City and County of Denver v. Bridwell, 16535
| Decision Date | 30 October 1950 |
| Docket Number | No. 16535,16535 |
| Citation | 224 P.2d 217,122 Colo. 520 |
| Parties | CITY AND COUNTY OF DENVER v. BRIDWELL. |
| Court | Colorado Supreme Court |
J. Glenn Donaldson, Abe L. Hoffman, and Patricia Maloy, all of Denver, for plaintiff in error.
No appearance for defendant in error.
Without any appearance for the designated defendant in error, we are called upon to dispose of this case without a brief in opposition to the points specified, and the arguments presented by counsel for plaintiff in error in their brief. We might well affirm the judgment of the lower court without written opinion; however, to avoid reappearance of the question presented by plaintiff in error, an opinion of our court seems advisable.
A complaint was filed against the nonappearing defendant in error in the municipal court of the City and County of Denver charging him with violation of the city ordinances relating to drunkenness, disturbance, and resisting an officer. On hearing, defendant was adjudged guilty and fined in the sum of $180 and costs, and it was ordered that on failure to pay the fine, he be imprisoned in the city jail until the fine was fully satisfied, not to exceed ___ days. Defendant perfected an appeal to the county court of the City and County of Denver under section 41, chapter 127, '35 C.S.A. Prior to the trial date in the county court, the city filed its motion to dismiss the appeal on the ground that the county court lacked jurisdiction to entertain, hear, try, or determine any appeal from a municipal court of the City and County of Denver. This motion was overruled and a jury trial had, resulting in not-guilty verdicts; defendant was discharged and a judgment entered in his favor for costs, including the jury fees.
The city, plaintiff in error, brings the cause here for review by writ of error and its counsel rely solely on their contention that there is no statutory or other valid provision of law vesting jurisdiction in the county court to hear appeals from the municipal court of the City and County of Denver. This contention is not answered, because defendant in the lower court has entered no appearance here, and, having been discharged, he is not now interested.
Regardless of the merits of the contention of counsel for the city, which we will later discuss, their position is inconsistent, in that they have relied upon the existing statutes for perfecting their appeals from the municipal court. The most recent case is City and County of Denver v. Sheldon, Colo., 223 P.2d 618, in which this court announced its opinion September 25, 1950, affirming the judgment of the county court of the City and County of Denver, in a case appealed to that court from the municipal court by the city.
Long prior hereto, and ever since the creation of the consolidated city and county, designated as the City and County of Denver by Article XX of the Constitution of the State of Colorado, appeals from the police court have been perfected under section 41, chapter 127, '35 C.S.A., which provides in part, 'Appeals may be taken from all judgments of said courts to the county court of the same county, where the case shall be tried de novo * * *.'
This section of the statute is found in article 33 of chapter 127, supra, which relates to police magistrate courts in cities of more than 50,000 population. These statutes relating to the creation of police magistrate courts and police magistrates were enacted in 1885, and, with slight amendments not material here, are now in full force and effect.
It is contended by counsel for the city that, acting under the provisions of section 6, article XX of the Constitution, which provides that the city which becomes a home rule city under the amendment may create police courts and define the regulation of the jurisdiction, powers, and duties thereof, and for the election and appointment of police magistrates therefor, it did by ordinance in 1947, amended by ordinance No. 47, series of 1948, create 'a municipal court of the City and County of Denver' to be presided over...
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