Rapaport v. Civil Service Commission

PLUMMER, J.

This cause is before us upon an appeal from the judgment of the trial court denying the application of the petitioner for a writ of

certiorari

annulling and setting aside the findings and judgment of the respondents dismissing the petitioner from his position as an assistant physician at the Mendocino State Hospital.

The return made by the respondents in this case is exceedingly voluminous, and the brief filed in behalf of the petitioner calls attention to many points of procedure alleged to be defective, which, from the views hereinafter set forth, need not he referred to in this opinion.

The charges filed against the petitioner upon which respondents based their judgment is in the following words and figures, to wit:

‘

‘Unprofessional Conduct: (a) In that you accepted from one S. PI. Cox a fee for medical service in violation of Section 2157 of the Political Code of the State of California, which provides that assistant physicians shall not engage

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in private practice, but shall devote their entire time and attention to the duties of their office.

“Inefficiency and Neglect of Duty: In that, on or about June 29, 1929, and on several occasions you failed to visit ward 7 of the Mendocino State Hospital, and that on or about June 22, 1929, and on several occasions you failed to visit ward 4 of the Mendocino State Hospital, which wards were a portion of the service assigned to you, in your professional capacity for several consecutive days, resulting in the patients of these wards being without medical attention during such periods.”A

Charge “B”, scheduled “Unprofessional Conduct”, was dismissed by the commissioners and requires no further mention.

Section 14 of the Act No. 1400, Deering’s General Laws of California, 1931, volume 1, page 630 [Stats. 1929, p. 252], relative to the powers of the Civil Service Commission, specifies the grounds upon which officers and employees may be removed, to wit: “Incompetency, inefficiency, insubordination, dishonesty, intemperance, immorality, profanity, discourteous treatment of the public, or other employees, improper political activity, wilful disobedience, violation of the provisions of this act or of the rules and regulations of the Commission, or for any other failure of good behavior or any other act or acts which are incompatible with or inimical to the public service.”