241 N.W.2d 781 | Minn. | 1976
The members of the Lyon County Board of Commissioners appeal from an order of the judges of the Fifth Judicial District purporting to set the minimum annual salary of the clerk of the District Court of Lyon County at $16,700.
The commissioners’ dispute with the district judges raises an important issue of first impression in this state: Does the district court have the authority to set the minimum salary of the clerk of district court? Although the issue is a narrow one and of little apparent public significance, it contains within its compass the operation of the separation of powers within our state government. Our discussion of the issue begins with an examination of our Minnesota Constitution, which at the time of the order provided in art. 6, § 4:
“There shall be in each county one clerk of the district court, whose qualifications and duties shall be prescribed by law, and*174 who shall serve at the pleasure of the majority of the judges of the district court. His compensation shall be provided by law.”2 (Italics supplied.)
Despite some early cases to the contrary,
Pursuant to the above-quoted section, the legislature acted to
The judges of the fifth judicial district did not conform to the procedure set forth above, but chose to set the clerk’s salary directly by order. Unless their action was authorized by some other statutory or constitutional source of power, it must be reversed. Two potential sources of power must be considered: (1) The district court’s statutory authority to fix the clerk’s salary on appeal; (2) the district court’s inherent authority to provide for the salaries of its employees.
Amicus curiae Minnesota Association for Court Administration (whose brief has been adopted by the respondent district judges)
The more serious question, as advanced by both amici curiae,
While the use of inherent judicial power to set the salary of a court employee would be new to Minnesota, the concept of inherent judicial power is not. This court described inherent judicial power in the following terms in In re Disbarment of Greathouse, 189 Minn. 51, 55, 248 N. W. 735, 737 (1933):
“The judicial power of this court has its origin in the constitution ; but when the court came into existence it came with inherent powers. Such power is the right to protect itself, to enable it to administer justice whether any previous form of remedy has been granted or not. This same power authorizes the making of rules of practice.”
Inherent judicial power governs that which is essential to the existence, dignity, and function of a court because it is a court. In re Integration of Nebraska State Bar Assn. 133 Neb. 283, 288, 275 N. W. 265, 267, 114 A. L. R. 151, 154 (1937). Its source is the constitutional doctrine of separation of powers as expressed and implied in our constitution. See, Minn. Const, art. 3, § l;
At bottom, inherent judicial power is grounded in judicial self-preservation. Obviously, the legislature could seriously hamper the court’s power to hear and decide cases or even effectively abolish the court itself through its exercise of financial and regulatory authority. If the court has no means of protecting itself from unreasonable and intrusive assertions of such authority, the separation of powers becomes a myth. Commonwealth ex rel. Carroll v. Tate, 442 Pa. 45, 55, 274 A. 2d 193, 199, certiorari denied, 402 U. S. 974, 91 S. Ct. 1665, 29 L. ed. 2d 138 (1971). The recognition of these truisms has made the doctrine of inherent judicial power established law in virtually every American jurisdiction.
In O’Coin’s, the petitioner, a retail appliance store, sought a writ of mandamus directing the county treasurer to pay $86 for a tape recorder and tapes it had sold to a trial judge for use in recording criminal trials. The judge had certified that the tape recorder was necessary to prevent closing of the criminal court because no reporter was available to record the proceedings. The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts issued the writ, holding:
“* * * [A]mong the inherent powers possessed by every judge is the power to protect his court from impairment resulting from inadequate facilities or a lack of supplies or supporting personnel. To correct such an impairment, a judge may, even in the absence of a clearly applicable statute, obtain the required goods or services by appropriate means, including arranging himself for their purchase and ordering the responsible executive official to make payment.” 362 Mass. 510, 287 N. E. 2d 612.
The court in O’Coin’s was careful to point out, however, that the exercise of inherent judicial power is a duty that must be borne responsibly and that members of the judicial branch should proceed cautiously and with due consideration for the powers and prerogatives of the other branches of government. 362 Mass. 515,
In Commonwealth ex rel. Carroll v. Tate, supra, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, in an expansive application of inherent power, awarded a lower court a $1,365,555 addition to its judicial budget in areas ranging from adult probation to courtroom personnel and law clerks. The court stated that the burden of proving that requested funds were “reasonably necessary for ‘the efficient administration of justice,’ ” which it placed upon the lower court, had been met and that the city’s proposed budget was inadequate to meet the reasonable needs of the court. 442 Pa. 55, 274 A. 2d 199.
From our reading and review of the above cases and other commentaries on the subject of inherent judicial power,
(1) Inherent judicial power grows out of express and implied constitutional provisions mandating a separation of powers and a viable judicial branch of government. It comprehends all authority necessary to preserve and improve the fundamental judicial function of deciding cases.
