33 N.W.2d 854 | Minn. | 1948
Lead Opinion
On June 16, 1948, Tom Bergin, relator, presented an affidavit of candidacy for the office of court commissioner to the county auditor of Hennepin county and tendered the statutory filing fee. The auditor, respondent here, refused to accept the affidavit or fee, contending that there was no election for court commissioner in the year 1948. An order to show cause was obtained by relator, directing respondent to accept his affidavit and fee, or show cause why he should not do so. Thereupon the matter came on for hearing before *559 the district court of Hennepin county. An order was made denying the relief sought by relator and dismissing the proceeding. This appeal is from such order.
It is the contention of relator that under §
Respondent and intervener contend that no court commissioner can be elected in 1948 and that intervener's appointment holds over until January 1, 1951, her successor to be elected at the general election in the year 1950 for the regular four-year term.
The applicable statutes are §
"In each county in the state there shall be elected at the general election in 1918 a court commissioner. The term of office of the court commissioner shall be four years and until his successor is elected and qualified, and begin on the first Monday in January next succeeding his election. This office shall be filled by election every four years thereafter. One person may hold at the same time the offices of court commissioner and probate judge."
and §
"When a vacancy occurs in the office of court commissioner, the judge of the district court of the county shall appoint some competent person to fill such vacancy, who shall give the bond and take the oath by law required, and shall hold his office until the next general election, and until his successor qualifies."
1. The fundamental aim of construction of a statute is to ascertain and give effect to the intention of the legislature. In determining the legislative intent, we should consider the legislative history of the act, the subject matter as a whole, the purpose of the legislation, *560
and the objects intended to be secured thereby. Mattson v. Flynn,
2. When the legislature enacted L. 1913, c. 458, it is obvious it did so for the purpose of establishing uniformity in the election of county officers and that it intended that all county officers included within the act should be elected during the same year. It provided that the terms of office should be four years after the 1914 election, and that "said offices shall be filled by election every four years thereafter." Clerks of court and court commissioners were not included within the act. This act was amended by L. 1915, c. 168, so as to include clerks of court and court commissioners. The 1915 act provided that there should be elected at the general election in 1918 the enumerated county officers, including a court commissioner, whose term should be for four years, beginning on the first Monday of January next succeeding said election (that is, the election in 1918) and that said offices should be filled by election every four years thereafter. The legislature made provision for filling vacancies in these offices and further provided:
"* * * any appointment made to fill a vacancy in any of the said offices shall be for the balance of suck entireterm." (Italics supplied.)
All acts and parts of acts inconsistent therewith were repealed.
We held this act to be unconstitutional insofar as it affected clerks of court, for the reason that the term of the clerk of court is fixed at four years by Minn. Const. art.
In State ex rel. Evens v. Borgen,
"* * * It is perfectly clear from the wording of the above act of 1913 as amended by that of 1915 that the legislature intended to make the term of the county offices named four years and that all such offices in every county of the state should be filled at the same general election. In order toachieve that object, the appointments to fill vacancies must befor the remainder of the unexpired term. Otherwise the plan of electing all county officers in every county of the state at the same election would be quickly disrupted by deaths, resignations, and removals. * * * It is true that an elective office should not be filled by appointment for a longer period than reasonably necessary. But an appointment for the unexpired term cannot be held unreasonable.
* * * * *
"This language [referring to 1 Mason Minn. St. 1927, § 659] is perfectly plain, and Owen[s] by his appointment holds the office of sheriff for the remainder of Erickson's unexpired term, namely, until the first Monday in January, 1935. Hence no votes for sheriff *562 could be lawfully cast at the general election of 1932." (Italics supplied.)
In denying an application for reargument, we further emphasized this rule by saying (
"* * * It is perfectly plain that the effect of this legislation was that none of the county offices named therein could be voted for at any general election except the one that occurred at a four-year interval counting from the general election of 1914. When L. 1913, p. 668, c. 458, was enacted there was no provision of law, nor has there been since,under which, if a vacancy occurred in one of the officesnamed, it could be filled by an election for the remainder ofthe unexpired term; but there was a statute, R. L. 1905, § 425, 1 Mason Minn. St. 1927, § 659,which authorized the county board to fill the vacancy byappointment, and such appointee 'shall hold for the remainderof the unexpired term, and until his successor qualifies.' L.1915, p. 233, c. 168, serves only to emphasize the intention ofthe legislature to have elections for all county officers inthe state at one and the same general election, which mustoccur at a four-year interval counting from the generalelection of 1914." (Italics supplied.)
In drafting M. S. A. 1941, the language of L. 1915, c. 168, became §§
In drafting M. S. A. 1945, which was adopted by the legislature and is now the law, provisions for electing and filling vacancies in the office of clerk of court were eliminated from §§
It is significant that the legislature carried into §
Relator relies largely upon Prenevost v. Delorme,
"Unless otherwise provided for, when a vacancy in an elective office is authorized to be filled by appointment, such appointment *564 shall continue until the next general election occurring after there is sufficient time to give the notice prescribed by law, and until a successor is elected and has qualified."
And the pertinent part of §
"In each new county, and in each county which shall be entitled to an increase in the number of commissioners, there shall be elected at the next general election a commissioner from each odd-numbered district for a term of two years, and one from each even-numbered district for a term of four years; and thereafter all commissioners shall be elected for a term of four years, except that elections or appointments to fill vacancies shall be for the unexpired term only."
We need not determine here whether Prenevost v. Delorme was correctly decided. It is sufficient to say that in the case before us §
3. The trial court correctly held that there can be no election for court commissioner during the year 1948, and the decision is affirmed.
Affirmed.
Concurrence Opinion
I concur in the result. It is not necessary to decide whether a court commissioner is a state or county officer. Consequently, I withhold any opinion with respect to that question.
Concurrence Opinion
I am in accord with the view expressed by Mr. Justice Peterson.
MR. JUSTICE THOMAS GALLAGHER took no part in the consideration or decision of this case.
Addendum
Appellant appeals from the clerk's taxation of costs and disbursements in favor of intervener.
By intervention, a third party becomes a party to a suit pending between others. Faricy v. St. Paul Inv. Sav. Society,
In this case, respondent properly took a neutral position, and intervener was the real party in interest. She prevailed on appeal. A prevailing party is entitled to disbursements as a matter of right under M. S. A.
Costs and disbursements were properly taxed by the clerk in favor of intervener, and the allowance thereof is affirmed.