In Re Powell

California Court of Appeal Apr 3, 1931 No. Docket No. 121.Published

Before: Jennings

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Holding. The Police Court of the city of Fresno has jurisdiction over the offense of failure to provide for minor children because the city charter validly incorporates the jurisdiction of township justices' courts, which was expanded by the 1929 amendment to Penal Code section 1425.

Issues

Whether a city charter provision incorporating future legislative amendments to general law is an unconstitutional amendment of the charter.
Whether the Fresno Police Court possesses concurrent jurisdiction with township justices' courts over the offense of failure to provide for minor children.

Disposition. denied

Quotations verified verbatim against the opinion

“where such a charter .thus makes a part of itself a general legislative enactment pertinent to the administration of its municipal affairs, and expressly provides that that enactment as thereafter it may be modified by the general legislature”

“it is our opinion that since the township justice’s court of the third judicial township, in which the city of Fresno is located, possesses jurisdiction of the offense of which petitioner herein has been convicted, the city Police Court”

JENNINGS, J.

Petitioner was charged in a complaint filed in the Police Court of the city of Fresno by the district attorney of the county of Fresno with the crime of failure to provide for minor children. A warrant of arrest was issued and petitioner was duly arraigned in said court.

[201]

He entered a plea of not guilty to the charge, waived a trial by jury and was tried and found guilty by the court. He thereupon waived time for the rendition of judgment and was by the court sentenced to be imprisoned in the county jail of the county of Fresno for the term of one year. Petitioner now contends that he is unlawfully imprisoned for the reason that the Police Court of the city of Fresno did not have jurisdiction of the offense with which he was charged and that therefore the judgment by virtue of which he is under sentence of imprisonment is void.

Prior to the amendment of section 1425 of the Penal Code by the legislature of the state of California in the year 1929, the offense with which petitioner was charged herein was triable only in the superior courts. The 1929 amendment of section 1425 of the Penal Code enlarged the jurisdiction of justices’ courts in cities, cities and counties, towns and judicial townships having a population of 30,000 or more, and provided that said courts shall have jurisdiction in all criminal cases amounting to misdemeanor only, except those to which the juvenile court is given original jurisdiction. The Police Court of the city of Fresno owes its origin to the city charter of the city wherein it is situated and from this same instrument it derives its authority and jurisdiction. Section 74 of the city charter of the city of Fresno reads as follows:

“Section 74. Jurisdiction, continued. Within the city limits, said court shall have concurrent jurisdiction with township justices’ courts in all matters and things in which said justices’ courts now or hereafter may have jurisdiction; and said police court shall have, in addition to the special jurisdiction conferred in this article, like authority, power and jurisdiction in the city as now or hereafter may be conferred upon township justices’ courts.”

It is contended by petitioner, first, that the provision of section 74 of the city charter purporting to confer upon the Police Court of the city of Fresno such jurisdiction as might thereafter be conferred upon township justices’ courts, is unconstitutional as being an attempt to amend the city charter in a manner not authorized by the Constitution of the state of California. It is urged that section 8 of article XI of the state Constitution provides the exclusive method for amending the charter of a city, which method requires

In Re Powell

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JENNINGS, J.

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