Dantzler v. Callison
| Decision Date | 20 August 1956 |
| Docket Number | No. 17200,17200 |
| Citation | 94 S.E.2d 177,230 S.C. 75 |
| Court | South Carolina Supreme Court |
| Parties | Dr. M. S. DANTZLER, Individually and as President of the South Carolina Naturopathic Physicians Association, et al., Plaintiffs, v. T. C. CALLISON, Attorney General of South Carolina, Defendant. |
Price & Poag, Greenville, for plaintiffs.
T. C. Callison, Atty. Gen., James S. Verner, Asst. Atty. Gen., for defendant.
This action was brought in the original jurisdiction of this Court, and as the pleadings will be printed, we only state very briefly the allegations thereof.
The plaintiffs allege that the individual plaintiffs are all licensed naturopathic physicians and were admitted to practice in compliance with the law prior to June 1946, and that the last ten practitioners admitted in the State were admitted under the amended act of 1949. During the 1956 Session of the General Assembly of South Carolina, the following act was adopted:
Section 3 provides for the punishment of the violation of the Act. Section 4 provides that all Acts or parts of Acts inconsistent therewith were repealed.
The plaintiffs seek a declaratory judgment as to their rights and contend that the Act is unconstitutional in that it violates the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of and Constitution of the United States by depriving them of their property and property rights without due process of law and denies them the equal protection of the law; is arbitrary and discriminatory in that it singles out naturopathy, one of the arts of healing, and abolishes its practice. They further allege that the Act is in violation of Article 1, § 5; Article 1, § 17; and Article 3, § 17, of the Constitution of South Carolina in that it deprives them of their property and property rights without due process of law; denies them equal protection; is arbitrary and discriminatory; and that the Act relates to more than one subject which is not expressed in the title. It is further contended that the plaintiffs entered the practice of naturopathy as a means of a livelihood; they have invested much time and great sums of money; and that naturopathy has been recognized by the General Assembly of South Carolina since 1920; and it is finally contended that the Act is prohibitory and asks that it be declared null and void.
The answer admits that the individual plaintiffs have been practicing naturopathy since their admission and admits the passage of the Act, however, it denies that the Act is in violation of either the State or Federal Constitutions. It is also admitted that by the Act the practice of naturopathy, as a separate cult, is prohibited; and that it makes unlawful certain acts by the plaintiffs, otherwise lawful, but lawful only to those coming under the provisions of the law. Defendant contends that the purpose of the Act is to protect the public health and welfare and is a valid exercise of the police power of the State, and denies that it is either arbitrary or discriminatory.
We think it may be fairly stated that the questions involved are:
(A) Is the title of the act defective so as to render it unconstitutional in view of Section 17 of Article 3 of the South Carolina Constitution?
(B) Is the Act violative of either the Federal or State Constitutions?
(C) May the State, under the police power, so regulate?
The title of the Act in question is as follows:
'An Act To Repeal Sections 56-901 Through 56-919, Code Of Laws Of South Carolina, 1952, Relating To The Practice Of Naturopathy; To Make It Unlawful For Certain Persons To Practice Naturopathy In This State; And To Provide Penalties For Violating The Provisions Of This Act.'
Section 17, Article 3 of the South Carolina Constitution reads as follows:
'Every Act or Resolution having the force of law shall relate to but one subject, and that shall be expressed in the title.'
The purpose of this section is to prevent deception of the public and to prevent insertion of matters not germane to the general subject. Furman v. Willimon, 106 S.C. 159, 90 S.E. 700; Miles Laboratories v. Seignious, D.C., 30 F.Supp. 549.
This section is to be construed with great liberality. Gasque v. Nates, 191 S.C. 271, 2 S.E.2d 36.
The requirement should not be enforced in any narrow or technical spirit. It was adopted to prevent certain abuses and it should be reasonably and liberally construed on the one hand so as to guard against these abuses, and on the other hand so as not to embarrass or obstruct needed legislation. Alley v. Daniel, 153 S.C. 217, 150 S.E. 691.
There is no doubt in the mind of this Court as to the validity of the title of the Act, but even if there were some doubt, a statute should be upheld if possible, doubtful cases being resolved in its favor. Alley v. Daniel, supra.
The plaintiffs certainly knew the purpose of the Act, for when the bill was before the General Assembly, according to their brief, they say: 'We appeared before the House Judiciary Committee and the Senate Medical Committee and filed a printed brief along the lines followed herein.'
Plaintiffs rely upon Ex parte Wachovia Bank & Trust Co. (Nettles v. People's Bank of Darlington), 160 S.C. 104, 158 S.E. 214, however, we think this authority affords the plaintiffs no comfort as a study of that decision will reveal the difference between that and the instant case.
The purpose of this provision is to prevent 'log-rolling legislation'; to prevent surprise or fraud upon the legislature by means of provisions in bills of which the title gave no indication, and which may be, therefore, overlooked and unintentionally adopted; and to apprise the people of the subject of the legislation in order that they may have opportunity of being heard, if they so desire. McCollum v. Snipes, 213 S.C. 254, 49 S.E.2d 12, and many other authorities therein cited.
What subject, if we may ask, is embraced in the Act which is not referred to in the title or not germane to the purposes of the Act? The plaintiffs direct our attention to none, and none does an examination thereof reveal. It is indeed the duty of this Court to sustain the constitutionality of a sacred act of the legislature unless the contrary most clearly appears from the language of the statute. This Court will adheres to the doctrine that it was not established by the people to assume the duties of legislation, and neither will it declare an act of the legislature unconstitutional unless the language of the Act itself plainly and unmistakably reveals its conflict with the Constitution.
The authorities seem to abundantly differ with plaintiffs' contention, and we so hold.
The plaintiffs contend that the main question for consideration is: 'Does the Act deprive the plaintiffs of their property rights without due process of law, and does the Act deny to them equal protection of the law?'
'Naturopathy is one of a number of fields in the art of healing' * * * and has been recognized 'as accepted processes of preventive and curative medicine', and every person so practicing, after being duly licensed, 'stands for all purposes in the position of a physician in the orthodox fields of medicine * * *.' Williams v. Capital Life & Health Insurance Co., 209 S.C. 512, 41 S.E.2d 208, 210.
From the record, as well as from an independent examination, we conclude that Naturopathy is of comparatively recent recognition, so far as South Carolina is concerned. The area of its field of practice seems to have increased much more rapidly than the required educational qualifications of those who profess to practice. Indeed, it is rather difficult for the ordinary layman to understand how one may be permitted to practice 'the use and practice of phytotherapy, minor surgery, obstetrics, gynecology, autotherapy and biologicals', or to 'purifying, cleansing and normalizing human tissues for preservation or restoration of health, according to the fundamental principles of anatomy and physiology', without first satisfactorily giving evidence of his unquestioned training and qualifications. Who is to set the standard for such persons? Shall it be the afflicted in mind and body, who plead day and night for relief, or shall it be those who are suddenly stricken in and about their hearts, lungs, stomachs or blood stream, when even the most perfect training, experience and care may not be enough? Or should it be the State? The State may not say to its citizens what they must do or to whom they must go in time of mental and physical distress, but we think the State has the right to say and direct what the qualifications shall be of those persons to whom its citizens turn in their hour of need.
Regardless of anything which may appear to a layman's mind as to what should be the requirements of one who is to diagnose and find...
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