Farmer v. Wiseman

• Decision Date: 14 June 1941
• Citation: 151 S.W.2d 1085,177 Tenn. 578
• Parties: FARMER v. WISEMAN et al.
• Court: Tennessee Supreme Court

151 S.W.2d 1085

177 Tenn. 578

FARMER v. WISEMAN et al.

Supreme Court of Tennessee.

June 14, 1941

Appeal from Chancery Court, Sequatchie County; Alan S. Kelly Special Chancellor.

Suit by B. R. Farmer against Ed Wiseman and others, to enjoin defendants as members named by statute to county road commission from acting in such capacity.From an adverse decree, defendants appeal.

Decree affirmed.

Charles C. Moore, of Chattanooga, for complainant.

Goins & Gammon, of Chattanooga, for defendants.

CHAMBLISS Justice.

The bill attacked the constitutionality of Chapter 220, Private Acts of 1941, repealing the Sequatchie County road law enacted in 1939, and providing a new road law for that County.The Chancellor (Circuit Judge Alan S. Kelly sitting by interchange) held the Act unconstitutional on the ground that it failed to fix any term of office for the members of the road Commission created by the Act.He sustained the bill, and made permanent his injunction restraining the members of the new Commission named in the Act from acting.Defendants appealed.

The Act created a commission of three and named defendants Wiseman Harwood and Wells as chairman, secretary and associate chairman, respectively, fixed the compensation for each of them, provided that they should take and hold office from and after the passage of the Act, (thus ousting the incumbent)"until the general election of the Road Commission in 1942."

The insistence below was that the Act conferred upon the Commissioners named therein an "unlimited term and vests in the Commission itself the election of successors."The opinion of the learned Special Chancellor, brought up with the record, thus clearly and forcefully discusses this issue:

"By Section 2 of the Act it is provided that these three members are to be elected from the County at large 'at the regular general election thereafter.'

"By Section 13 of the Act, the defendantEd Wiseman is appointed Chairman, Lester Harwood Secretary and Willie Wells Associate Commissioner to serve 'until the general election of the Road Commissioners in 1942.'And by Section 15, 'that in the event of a vacancy occurring in said County Road Commission or on account of any reason whatsoever the vacancy shall be filled by the remaining Commissioners and the person chosen to fill said vacancy shall serve until his successor is elected and qualified.'

"This is all there is in the Act with respect to when the Road Commission created shall be elected; when their terms begin and when they end.There are two general elections in 1942.Three questions the Act leaves unanswered, to-wit:

"1.What general election in 1942.

"2.When does the term of the Commissioners to be elected begin.

"3.When do the terms of the Commissioners so elected end.

"It is correctly insisted by the defendants that the courts will not hold an Act to be invalid if there is any reasonable construction of the Act which will permit it to stand.

"The Courts will seek the aid of the Constitution itself to sustain the validity of an Act of the Legislature.As said by Judge Shields in the case of Maxey v. Powers,117 Tenn. [381], page 400[101 S.W. 181, at page 186]:

"'The Constitution is the fundamental law of the state, and every statute enacted by the General Assembly must be construed in the light of its provisions.Those provisions applicable to the particular legislation in hand are to be considered as written into it and a part of it.'

And also at page 403[of 117 Tenn., at page 187 of 101 S.W.]:

"'The legislative intent will prevail over the strict letter or literal sense of the language used, and, in order to carry into effect this intent, general terms will be limited, and those that are narrow expanded.'

"In this case it was held that the Constitution provided for an election which the Act did not.Construing the Act in question in the light of the Constitution the first question, 'what election in 1942', can be answered.Section 5 of Article 7 of the Constitution provides for the election of judicial and other civil officers on the first Thursday in August.'Other civil officers' has been said to include County officers.Consequently, construing the Act and the Constitution together the Commission is to be elected at the general August election, 1942.

"As to the second question, when do the terms of the Commissioners elected in August, 1942, begin, the Act is silent.Section 5 of Article 7 of the Constitution further provides that the term of all officers elected at the general August election shall begin on the succeeding first day of September.

"In the case of State v. Ritzius,164 Tenn. 259[47 S.W.2d 558], it was held that in an Act providing for a different beginning of such term the Constitution would be read into the Act so as to make the term begin on September 1st, though a later date for its beginning was fixed by the Act.

"In the case of State v. Mayes,165 Tenn. 381[54 S.W.2d 941], the Constitution was read into an Act which provided a different date for the beginning of the term of the office of Tax Assessor.

"So reading the Constitution into the Actwe can with certainty say that the term of the...