County of Los Angeles v. Justice's Court

WASTE, C. J.

The County of Los Angeles, through its duly authorized county counsel, is here seeking a writ of mandate to compel the respondent Justices’ Courts, located in the county, and the duly elected justices of such courts, to exercise original jurisdiction in certain causes which the respondent courts and justices have refused to entertain.

At the recent session of the legislature section 112 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the state of California and section 1425 of the Penal Code of the state, relating to the jurisdiction of Justices’ Courts, were amended (Stats. 1929, p. 834; Stats. 1929, p. 861), the amendments, generally speaking, having the effect of changing and enlarging the jurisdiction of these courts, particularly in cities, cities and counties, towns and judicial townships having a population of thirty thousand or more. It is alleged in the petition that the townships in question have a population of thirty thousand or more. This allegation, except as to the township of Pasadena, is denied by the answer of certain respondents, who also assert that there is no official census showing the number of inhabitants in the townships to be that alleged in the petition. Respondents allege themselves to be ready, willing and desirous of entertaining causes involving the increased jurisdiction prescribed by the sections,

supra,

but, because of the uncertainty as to the population in their respective political subdivisions, in the absence of a federal enumeration of inhabitants, they hesitate to act in such matters unless and until a census be taken by the supervisors of the county under section 4055 of the Political Code, or the federal census of 1930 be taken

[431]

and the result announced. As an alternative, the respondents asked that this court judicially determine the jurisdiction of the respective courts conferred by the amendments,

supra.

This we have decided to do because of the delays incident to1 an enumeration of the inhabitants by the taking of a census.

The jurisdiction of the respondent courts depends upon the