphia has been frugal or niggardly in its financial provision for the courts of that City. There has been a 100% increase in the amount of appropriation for the courts in the last six years and a maintenance of the same relative position in the total city budget for at least the last ten years (i.e., around 3.5% of the total city budget has been allocated to the courts during this period). It must be acknowledged also that critically important needs, especially in the large cities, are competing strenuously for a share of tax revenues, and this in a period of serious inflation. No evidence is required to establish that governments at all levels are experiencing severe financial strains. As the opinion of the Court points out, however, the court system in Philadelphia is not just another competing cause or need; it is itself a separate branch of government, coequal with the executive and legislative branches headed by the defendants in this case. The distinction is one not of degree, but of kind. No doubt the courts must be mindful, in making the estimates of their financial needs, of the needs of the total community and of the problems of the legislative branch in funding them; but the courts having made their determination as being reasonably necessary to performance of their constitutional functions, it is not for the legislative branch to deny the reasonableness or the necessity on the ground that something else is more urgent or more important.7
In closing, Chief Justice VANDERBILT‘S wise comments, as valid today as when he made them, seem peculiarly appropriate to the issues presented by this case: “. . . much remains to be done if we would adapt the law and government to the needs of the times. The situations that confront us in our life, nationally and throughout the world, are indeed momentous and some of them are without precedent. The problems of government are complicated and difficult of solution. But must it not be apparent to everyone, as we gaze into the future, that we cannot hope to maintain the way of life which we call American without exercising every effort to preserve to each branch of government its proper sphere and to the states and the Union a due recognition of their proper functions?”8
Notes
With particular reference to the situation in Pennsylvania, see Schulman, S., Toward Judicial Reform in Pennsylvania (U. of Pa. L.R. 1962); The Institute of Judicial Administration, A Report to the Allegheny County Bar Association on the Courts of Allegheny County (1960); The Consensus on the Pennsylvania Judicial System, as adopted by A Citizens Conference on the Modernization of Pennsylvania‘s Judicial System, January, 1964, under the sponsorship of the Joint Committee on the Effective Administration of Justice and the Pennsylvania Bar Association, together with the background addresses delivered at the conference (Pamphlet of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, 1964);
The 1970 Statistical Abstract for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania shows a total expenditure during the period July 1, 1968 to June 30, 1969 for the judicial branch of $8 million against a total for all branches of government of $2.2 billion, or only about 4/10 of 1%. This is not a meaningful comparison, however, because in this state the cost of the judicial establishment is largely borne by the counties and the cities of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The state expenditure is principally for judicial salaries. On a consolidated basis, the only figures presently available to the writer are those which are contained in Professor Schulman‘s work, Toward Judicial Reform in Pennsylvania, supra, for the year 1957. While now out of date, the author‘s unofficial estimate relative to that year is worth citing: “The cost of the judicial system in Pennsylvania in 1957 was approximately 30 million dollars, not counting the cost of correctional and penal institutions. The state‘s share was approximately 4½ million, the balance being borne by the counties and the cities of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.” Ibid. at 181.
A strong argument can and has been made that the Pennsylvania system of divided financial responsibility between the state, its counties and the two large cities is illogical in light of the unified judicial system established by the new judiciary article of our Constitution. Weis, A New Name and a New Financial Policy for the Courts, 41 Pa. Bar Assn. Quarterly 189 (1970). The author there concludes: “It seems obvious that the time has come to implement the unified court concept on a statewide fiscal, as well as administrative basis. The Commonwealth should assume all the costs of operating the courts in this state, just as the federal government finances all the courts of the United States.”