County of Los Angeles v. Emme

MoCOMB, J.

This is an original application for a writ of mandate to require respondent (clerk of the Municipal Court of the City of Los Angeles) to pay into the county treasury of petitioner (County of Los Angeles) $3,441.50 collected by respondent as fines, the payment of which were conditions precedent to the suspending in part or

in toto

of sentences imposed by the Municipal Court of the City of Los Angeles. The undisputed facts are: Respondent' has collected from various defendants a sum totaling $3,441.50, which he now retains as fines, pursuant to judgments rendered by the Municipal Court, of which the following are typical examples:

(a)

“It is ordered and adjudged by the court that said Jesse Thompson be imprisoned in the City Jail of Los Angeles City for the term of ninety days and the said defendant be discharged at the expiration of said term.

“The foregoing sentence is suspended and defendant placed in the custody and under the supervision of the probation department for six months on the following conditions:

“1. That on or before the 15th day of April, 1940, he pay the sum of $50.00 to the clerk of this court:

“2. That his driver’s license be forwarded to Sacramento and suspended for thirty days:

“3. That he report as directed to the probation officer.”

(b)

“That said Leonard Sarselli be fined in the sum of $25.00 and that in default of the payment of said fine on or before 5:00 p. m. of April 4, 1940, that said Leonard Sarselli be imprisoned in the City Jail of said Los Angeles City in the proportion of one day’s imprisonment for every $5.00 of said fine until said fine be wholly satisfied, not exceeding five days, and that the defendant be discharged on payment of such portion of said fine as shall not have been satisfied by imprisonment at the rate above prescribed—$1.00 of said sentence suspended.”

(e)

“That the said Theodore F. Pierce be imprisoned in the City Jail of Los Angeles City for the term of ten days and

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