State ex rel. Geyer v. Griffin
| Decision Date | 11 July 1947 |
| Parties | STATE ex rel. GEYER v. GRIFFIN. |
| Court | Ohio Court of Appeals |
Syllabus by the Court
1. There is no statutory restriction upon the right of a county sheriff to appoint special and general deputies, except that the appointments must be approved by the common pleas judge of the county of which the sheriff is an officer, and therefore, the common law prevails authorizing the sheriff to make such appointments.
2. The appointment of a person as a 'special deputy sheriff' by a county sheriff, followed by the approval thereof by the common pleas judge of the county, the qualifying for such office by the person taking the oath of office and having his appointment and approval thereon entered upon the journal of the court, and the giving of bonds authorizing the person to go armed and guaranteeing the faithful performance of his duties, respectively, quality such person for full-time employment as a de jure deputy sheriff of the county.
D Curtis Reed, of Columbus, for relator.
Paul T. Landis, Pros. Atty., of Lima, for respondent.
This is an action in mandamus brought by the state of Ohio on the relation of Albert M. Geyer, against Floyd B. Griffin auditor of Allen county, Ohio, in which the relator seeks a writ of mandamus commanding the officer to issue, execute and deliver to the relator a warrant upon the treasurer of Allen county, Ohio, for the sum of $945 (less salary deductions required by law) claimed to be due to him for services performed by him as deputy sheriff of the county from January 1, 1946, to May 15, 1946, and to continue to issue semi-monthly warrants to the relator, pursuant to the certificate therefor received from the sheriff of the county for compensation to the relator for services performed by him as deputy sheriff from May 15, 1946.
From the admissions in the pleadings, and the evidence, we find the facts to be as follows:
Floyd B. Griffin is, and was at all the times hereinafter mentioned, the duly elected, qualified and acting auditor of Allen county, Ohio.
W. R. Dailey, since January 1, 1945, has been, and is now, the duly elected, qualified and acting sheriff of that county.
On March 8, 1945, and for many years prior thereto, it was and had been the custom and practice in Allen county and other counties throughout the state of Ohio for the sheriffs thereof to appoint deputy sheriffs at the request of industrial, manufacturing and other establishments, for the sole purpose of keeping peace and protecting the properties and enterprises of such industrial, manufacturing and other establishments, and for such deputy sheriffs to be paid by the industrial, manufacturing and other establishments and to receive no compensation from the county by the sheriff of which they were so appointed.
It was also the custom and practice in Allen county and other counties of the state of Ohio for the sheriffs of the counties, on their own initiative, to appoint deputy sheriffs in no manner connected with or paid by any industrial, manufacturing or other establishments, who at the time of appointment are not being employed by the sheriff or assigned to any specific or regular duties as such deputy sheriffs, and who are not then certified by the sheriff to the county auditor as deputy sheriffs appointed and employed by him, but who are subject to assignment from time to time to such duties as the sheriff might require in his behalf.
To distinguish those two classes of deputy sheriffs from those assigned to fulltime duty and paid regular compensation from the county treasury, they were and are popularly referred to as 'special deputy sheriffs.'
During his incumbency as sheriff, W. R. Dailey has regularly employed no more than four or five deputy sheriffs to perform the duties of his office, but in conformity with the custom and practice the sheriff, during his incumbency, has appointed 93 persons whom he has designated in his orders of appointment, as special deputy sheriffs, the greater number of the appointees coming within the first class and the balance coming within the second class above mentioned.
On or prior to March 8, 1945, the sheriff, W. R. Dailey, duly presented to the honorable Moran B. Jenkins, judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Allen county, a number of appointments made by him in writing, of various persons as special deputy sheriffs of Allen County, for the approval of the judge. Such written appointments included both classes above mentioned. Among those presented was that of the relator, Albert M. Geyer, who was appointed by the sheriff of his own initiative, and comes within the second class of appointees as special deputy sheriffs hereinBefore mentioned.
The appointment of the relator reads as follows:
'To The Honorable Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Allen County:
There is a conflict in the testimony as to the representations, if any, made by the sheriff to the judge, at the time of the approval of the appointment of the relator was under consideration by the judge, the testimony of the judge being to the effect that the sheriff represented to him that the relator was not intended to be and never would be accorded the status of a regular deputy sheriff, which representation the sheriff denies.
Be that as it may, the appointment, as above set forth, was approved in writing by the judge, without limitation or qualification, in the words and figures following, to wit:
Albert M. Geyer then took the following oath of office:
On that date the relator duly filed his bond to the state of Ohio, with the clerk of courts of the county in the penal sum of $1,000, with The Standard Accident Insurance Company as surety thereon, which bond and surety were, on March 8, 1945, approved by the clerk. Such bond recites that Albert M. Geyer is a special deputy sheriff, duly appointed according to law, in Allen county, Ohio; and that the General Code of Ohio in authorizing such an officer to go armed, requires that he shall first give bond to the state of Ohio, and the bond is conditioned that any person injured by improper use of weapons carried by Albert M. Geyer shall have recourse on the bond, but if the public shall be saved harmless from any improper use of such weapons carried by Albert M. Geyer, then the obligation is to be void.
On that date the relator also filed an additional bond to the state of Ohio, with the sheriff of Allen county, Ohio, in the penal sum of $1,000, with The Standard Accident Insurance Company as surety thereon. Such bond is conditioned that the relator shall faithfully, diligently and impartially discharge all the duties of his office.
On March 9, 1945, the appointment, approval and oath were filed in the office of the clerk of the Court of Common Pleas, and by him recorded in journal 44, at page 325.
Thereupon the clerk of the Court of Common Pleas of Allen county issued his certificate of appointment to the relator as deputy sheriff.
The bond for carrying concealed weapons was filed with the clerk and the bond for the faithful performance of the duties of his office was filed with the sheriff.
The relator performed no duties under his appointment, prior to December 1, 1945.
Beginning December 1, 1945, the sheriff employed the relator and assigned him to full-time service as a deputy sheriff, fixed his compensation therefor at $200 per month, and duly certified the same to the respondent who issued his semi-monthly warrants to the relator on December 15th and 31st, respectively, for the sum of $100 each.
During the month of December 1945, the validity of relator's appointment as a basis for his employment, as above mentioned, having been questioned, the sheriff, at the suggestion of the prosecuting attorney, presented, in writing, to the common pleas judge an appointment of the relator as a deputy sheriff, and a request that the judge approve the same, which request was refused by the common pleas judge on the ground that the relator had no respect for the courts.
At all times since December 1, 1945, the relator has performed and is continuing to perform full-time duties as a deputy sheriff, and the sheriff has duly certified the relator's compensation to the respondent for semi-monthly payment. Beginning January 15, 1946, however, the respondent has failed and refused to issue to the relator, warrant for payment for such services The compensation of the relator, at the rate fixed by the sheriff, from January 1,...
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State ex rel. Geyer v. Griffin
...80 Ohio App. 44776 N.E.2d 294STATE ex rel. GEYERv.GRIFFIN.Court of Appeals of Ohio, Third District, Allen County.July 11, [76 N.E.2d 295]Syllabus by the Court 1. There is no statutory restriction upon the right of a county sheriff to appoint special and general deputies, except that the app......