72 P. 388 | Utah | 1903
In this case the Attorney-General filed an information in the nature of quo warranto, demanding that the defendant be ousted from the office of district judge of the Third Judicial District. This is an original proceeding in this court. The information states that the defendant was, on April 7, 1903, appointed to the office, by the Governor, in pursuance of an act entitled “An act to increase the number of judges for the Third Judicial District and for the appointment of one judge, pending the next general election, ’ ’ which was approved March 12, 1903 (Sess. Laws 1903, p. 50,
The contention on behalf of the State is that the act of the Legislature, above referred to, and under which the appointment was made, is ultra vires, being in conflict, as is urged, with sections 5 and 6, article 8, of the Constitution. That act is found in Sess. Laws 1903, c. 55, p. 50, and, so far as material here, reads as follows:
“Section 1. That from and after the passage and approval of this act, there shall he four District Judges in and for the District Court of the Third Judicial District of this State.
‘1 Sec. 2. That the Governor be and is hereby authorized and required to appoint one District Judge, in and for the Third Judicial District, within thirty days after the passage and approval of this act, whose term of office shall he, until the first Monday in January, 1905,, and until his successor is elected and qualified, as' provided by law. ’ ’
As will he observed the first section increases the number of judges in the Third Judicial District to four, and the second empowers the Governor to appoint one judge,'and fixes the first term of office. It is claimed that the Constitution limits the number of district judges in the Third Judicial District to three, and that, therefore, the act, which increases the number to four, vio
It now becomes important to determine whether, in the light of these principles, the present enactment was made in violation of constitutional limitation. The provisions of the Constitution material to this decision, the same being found in article 8 thereof, read as follows: “The State shall be divided into seven judicial districts, for each of which, at least one, and not exceeding three judges, shall be chosen by the qualified electors thereof. ’ ’ Section 5. “ The Legislature may change the limits of any judicial district, or increase or decrease the number of districts, or the judges thereof.” Section 6. “Until otherwise provided by law, the Judicial Districts of the State shall be constituted as follows: . . . Third District: — The counties of Summit, Salt Lake and Tooele, in which there shall be elected three district judges.” Section 16. Was the Legislature inhibited by these provisions of the paramount law, from passing an act increasing the number of district judges to four in the Third Judicial District? 'The Attorney-General says it was, and, if this be true, then the act in question is void, and the construction which the Legisla-. ture put upon the constitutional provisions, is erroneous and must be discarded. If the provision in section 5 were to be considered independently of the others, and given general effect, without considering the conditions under which it was adopted, it would be clear that the number of judges of that district could never be increased, ex-
When the Constitution was framed, there was in existence a territorial form of government, with laws suited to that government. The Territory had been divided into four judicial districts, and one judge presided over each district. Thus, confronted with governmental facilities, which were regarded no longer suitable to a prosperous and growing section of country, the convention, assembled for that purpose, drafted the Constitution, and it must be construed in view of the necessities and conditions which impelled the change of government, and in view of the objects sought to be achieved. “Constitutions,” says Judge Dillon (1 Dill. Mun. Corp., sec. 3a), “are not to be interpreted alone by their words abstractly considered, but by their words read in the light of the conditions and necessities in which the provisions originated, and in view of the purposes sought to be attained and secured.” The territorial form of government was to be abrogated, and a state form a.t the same time created and instituted. The object was to mate the government for the State complete and operative from the very time of the taking, effect of the Constitution. The new government necessarily had to be effective before its legislative branch could act. The Constitution, therefore, had to be so framed as to give life and power to the government in the meantime, and, to effectuate such result, it was necessary to provide for officers to be chosen'at the same time of the adoption by the people of the Constitution, and, in addition to providing for a permanent government, to make some-temporary provisions to enable such officers and the various departments of the government, to perform their functions. The provisions of the Constitution therefore may obviously be divided into two classes: First, those for temporary purposes, which were intended to control and be operative, and to constitute the rule of action, from the time the Constitution took effect until such time that the legislative depart
The position that the provision of section 6 as to the increasing or decreasing of the number of judges should be construed, so as to apply only to six of the seven districts provided for in section 5, whose limits are defined in section 16, and not to the Third District, mentioned in the last section, is not tenable. It violates the familiar rules of constitutional construction that the words employed in the instrument must be given their natural and ordinary meaning, unless a different meaning is indicated by the context; and that effect must be given, if possible, to every section and clause. Nothing appears from the context to show that á different meaning was intended, and, as we have seen, it is possible, by another perfectly rational construction, to give force and effect to each of the several provisions in controversy.
Upon careful "examination of the several provisions in question in the light of other provisions of the Constitution, and of the conditions which confronted the framers of that instrument, the conclusion is irresistible that sections 5 and 16 were designed to have force and effect at the time of the election of officers and •adoption of the Constitution, and “until otherwise provided by law” — that is, until superseded and changed by legislative enactment; and that the provision of section 6 was intended for permanent purposes.
The interpretation which we have thus placed upon the organic law is warranted not only by the principles of constitutional construction, but also is manifestly in harmony with and justified by that decent respect due to the wisdom, honesty, and patriotism of the framers of the instrument and of the sovereignty that adopted it. So the construction as to these provisions of the organic law, and the conclusion reached, are in harmony with the doctrine announced in the case of State v. Tingey, supra, where similar principles were dis
The final question is, under such interpretation, is the act in question a violation of the Constitution? We think not. The act does not appear to be violative
We are of the opinion that the enactment by virtue of which the defendant was appointed, and in pursuance of which he qualified, is discharging the duties of the office, and claiming the emoluments thereof, was a valid exercise of legislative power, and that the prayer of the Attorney-General to oust the incumbent from the office must be denied.
It is so ordered.