In Re Romero

CURTIS, J.

Petitioner seeks his release from imprisonment by means of a writ of

habeas corpus.

He alleges that he is unlawfully imprisoned and illegally restrained of his liberty by the sheriff of the county of Contra Costa. The return of the sheriff shows that he holds and retains in his custody the body of the petitioner under and by virtue of an order of commitment of the justice’s court of the fifteenth judicial township of said county of Contra Costa issued in the case of the

People of the State of California

v.

Manuel Romero,

and that .said order of commitment was issued upon a judgment of said court, adjudging said petitioner to be guilty of a misdemeanor, to wit, disturbing the peace.

The ground upon which the petitioner bases his claim that his imprisonment is illegal is set forth by proper and sufficient allegations in said petition. This ground as thus stated is that said justice’s court is not, and at the times the proceedings against petitioner were pending therein, which resulted in his conviction and imprisonment, was not, a legally constituted court, and therefore that all such-proceedings, . including the issuance of the commitment

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under which he is now held by said sheriff, are illegal and void.

The facts upon which this claim is made as they appear from the record before us are that the fifteenth judicial township of the county of Contra Costa is situated in the city of Richmond, and that the boundaries of said township and of said city are identical and coterminous; that said city of Richmond in the year 1909 under the powers granted it by the constitution of the state adopted a charter for .the government of its municipal offices; that by the terms of said charter there was established in said city a police court known as the “Police Court of the City of Richmond,” and that by the terms of said charter “Within the city limits said court shall have concurrent and co-ordinate jurisdiction with township justices’ courts in all matters and things in which said justices’ courts now or may hereafter have jurisdiction; and the judge of said police court shall have as aforesaid like authority, power and jurisdiction as the justices of said justices’ courts.” This power to frame their own charters was given to cities of the state by sections 8 and 8½ of article XI of the constitution. Section 8½ authorized a city to establish a police court by means of a charter and at the time said city of Richmond adopted its charter merely authorized cities to provide in their charters “For the constitution, regulation, government and jurisdiction of police courts, and for the manner in which, the times at which, and the terms for which the judges of said courts shall be elected or appointed, and for the compensation of said judges and of their clerks and attaches.” In 1914 said section 8½ was amended so as to authorize cities by their charters to establish police courts and also municipal courts, and in its amended form this section further provided that “In any city or any city and county, when such municipal court has been established, there shall be no other court inferior to the superior court. ’ ’