People v. Hastings

California Supreme Court Jul 1, 1868Published

Before: Sawyer

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Holding. The court held that an assessment roll lacking an intelligible valuation cannot be corrected by the Auditor or other officers under curative statutes, as the valuation must be made by the Assessor.

Issues

Whether an assessment roll lacking an intelligible valuation can be corrected by the Auditor and other officers under curative legislation.
Whether the testimony of an Assessor is admissible to explain the intended value of figures on an assessment roll.
Whether the Legislature can authorize officers other than the Assessor to perform the valuation of property for tax purposes.

Disposition. reversed and a new trial granted

Quotations verified verbatim against the opinion

“The testimony of the Assessor, introduced on the trial, to show what he intended to represent by the figures used, was inadmissible.”

“The Legislature cannot make the original valuation, or authorize any officer other than the Assessor to do it.”

“The difficulty in this case, is, that the assessment roll, on its face, did not express any intelligible valuation.”

Synopsis

Assessment Roll—Dollar Marks.—Where, in an assessment roll, there was neither a dollar mark prefixed to the figures inserted in the column headed “Valuation of lands,” nor at the head of such column, and nothing appeared elsewhere in the roll to explain the intended meaning of said figures: held, that there was no assessed valuation of certain lands described for assessment in the roll, and such assessment was void.

Idem.—In such case, the provisions of the curative Act, passed April 2d, 1866, (Stats. 1865-6, p. 831,) do not authorize the supplying of the defects n the duplicate assessment roll, so as to give it validity.

Idem—Parol Evidence to explain not Admissible.—In any case, the duplicate assessment roll can only he corrected from data contained in the original roll, as made by the Assessor; and when not so furnished, parol evidence is not admissible to supply its place.

Idem—Said Act Ineffectual.—Said Act of April 2d, 1866, so far as it provides for amendments of assessment rolls, is ineffectual for any purpose, because if the roll, without amendment, contains substance sufficient to make it valid as an assessment of property, the curative effect of the statute is not needed; and if it does not, no legislative enactment can either make the assessment, or empower . any other officer except the Assessor to make it.

Idem—Suggestion as to Curative Acts.—The only mode in which defective assessments may be authorized by the Legislature to be corrected, is to empower the Assessor who made the assessment to make the needed corrections, or authorize it to be done by others in his presence and upon his testimony, showing what was intended by the defective matter requiring correction. Per Sawyer, C. J*.

By the Court, Sawyer, C. J.: This is a suit for taxes. The case is clearly within the principle laid down in The People v. San Francisco Savings Union, 31 Cal. 135. There was nothing in the assessment roll, as returned by the Assessor, by which it could be determined, what value the Assessor put upon the land. The testimony of the Assessor, introduced on the trial, to show what he intended to represent by the figures used, was inadmissible. This was so held in the ease cited (lb., 138-9), and we know of no Act since passed authorizing such testimony. The curative Act of April 2d, 1866 (Laws 1865-6, p. 795), is- precisely like the Act in question in The People v. San Francisco Savings Union (Ib., 139). And the similar Act of April 2d, 1866 (Laws 1865-6, p. 831), is no more effective than the others. Eeither aid the assessment. The County Auditor, with the advice and consent of the District [575]Attorney and the President of the Board of Supervisors, undertook to correct the assessment roll, by supplying the dollar marks, and other omissions, in pursuance of the Act of December 23d, 1865. (Laws 1865-6, p. 5.) But this Act is not broad enough to enable those officers to supply the defects and make a valuation appear, where none appeared before. The Act only purports to authorize these officers to correct the roll and supply defects in cases, “where from the said assessment roll, duplicate, or other official document and proceedings connected therewith, it can be ascertained what was intended.” The duplicate can afford no aid, as we pointed out in The People v. San Francisco Savings Union, 31 Cal. 137; for it is made out from the roll returned by the Assessor, after his duties are fully completed, and rests upon the valuation therein made. If no valuation is found in the assessment roll, none can be assumed in the duplicate. "We know of no official document which the Assessor is authorize by the statute to return, other than the assessment roll itself. At all events, no other official document was introduced in evidence, and there is no pretense that the Auditor corrected by any others. Uor does the Auditor testify that there was anything which enabled him to determine what was intended. The most he can say is, that “from the writing on the assessment roll I supposed that was what was intended; there were no ‘$’ marks on the assessment roll; they were all placed there under the advice of the officers above named.” It is clear that there was nothing in the roll by which it “ could be ascertained what was intended,” beyond the mere surmises of the parties. The assessment roll spoke no more intelligibly to the officers named, for the purpose of correcting the roll, than it would to the Court, had it been presented as evidence, for the purpose of showing that a valuation had been made. And we so indicated in the case before cited. (Ib., 136.) The truth is, the statute in question, with respect to the point under consideration, accomplished nothing, when construed according to its own terms. It merely leaves the matter, where it was before, to be determined upon the face

People v. Hastings

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