Antilla v. Justice's Court of Big River Twp.

PRESTON, J.

A proceeding in prohibition. ' Admittedly the Justice’s Court of Big River Township of Mendocino County proposes to try petitioner for a misdemeanor cognizable by the Justice’s Court, committed in Ten Mile River Township of the same county. Petitioner by this proceeding presents the question of the jurisdiction of the court in the former township over this offense. This question in turn involves a consideration of section 1425 of the Penal Code, as amended in 1929 (Stats. 1929, p. 861).

Prior to amendment said section, in so far as applicable here, read as follows: “The justices’ courts have jurisdiction of the following public offenses committed within the respective -counties in which such courts are established (offenses covered here listed) ...”

Said section now reads as follows: “The justices’ courts have jurisdiction as follows: 1. In cities, cities and counties, towns and judicial townships having a population of thirty thousand or more, said courts shall have jurisdiction in all criminal cases amounting to misdemeanor only, except those of which the juvenile court is given original jurisdic

[622]

tion. 2. In those having a population of less than thirty-thousand said courts shall have jurisdiction in all criminal cases amounting to misdemeanor only, punishable by fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, or imprisonment not exceeding six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.”

The omitted language “committed within the respective counties in which such courts are established” first found its way into our statutory law in section 69 of chapter 8 on Justices’ Courts, enacted in 1853 (Stats. 1853, p. 299). There for the first time the Justices’ Courts were given county-wide jurisdiction over certain public offenses. Section 90 of chapter 8 of the prior act of 1851, concerning the Justices’ Courts of the state, contained the following language (Stats. 1851, p. 23) : “These courts shall also have jurisdiction, except within the limits of the cities of San Francisco, Sacramento and Stockton, of the following public offenses,

committed luithin their respective cities or townships

(listing the offenses) ...” This evidently remained the law until the act of 1853 above cited.