(2) Inherent judicial power is available to courts on all levels to be used consistent with respective jurisdictions and functions. Of course, review of an exercise of such inherent power by dis
(3) Inherent judicial power may not be asserted unless constitutional provisions are followed and established and reasonable legislative-administrative procedures are first exhausted. Intragovernmental cooperation remains the best means of resolving financial difficulties in the face of scarce societal resources and differences of opinion regarding judicial procedures.
(4) When established and reasonable procedures have failed, an inferior court may assert its inherent judicial power by an independent judicial proceeding brought by the judges of such court or other parties aggrieved. Such a proceeding must include a full hearing on the merits in an adversary context before an impartial and disinterested district court.
(5) The test to be applied in these cases is whether the relief requested by the court or aggrieved party is necessary to the performance of the judicial function as contemplated in our state constitution. The test is not relative needs or judicial wants, but practical necessity in performing the judicial function.
We think the above procedures may avoid any excesses and secure for the judicial branch an inherent power measured by its proper function. It must be recognized that the judicial function, as well as the legislative and executive functions, is important to all of our citizens. In view of the increasing complexity of modern life and its attendant legal problems, it is now more important than ever that the courts be open and fully prepared to deal completely and fairly with every cause. Because of the necessity of dignity and restraint in performing the judicial function, courts cannot lobby for their interests and attempt to sway public opinion in their favor as the other branches of government and different groups in society are free to do. The courts must confine themselves to their historical and constitutional function of deciding cases. It is in the context of this function that inherent judicial power is necessary and it is in the context of this function that it must be exercised.
Applying these principles and concepts to the instant case, we hold that the action of the district court judges in setting the clerk’s salary was not a proper exercise of inherent power. Inherent judicial power, which is based on the separation of powers and implied constitutional authority, cannot be exercised in the face of the express constitutional provision in Minn. Const, art. 6, § 4, that the clerk’s salary be controlled by the legislature. Even Minn. Const, art. 3, § 1, which provides the express basis for our separation of powers contains the proviso “except in instances expressly provided in this constitution.”
Since we have decided that the use of inherent judicial power is not appropriate in the instant case in the face of a specific constitutional provision and the failure to follow reasonable procedures implementing that provision, we do not need to determine if “practical necessity” was present. If we had reached that issue, we would not have an adequate record for review purposes because of the posture of the appeal. We have before us no evidence of the duties of the clerk, the relationship of the duties to the judicial function in Lyon County, the salary required to attract a suitable clerk, or even the difference between the county commissioners’ proposed salary and that ordered by the court. We cannot ascertain the relationship between a $16,700 minimum clerk’s salary and the exercise of the inherent power of the district court in a vacuum.
For the reasons expressed above, the order of the district court must be reversed. The clerk in the instant case remains free to pursue her statutory remedy for a salary increase. The further problems posed by amici curiae may be dealt with on their individual merits in accordance with this opinion.
Reversed.
The order in question was dated October 14,1974, and served on the Lyon County auditor, on October 21, 1974. The commissioners do not challenge that part of the order appointing one Beatrice V. Rubertus clerk of District and County Court in Lyon County, but attack only the following portion: “IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, that the compensation of said Beatrice V. Rubertus shall be not less than $16,700 per year.”
This section is set forth here as amended November 7, 1972, and as it read at the time of the order of the district court. Prior and subsequent versions of the section have provided that the clerk’s compensation be fixed by law. The current version of the section, found in the constitution adopted November 5, 1974, provides: “There shall be in each county one clerk of district court whose qualifications, duties and compensation shall be prescribed by law. He shall serve at the pleasure of a majority of the judges of the district court in each district.” Minn. Const, art. 6, § 13.
All references to the constitution in this opinion will be to the constitution prior to November 5, 1974.
Walter v. Greenwood, 29 Minn. 87, 89, 12 N. W. 145 (1882) (upholding clerk’s issuance of writ of alias execution in the absence of a statutory authorization): “* * * When the constitution declares that the duties of clerks of district courts ‘shall be prescribed by law,’ it does not use the word ‘law * * * as synonymous with ‘statute,’ but in a broader sense, as including both statutory and common law.” See, also, Fitzpatrick v. Simonson Bros. Mfg. Co. 86 Minn. 140, 148, 90 N. W. 378, 381 (1902). To the contrary, see State, v. Town of Lake, 28 Minn. 362, 10 N. W. 17 (1881).
See, also, State ex rel. Goodwin v. Flahaven, 289 Minn. 149, 152, 182 N. W. 2d 182, 184 (1971); In re Daly, 284 Minn. 567, 568, 171 N. W. 2d 818, 821 (1969).
