Jackson v. Blair

• Decision Date: 07 October 1921
• Docket Number: No. 13953.,13953.
• Citation: Jackson v. Blair, 298 Ill. 605, 132 N.E. 221 (Ill. 1921)
• Parties: JACKSON et al. v. BLAIR, Superintendent of Public Instruction, et al.
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

298 Ill. 605

132 N.E. 221

JACKSON et al.

v.BLAIR, Superintendent of Public Instruction, et al.

No. 13953.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

June 22, 1921.

Rehearing Denied Oct. 7, 1921.

Certiorari by L. T. Jackson and others against Francis G. Blair, Superintendent of Public Instruction, and others, to review proceedings for detachment of territory from Toulon Township High School District No. 4, Stark County. From an order quashing the writ, the petitioners appeal.

Reversed and remanded, with directions.

Appeal from Circuit Court, Stark County; Charles V. Miles, judge.

J. H. Rennick, of Toulon, T. W. Hoopes, of Springfield, and F. B. Brian, of Toulon, for appellants.

Edward J. Brundage, Atty. Gen. (Clarence N. Boord, of Springfield, of counsel), for appellee Blair.

Marsh & Rice, of Galesburg, and John W. Fling, Jr., of Toulon, for other appellees.

CARTER, J.

This was a petition for certiorari filed September, 1920, in the circuit court of Stark county, to review three proceedings for the detachment of territory from Toulon Township high school district No. 4, in that county, one being the proceeding of the ex officio board of Stark county, including the subsequent appeal to the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the other two being the proceedings of the ex officio boards of Stark and Knox counties, including subsequent appeals to said State Superintendent. All of said proceedings were had before said boards and the superintendent under the provisions of section 90 of ‘An act to establish and maintain a system of free schools,’ in force June 12, 1909, as amended in 1917. Hurd's Stat. 1917, p. 2649. On the return of the Superintendent of Public Instruction showing the records in his office the cause was heard on motion of appellees to quash the writ of certiorari and on motion of appellants to quash the record, whereupon the motion of appellees was sustained and an order was entered quashing the writ at petitioners' cost. This appeal was brought direct to this court.

It is first argued by counsel for appellees that the proceedings before this court are barred by laches; that the first petition for the detachment of a portion of said high school district was made August 1, 1917, and the decision on appeal before the Superintendent of Public Instruction ordering a detachment was made March 13, 1918; that the other two petitions were filed before the proper boards a few months later, and the appeal to the Superintendent of Public Instruction taken in due course; that the petition for the writ of certiorari was not filed until September, 1920, practically 2 1/2 years after the first petition for detachment was filed before the board in Stark county and more than 2 years after the filing of the other petitions; and that therefore, under the reasoning of this court in People v. Burdette, 285 Ill. 48, 120 N. E. 519, and authorities there cited, the delay was such as to deprive appellants of the right to a review in this, court.

There can be no question, under the reasoning of People v. Burdette, supra, and authorities there cited, that the delay would bar the hearing by this court if this were the same sort of a case as was there under consideration. But that case involved the holding of a position under the Civil Service Law (Hurd's Rev. St. 1919, c. 24a), and this court by various decisions, notably Clark v. City of Chicago, 233 Ill. 113, 84 N. E. 170, had established a rule that in that class of cases the review must be brought by certiorari within six months or the action would be barred by laches. This court in Schlosser v. Commissioners of Highways, 235 Ill. 214, 85 N. E. 195, in reviewing the Clark Case, held that that rule did not apply in proceedings to review the orders of public authorities as to vacating roads and laying out new ones, giving the reasons why in civil service proceedings public interest demanded speedy action. In the quite recent case of Fisher v. McIntosh, 277 Ill. 432, 115 N. E. 529, the doctrine of the Schlosser Case was approved with reference to review proceedings as to the boundaries of school districts under certiorari, and it was said that the doctrine of laches had no application in thoses cases, and that the period of limitation named in the Clark Case would not apply to writs of error to review proceedings ‘where nothing has been done, as in these cases, by the public authorities which will cause great public detriment or inconvenience in case the proceedings are quashed.’ This record does not indicate such public inconvenience or detriment as would require the quashing of these proceedings. We do not think the doctrine of laches can be invoked to prevent the review of these proceedings.

Section 90 of the School Law, after providing in its earlier provisions for detaching territory from one high school district and adding it to another on petition presented to the county superintendent of schools, the county...