Safety Net for Abused Persons v. Segura

• Decision Date: 08 April 1997
• Citation: 692 So.2d 1038
• Parties: 96-1978 La
• Court: Louisiana Supreme Court

Page 1038

692 So.2d 1038

96-1978 La. 4/8/97

SAFETY NET FOR ABUSED PERSONS v. Honorable Robert SEGURA and Honorable Kathryn Boudreaux.

No. 96-CA-1978.

Supreme Court of Louisiana.

April 8, 1997.

Kimball, J., concurred in part, dissented in part, and assigned reasons.

Johnson, J., dissented.

Dennis Ray Stevens, Gibbens, Blackwell & Stevens, New Iberia, for Applicant.

Victoria Reed, Baton Rouge, Rebecca Mims Kirk, Abbeville, for Respondent.

[96-1978 La. 1] MARCUS, Justice. ^*

Safety Net for Abused Persons, Inc. ("SNAP"), filed a petition for a writ of mandamus in the district court directing Judge Robert L. Segura, City Court Judge for the City Court of New Iberia, and Kathryn D. Boudreaux, Clerk of Court for the City Court of New Iberia, to enforce the provisions of La. R.S. 13:1906. La. R.S. 13:1906 directs the clerk of the city courts of New Iberia and Jeanerette, and the municipal courts of Delcambre and Loreauville, to collect an additional fee in civil and criminal cases to support a program to aid victims of domestic violence. Specifically, the statute directs that the money collected be deposited in a special fund to benefit SNAP, a domestic violence program and shelter serving Iberia Parish. Judge Segura had refused to collect the fee mandated by La. R.S. 13:1906 since the effective date of the statute. The trial judge issued a writ of mandamus directing the defendants to comply with the provisions of La. R.S. 13:1906, rejecting the defendants' constitutional challenge to the statute. The defendants perfected a suspensive appeal from the trial court's judgment. The court of appeal ruled that La. R.S. 13:1906 violated La. Const. art. VII, § 14 and constituted an infringement on the powers of the judiciary under the constitutional separation of powers doctrine. The court of appeal thus vacated and set aside the writ of mandamus directing the defendants to comply with the [96-1978 La. 2] requirements of La. R.S. 13:1906. ¹ We granted SNAP's application and docketed the case as an appeal. ² La. Const. art. V, § 5(D)(1).

The issue presented for our consideration is whether La. R.S. 13:1906 violates La. Const. art. VII, § 14 or the separation of powers doctrine found in La. Const. art. II, § 2.

The Louisiana Legislature enacted La. R.S. 13:1906 in 1992. It provides:

A. In addition to all other fees and costs now or hereafter provided by law, the clerk of the city courts of New Iberia and Jeanerette, and the municipal courts of Delcambre and Loreauville, except as otherwise provided by law and subject to the provisions of Code of Civil Procedure Article 5181 et seq., shall collect from every person filing any type of civil suit or proceeding a fee of three dollars per filing. In respect to the municipal courts, the fee shall be in addition to the maximum court costs provided for in R.S. 33:441(a).

B. In each criminal proceeding in which a fine is imposed or court costs are ordered to be paid, an additional fee of three dollars shall be collected by the clerk of the city or municipal court, which shall be in addition to all other fines, costs, or forfeitures lawfully imposed.

C. The clerk shall remit all funds collected pursuant to this Section for deposit in a special fund, which is hereby designated as "SNAP Shelter Fund for Iberia Parish". The expenditure of the funds shall be at the discretion of the board of directors of the local family violence program, Safety Net for Abused Persons, Inc. All funds shall be subject to and included in the program's annual audit. A copy of the audit shall be filed with the legislative auditor who shall make it available for public inspection.

The court of appeal found that La. R.S. 13:1906 violates La. Const. art. VII, § 14, which provides, in pertinent part:

(A) Prohibited Uses. Except as otherwise provided by this constitution, the funds, credit, property, or things of value of the state or of any political subdivision shall not be loaned, pledged, or donated to or for any person, association, or corporation, public or private. Neither the state nor a political subdivision shall subscribe to or purchase the stock of a corporation or association or for any private enterprise.

(B) Authorized Uses. Nothing in this Section shall prevent (1) the use of public funds for programs of social welfare for the aid and support of the needy....

(C) Cooperative Endeavors. For a public purpose, the state and its political subdivisions or political corporations may engage in cooperative endeavors with each other, with the United States or its agencies, or [96-1978 La. 3] with any public or private association, corporation, or individual.

