STATE OF CONNECTICUT v. JANE DOE
Supreme Court of Connecticut
Argued October 10, 1961—decided February 6, 1962
149 Conn. 216
BALDWIN, C. J., KING, MURPHY, SHEA and ALCORN, JS.
In this opinion the other judges concurred.
Ernest H. Halstedt, assistant attorney general, with whom, on the brief, was Albert L. Coles, attorney general, for the plaintiff.
William I. Mark, for the defendant.
The defendant came from Rutland, Vermont, to Hartford, Connecticut, in January, 1961. Her parents reside in Rutland. From the time of her birth on September 14, 1939, until she came to Hartford, she had never resided in this state. On March 9, 1961, she applied for, and since that date has been receiving, welfare assistance from the city of Hartford. On March 13, 1961, the welfare authorities of Hartford, acting pursuant to
This is a case of first impression in this state. In Harrison v. Gilbert, 71 Conn. 724, 729, 43 A. 190 (1899), this court held that under the statute (Rev. 1888, § 3303) which is presently
The result we reach in the case at bar requires further proceedings and makes it desirable and necessary to review the history of
At its 1961 session, the General Assembly amended
The power of removal from the state conferred by
In 1933, the General Assembly enacted legislation authorizing the making of reciprocal agreements with other states regarding the interstate transportation of poor and indigent persons. Cum. Sup. 1933, § 475b; as amended, Cum. Sup. 1935, § 667c. This was the origin of what is presently
“The range of state power is not defined and delimited by an enumeration of legislative subject-matter. The Constitution did not purport to exhaust imagination and resourcefulness in devising fruitful interstate relationships. It is not to be construed to limit the variety of arrangements which are possible through the voluntary and cooperative actions of individual States with a view to increasing harmony within the federalism created by the Constitution.” New York v. O‘Neill, 359 U.S. 1, 6, 79 S. Ct. 564, 3 L. Ed. 2d 585; see Frankfurter & Landis, “The Compact Clause of the Constitution—A Study in Interstate Adjustments,” 34 Yale L.J. 685, 688-691. Agreements relating to the care of the poor, made among the states pursuant to their statutes, are not compacts which challenge the su-
When the welfare legislation which we have been discussing is considered as a whole, it is apparent that the legislature intended to create a program for dealing with indigent persons and paupers who had an established residence in this state in a different manner, in some respects, from those who did not. It is significant that in undertaking major revisions of the statutes relating to the care and settlement of paupers, the legislature in 1961 deliberately retained
The defendant claims that
Section 17-273a states that the court, on the ap-
The significance of these statutory changes becomes apparent when it is recalled that justices of the peace were from the earliest times considered ministerial as well as judicial officers. McCarthy v. Clancy, 110 Conn. 482, 495, 498, 148 A. 551; Alcorn v. Fellows, 102 Conn. 22, 31, 127 A. 911; 1 Swift, System, p. 92. No problem of unconstitutional delegation of power was involved when the ministerial power and duty of issuing warrants was vested in them. But when the statute was changed to transfer the function to “any court having jurisdiction,” it ceased to be true that the function could be considered merely ministerial. Courts can constitutionally exercise only judicial functions. State Water Commission v. Norwich, 141 Conn. 442, 445, 107 A.2d 270; Modeste v. Public Utilities Commission, 97 Conn. 453, 458, 117 A. 494. If
Courts “cannot impute to the Legislature an intent to pass an unconstitutional statute and a law should be construed, if it reasonably can be done, so as to make it valid.” State v. Muolo, 119 Conn. 322, 330, 176 A. 401; State ex rel. Rourke v. Barbieri, 139 Conn. 203, 209, 91 A.2d 773; Wilson v. West Haven, 142 Conn. 646, 656, 116 A.2d 420. If the word “shall” is construed as permissive and not mandatory, the statute expresses a legislative intent that the court exercise a judicial discretion in acting on an application of the welfare commissioner for a warrant and we avoid any question of unconstitutionality in this respect. That the statute so construed expresses the intent of the legislature is clearly manifest from the 1959 amendment giving the commissioner authority to act with-
In passing on an application for a warrant, the court would be required to consider relevant evidence such as the circumstances involved in the coming of the indigent person to Connecticut; his situation now that he is here; the circumstances involved if he remains; whether he came to this state able and willing to support himself, if he could find work and make his home here, or whether he came or was sent deliberately to seek welfare assistance; and whether he will need, indefinitely, such assistance in the form of financial aid or medical or institutional care. The evidence before the court should disclose whether, as to any indigent person whom the commissioner seeks by warrant to remove, the statute operates in a reasonable way, with due regard to the rights of the individual and the general welfare of the state, in conformity with constitutional mandates. “A statute may operate in a manner consistent with constitutional requirements when applied to one set of circumstances, although as to another it may produce a result which makes its operation unconstitutional.” State v. Sul, 146 Conn. 78, 81, 147 A.2d 686, and cases cited; Alabama State Federation of Labor v. McAdory, 325 U.S. 450, 462, 65 S. Ct. 1384, 89 L. Ed. 1725. We can assume that
The facts stipulated in this case are wholly inadequate to furnish a proper basis on which to consider the constitutionality of a statute which has such far-reaching consequences as
We refuse to answer the questions reserved.
In this opinion KING, SHEA and ALCORN, Js., concurred.
MURPHY, J. (concurring). I concur in the result reached by the majority opinion but not in the directive as to the manner in which the court is to exercise its judicial function. The welfare commissioner is given a certain amount of discretion by
