State ex rel. Scanlan v. Archibold

• Decision Date: 01 June 1911
• Citation: 131 N.W. 895,146 Wis. 363
• Parties: STATE EX REL. SCANLAN ET AL. v. ARCHIBOLD ET AL.
• Court: Wisconsin Supreme Court

146 Wis. 363

131 N.W. 895

STATE EX REL. SCANLAN ET AL.

v.ARCHIBOLD ET AL.

Supreme Court of Wisconsin.

June 1, 1911.

Appeal from Circuit Court, Milwaukee County; Lawrence W. Halsey, Judge.

Quo warranto by the State, on complaint of Luke Scanlan and others, against Frank Archibold and others. From a judgment sustaining a demurrer to the complaint, relators appeal. Affirmed.

This is an action in the nature of quo warranto, brought by 6 town chairmen of the county of Milwaukee against 16 men who claim to constitute the county board of Milwaukee county, and who were at the time this action was commenced exercising the functions of members of the county board of Milwaukee county. The defendants were elected pursuant to chapter 398 of the Laws of 1907 by assembly districts; this act prescribing a different representation in the county board in counties of 250,000 inhabitants or more. The contention on the part of the plaintiffs is that the act referred to violates section 23 of article 4 of the Wisconsin Constitution by unnecessarily destroying the practicable uniformity of the system of county government in the state. The complaint sets forth, in substance, that the county of Milwaukee now is, and at all the times herein mentioned has been, a duly organized county of the state of Wisconsin, containing more than 250,000 inhabitants; that at all said times there was and now is contained in said county a city of the first class, several cities of the fourth class, several villages, and seven duly organized towns, to wit, towns of Granville, Milwaukee, Wauwatosa, Greenfield, Lake, Franklin, and Oak Creek; that on the first Tuesday of April, 1910, the annual town meeting was duly held in each of said towns, and the plaintiffs were duly elected chairmen of the respective towns, and after said election each chairman so elected duly qualified as town chairman of his town respectively and entered upon the discharge of his duties, and each is ex officio and by virtue of the statutes of Wisconsin a lawful and qualified member of the county board of Milwaukee county; that each of said town chairmen is a citizen of the United States, a duly qualified elector, resident, taxpayer, and freeholder in the county of Milwaukee in said state; that during the session of the Legislature of Wisconsin held in the year 1907 a bill was passed which became known as chapter 398 of the Laws of 1907, under which chapter one supervisor, as provided in said act, in each assembly district of Milwaukee county, was elected; that said persons so elected under chapter 398 of the Laws of 1907 are the defendants herein; that none of the said assembly districts are coextensive with any of the said towns, and do not conform either in area or boundaries to the areas or boundaries of said towns; that each of said towns is but a small part of the assembly district in which it is located; that during all the times herein mentioned, including the time when said bill was pending, passed, approved, and published, there were no facts or conditions existing in said county of Milwaukee differing from those existing in all other counties of the state of Wisconsin which then required a different representation in the county board of said county from which is provided generally for all counties of the state; that there are not now, and since the pendency and passage of said act have not been, any facts or conditions in Milwaukee county which would render it impracticable to have a law fixing a substantially uniform method of representation in the county board applicable to every county in the state including counties of at least 250,000 inhabitants; that it was as practicable in Milwaukee county as in the other counties of said state to have the same method of representation in the county board as during many years last past has been and now is provided by law for all other counties of said state; that during all said times, and now, any change in the manner of electing members of the county board, that might be found desirable or needful in counties having at least 250,000 inhabitants, would be equally desirable or needful and equally practicable in all counties of the state; that at all said times it has been and is practicable to have the members of the county board in all counties of the state, including counties having at least 250,000 inhabitants, elected in the same manner from like or similar districts; that at all times herein mentioned it has been practicable in all counties to elect supervisors at large to be members of the county board in the respective counties of the state, the number to be determined substantially in proportion to the population of the respective counties; that at all times it was practicable to have other methods and means of representation in all county boards of this state, including counties of at least 250,000 inhabitants, which method and means could be made substantially and practically uniform through the state in all counties; that by reason of the enactment of said chapter 398, Laws of 1907, and at the time of the passage of said act, and ever since, there has not been established by the Legislature of Wisconsin a system of county government which is as nearly uniform as practicable; that said chapter 398, Laws of 1907, is unconstitutional and is null and void; that the defendants and each of them are not lawful members of the county board of Milwaukee county; that they have intruded into and unlawfully usurped the functions of supervisors of Milwaukee county, and are unlawfully drawing the salaries provided in said chapter 398; that the plaintiffs are and each of them is a legal and lawful member of the county board of Milwaukee county and entitled to exercise the functions and enjoy the emoluments of members of said county board, but the defendants have excluded the plaintiffs and other lawful members of said county board from the exercise of said functions, and the plaintiffs are deprived of the emoluments provided by law for supervisors of said county. The complaint further alleges that plaintiffs have demanded of the defendants that they forthwith desist and refrain from intruding into the offices of supervisors of Milwaukee county, and from exercising the functions of members of the county board of Milwaukee county, and that they cease to exclude the plaintiffs therefrom, but the defendants continue to exercise said functions and to intrude into the offices of supervisors and members of the county board of Milwaukee county, and to exclude said plaintiffs from exercising the duties and functions of members of said county board, and from enjoying the rights, privileges, and emoluments to which they are respectively entitled. The prayer is that the defendants be adjudged guilty of usurping, intruding into, and unlawfully exercising and holding the offices and functions of lawful members of the county board of Milwaukee county, including the offices and functions which the plaintiffs are lawfully entitled to hold and exercise; that the defendants be ousted and excluded from said offices and from exercising said functions; that the plaintiffs and each of them be adjudged entitled to hold said...