Specifically, the court of appeal concluded that La. R.S. 13:1906 violates Section 14(A) because that section prohibits a political subdivision from donating funds to nonprofit corporations. However, this conclusion disregards Sections 14(B) and 14(C), which clearly authorize the legislature to use public funds for social programs supporting the needy and to engage in cooperative endeavors with private entities in furtherance of a public purpose.

The state has entered into a contract with SNAP, a private non-profit corporation, to provide counseling and shelter for domestic abuse victims, a 24-hour crisis hotline, domestic abuse prevention programs, and rape crises intervention, among other services. SNAP thus provides valuable services for the social welfare of those in need, victims of domestic abuse. Under Section 14(B), the Legislature is free to use public funds for such social programs. ³ Therefore, La. R.S. 13:1906 does not violate La. Const. art. VII, § 14(A) because the services provided by SNAP fall under the exceptions established in Sections 14(B) and 14(C).

The court of appeal also found that La. R.S. 13:1906 violates the Louisiana Constitution because the law imposes legislative functions on the judicial branch of government. The court of appeal concluded that "[t]he judicial function does not include the collection of fines and costs for the purpose of facilitating the objectives of these [social service] organizations, no matter how noble their purpose."

The separation of powers doctrine is found in Article II of the Louisiana Constitution. La. Const. art. II, § 2 prohibits any one of the three branches of government from exercising power belonging to another branch. La. Const. art. II, §§ 1 and 2 establish the basis for the recognition of inherent powers in the judicial branch which the legislative and the executive branches cannot abridge. Konrad v. Jefferson Parish Council, 520 So.2d [96-1978 La. 4] 393, 397 (La.1988); Singer Hutner Levine Seeman & Stuart v. Louisiana State Bar Association, 378 So.2d 423, 426 (La.1979). Under the doctrine of inherent powers, courts have the power (other than those powers expressly enumerated in the constitution and the statutes) to do all things reasonably necessary for the exercise of their functions as courts. The inherent powers of the judicial branch necessarily encompass the authority to administer the business of the courts. Konrad, 520 So.2d at 397.

We recognize that crystal clear distinctions among the branches of government are not always possible or desirable. The practical aspects of governing require flexibility and make some overlapping inevitable. Consequently, this court will cooperate with the legislative and executive branches of government unless it interferes with the effective administration of justice. With respect to legislation that has an impact on the judicial system, this court will uphold legislative acts passed in aid of the judiciary's inherent power, but will strike down statutes which tend to impede or frustrate its authority. Singer, 378 So.2d at 426; Louisiana State Bar Association v. Connolly, 201 La. 342, 355, 9 So.2d 582, 586 (1942).

With these precepts in mind, we turn to an examination of the statute at issue. La. R.S. 13:1906 directs the clerk of the city courts of New Iberia and Jeanerette, and the municipal courts of Delcambre and Loreauville to collect an additional fee of three dollars per filing for every type of civil suit filed and in every criminal case where costs, fines, or forfeitures are imposed. The clerk is then obligated to remit the funds to SNAP. It is important to determine at the outset whether the three dollar "fee" imposed by the statute in question is in reality a tax. The nature of a charge is determined not by its title, but by its incidents, attributes and operational effect. Thus, the nature of a charge must be determined by its substance and realities, not its form. Gallaspy v. Washington Parish Police Jury, 94-1434, p. 3 (La.11/30/94); 645 So.2d 1139, 1141; Reed v. City of New Orleans, 593 So.2d 368, 371 (La.1992).

[96-1978 La. 5] Although the statute refers to the charge as a "fee," we find that it is in reality a tax. A charge that has as its primary purpose the raising of revenue, as opposed to the regulation of public order, is a tax. Moreover, a tax is a charge that is unrelated to or materially exceeds the special benefits conferred upon those assessed. Audubon Insurance Co. v. Bernard, 434 So.2d 1072, 1074 (La.1983); 4 Cooley, The Law of Taxation, Ch. 29, § 1784 (4th ed.1924). The money collected pursuant to La. R.S. 13:1906 goes, not to court services nor to any other entity associated with the judicial system, but to a private, nonprofit corporation to be used at its discretion for domestic violence programs. The charge is thus not a fee assessed to defray the expenses of litigation or to support the court system. Rather, it is a revenue raising measure designed to fund a particular social program. Therefore, the question before us is whether the legislature may impose a tax on litigants that is collected by the judiciary to go directly to a private non-profit corporation to fund a social welfare program for victims of domestic abuse.

There are no Louisiana cases dealing with the constitutionality of such...