L. 1965, c. 822.
The judges of the fifth judicial district have not appeared or filed a brief in this court. In a letter to the Chief Justice of the supreme court, Chief Judge L. J. Irvine expressed the intention of the judges to adopt the brief of amicus curiae Minnesota Association for Court Administration. An additional amicus curiae brief has been submitted in this case by the judges of the third judicial district.
See footnote 6, swpra.
Minn. Const, art. 3, § 1, provides: “The powers of government shall be divided into three distinct departments — legislative, executive, and judicial; and no person or persons belonging to or constituting one of these departments shall exercise any of the powers properly belonging to either of the others, except in the instances expressly provided in this constitution.”
Minn. Const, art. 6, § 1, provides: “The judicial power of the state is hereby vested in a supreme court, a district court, and such other courts, judicial officers and commissioners with jurisdiction inferior to the district court as the legislature may establish.”
Carrigan, Inherent Powers of the Courts (published by National College of the State Judiciary) and cases cited; Annotations, 114 A. L. R. 161, 59 A. L. R. 3d 569, and cases cited.
The doctrine of inherent judicial power has been applied in many contexts in other jurisdictions, see sources cited in footnote 10, supra. In Minnesota, inherent power has been generally used to maintain this court’s control over the bar and the practice of law. Sharood v. Hatfield, 296 Minn. 416, 210 N. W. 2d 275 (1963) (disposition of bar fees); In re Petition for Integration of the Bar of Minnesota, 216 Minn. 195, 12 N. W. 2d 515 (1943); Cowern v. Nelson, 207 Minn. 642, 290 N. W. 795 (1940) (statute regulating general practice of law); In re Disbarment
Carrigan, Inherent Powers of the Courts, pp. 13 to 21; Annotation, 59 A. L. R. 3d 569.
See, also, State ex rel. Hillis v. Sullivan, 48 Mont. 320, 137 P. 392 (1913) (inherent power to he used only when established methods fail).
The court’s decision in Commonwealth ex rel. Carroll v. Tate, 442 Pa. 45, 274 A. 2d 193, certiorari denied, 402 U. S. 974, 91 S. Ct. 1665, 29 L. ed. 2d 138 (1971), however, has not passed without criticism. Comment, 120 U. of Pa. L. Rev. 1187. The commentator there stated: “Assertion by the courts of power to determine budgetary priorities and to define their own functions may radically alter the current constitutional balance of responsibilities between branches. The allocation of government functions is an ongoing development of the constitution, in a political sense. With the reallocation of functions comes, commonly, a change in policy for the conduct of the function involved. It would seem an elementary proposition in a representative government that the people retain control over such policymaking, as over the determination of societal priorities, through the legislature.” 120 U. of Pa. L. Rev. 1199.
A few other courts have applied the “all funds reasonably necessary” test or a substantial equivalent. Carlson v. State, 247 Ind. 631, 220 N. E. 2d 532 (1966); Smith v. Miller, 153 Colo. 35, 384 P. 2d 738 (1963); State ex rel. Judges for Twenty-Second Judicial Circuit v. St. Louis, 494 S. W. 2d 39 (Mo. 1973); State ex rel. Anderson v. St. Louis County, 421 S. W. 2d 249 (Mo. 1967). Other courts have phrased the test in terms of re
Note, 58 Marquette L. Rev. 133; Note, 57 Cornell L. Rev. 975; Brennan, Judicial Fiscal Independence, 23 U. of Fla. L. Rev. 277.
This court will, if necessary, provide a judge from outside the judicial district. Attention is called to Busse v. Board of County Commissioners, 308 Minn. 184, 241 N. W. 2d 794 (1976), in which appropriate procedures were used.
See, State ex rel. Finley v. Pfeiffer, 163 Ohio St. 149, 126 N. E. 2d 57 (1955) (necessity is question of fact); In re Courtroom and Officers of Circuit Court, 148 Wis. 109, 134 N. W. 490 (1912); State ex rel. Kitzmeyer v. Davis, 26 Nev. 373, 68 P. 689 (1902). See, also, Wayne Circuit Judges v. Wayne County, 386 Mich. 1, 190 N. W. 2d 228 (1971), certiorari denied, 405 U. S. 923, 92 S. Ct. 961, 30 L. ed. 2d 794 (1972), which on rehearing adopted the opinions of Black and Dethmers, JJ., in Wayne Circuit Judges v. Wayne County, 383 Mich. 10, 33, 172 N. W. 2d 436, 445 (1969).
We have found no case in which a court has exercised inherent power in the face of a constitutional provision like Minn. Const, art. 6, § 4, specifically allocating power to the legislature. The closest case is Glancey v. Casey, 447 Pa. 77, 288 A. 2d 812 (1972), in which the Pennsylvania Supreme Court distinguished its decision in Commonwealth ex rel. Carroll v. Tate, supra, footnote 14, and held that mandamus would not lie to compel payment of an increased judicial salary. The Pennsyl