Mullins v. StateMullins v. State
Charles J. Pisano, New Orleans, for plaintiffs-applicants.
William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., Barbara Rutledge, Warren E. Mouledoux, Kendall L. Vick, Robert L. Danner, Asst. Attys. Gen., for respondents.
DIXON, Chief Justice.
This declaratory judgment action was filed by seven plaintiffs against the State of Louisiana, the Coroner of Jefferson Parish and the Estate of Bennie Verdun for the stated purpose of declaring the “Status of the Coroner of the Parish of Jefferson as a State Agency to the State of Louisiana.” The object of the suit, we gather from the briefs, is to determine whether the state can be held liable in a suit for wrongful death said to have been caused by the coroner. There is no evidence in the record, and the matter was apparently submitted on memoranda filed by the parties.
The Court of Appeal affirmed the rulings of the trial court on the exceptions, but reversed the holding on the agency relationship of the coroner to the state. Writs were granted on application of plaintiffs.
The Court of Appeal opinion was based on a definition of “agency” in
The definition of “agency” in
The proper test for determining whether an office is a state agency was first announced by this court in State v. Taylor, 44 La.Ann. 783, 11 So. 132 (1892), and has been consistently followed by the courts of this state. State v. Dark, 195 La. 139, 196 So. 47 (1940); State ex rel. Porterie v. Smith, 184 La. 263, 166 So. 72 (1935); Williams v. Guerre, 182 La. 745, 162 So. 609 (1935); State ex rel. Porterie v. Jones, 181 La. 390, 159 So. 594 (1935); State v. Titus, 152 La. 1011, 95 So. 106 (1922); State v. Rogers, 138 La. 867, 70 So. 863 (1916); Cosenza v. Aetna Insurance Co., 341 So.2d 1304 (La.App. 3d Cir. 1977); Johnson v. Northern Assurance Company of America, 193 So.2d 920 (La.App. 3d Cir. 1967).
As enunciated by the court in State v. Taylor, supra: “. . . If the office is created by the legislature, or is established in the first instance by the constitution, it is a state office . . .” 11 So. at 133. This rule sets forth a reasonable and practical guide for determining whether a particular office or agency is part of the state government or is parochial or local in nature. The principle embodied in the rule is that “. . . the creation and conferring of an office involves a delegation to the individual of some of the sovereign functions of government . . .” State v. Dark, 195 La. at 149, 196 So. at 50. For example, sheriffs and their deputies have been found to occupy state office, in recognition of the fact that the office of sheriff is created by the state constitution, and operates independently of the parish. Foster v. Hampton, 352 So.2d 197 (La.1977); State ex rel. Porterie v. Jones, supra; State v. Titus, supra; Johnson v. Northern Assurance Company of America, supra.
The office of the coroner, like the sheriff, is created by the constitution, and its existence has been mandated by every state constitution since 1845. See
The nature of the coroner‘s office has changed profoundly since its inception in the twelfth century. The office was initially established to safeguard “the pecuniary interests of the crown . . . arising from the administration of criminal justice.” I. W. Holdsworth, A History of English Law 84 (7th ed. 1956). For example, the coroner was invested with the power to conduct inquests when there occurred unexplained deaths in order to protect the crown‘s right to the chattels of convicted
With the abolition of the coroner‘s jury and inquest in 1966, the significance of the coroner as an instrument of the judiciary has been lessened. We find, nonetheless, that, despite this alteration of the role of the coroner, the office continues to perform state functions, and is not, as found by the Court of Appeal, parochial or local in nature.
Although the coroner has been relieved of his duty to conduct inquests, it is the state legislature, and not the local governing authority, that regulates the coroner‘s duties and powers.
The Court of Appeal, in finding the office of the coroner to be a parochial or local office, was impressed with the fact that, under the 1974 constitution, when a vacancy occurs, the parish appoints an interim coroner until an election is held. Such a provision is a departure from the 1921 constitution, which provided for vacancies to be filled (for the unexpired term) by the Governor.
The Court of Appeal, while acknowledging that the fees of the coroner are set by the legislature, pointed out that, pursuant to
For the reasons assigned, the judgment of the Court of Appeal is reversed, and the judgment of the trial court is reinstated; the State of Louisiana is cast for costs of this appeal.
LEMMON and MARCUS, JJ., dissent and assign reasons.
BLANCHE, J., dissents, being of the opinion that the status of Parish Coroner is that of a parochial officer performing duties in that capacity in the parish in which he was elected to serve.
LEMMON, Justice, dissenting.
Coroners (and sheriff and their deputies, as in Foster v. Hampton, above), perform parish functions and therefore occupy an employer-employee relationship with the parish which exercises primary day-to-day control over their functions. The parish should be held answerable for the torts of such employees committed in the exercise of the functions in which they are employed.1
MARCUS, Justice (dissenting).
I agree with the court of appeal that the coroner is either parochial or local in nature; hence, the state cannot be held liable in a suit for wrongful death alleged to have been caused by the coroner. Accordingly, I respectfully dissent.