State Ex Rel. Sedillo v. Sargent

• Decision Date: 05 March 1918
• Docket Number: No. 2136.,2136.
• Parties: STATE ex rel. SEDILLOv.SARGENT, State Auditor.
• Court: New Mexico Supreme Court

24 N.M. 333

171 P. 790

STATE ex rel. SEDILLO

v.SARGENT, State Auditor.

No. 2136.

Supreme Court of New Mexico.

March 5, 1918.

Syllabus by the Court.

Where the validity of a statute is questioned on the ground that it is unconstitutional, it is the duty of the court to uphold the statute when the conflict between it and the Constitution is not clear, and the implication always exists that no violation of the Constitution has been intended by the Legislature.

In construing statutes, if the meaning thereof is doubtful, the title, if expressive, may have the effect to resolve the doubts by extension of the purview or by restraining it, or to correct an obvious error.

Section 27, art. 4, of the state Constitution does not prevent the Legislature from appropriating money to pay for services rendered the state by a servant or contractor outside the scope of his previous employment. Where the Legislature of 1915 (Laws 1915, c. 86, § 1) appropriated the sum of $2,000 to pay a named individual for translating from English into Spanish the Code adopted at that session, which Code so adopted did not include the prefatory matter, nor index, accompanying the English publication, and such party voluntarily translated such additional matter and read proof and corrected the same on the Spanish publication, and incurred expenses not contemplated by the original appropriation, a succeeding Legislature could constitutionally appropriate money to pay for such extra services.

Section 1, c. 28, Laws 1917, construed. Held, that such section does not appropriate money, as extra compensation contrary to section 27 of article 4 of the Constitution.

Appeal from District Court, Santa Fé County; Holloman, Judge.

Mandamus by the State of New Mexico, on relation of A. A. Sedillo, against William G. Sargent, State Auditor. Judgment for relator, and defendant appeals. Affirmed.

Hanna, C. J., dissenting.

In construing statutes, if the meaning thereof is doubtful, the title, if expressive, may have the effect to resolve the doubts by extension of the purview or by restraining it, or to correct an obvious error.

H. L. Patton, Atty. Gen., for appellant.

F. W. Clancy, of Santa Fé, for appellee.

ROBERTS, J.

A. A. Sedillo, applied to William G. Sargent, state auditor of New Mexico, for a warrant for the sum of $1,500 authorized to be paid to the said Sedillo under the provisions of chapter 28 of the Laws of 1917. The auditor refused to issue such warrant on the ground that the said chapter was an unconstitutional enactment. Sedillo thereupon applied to the district court of Santa Fé county for a writ of mandamus to compel the auditor to draw the warrant. The auditor made a return to Sedillo's application, setting up the invalidity of the act. The trial court sustained the application of Sedillo, and, in a final judgment, ordered that a peremptory writ issue unto the auditor. From such judgment the state auditor appeals.

The Attorney General contends that section 1 of chapter 28 of the Laws of 1917 violates section 27 of article 4 of the state Constitution. This section, so far as pertinent, reads as follows:

“No law shall be enacted giving any extra compensation to any public officer, servant, agent or contractor after services are rendered or contract made.”

The Legislature of 1915 adopted the present Code, which, as adopted, embraced sections 1 to 5901, inclusive. The same Legislature, in the general appropriation bill (section 1, c. 86, Laws 1915) provided:

“For translating into Spanish, under the supervision of A. A. Sedillo, of the codification of the laws of New Mexico adopted at this session, $2,000.”

Thereafter Hon. S. B. Davis, Jr., and Judge M. C. Mechem, who compiled the Code, annotated the same and prepared an exhaustive and thorough index. They likewise prefaced the Code with the Constitution of the United States of America and amendments thereto, the treaty of peace between the United States and Mexico at the city of Guadalupe Hidalgo, February 2, 1848, the Gadsen Treaty between the United States and Mexico, the Organic Act establishing the territory of New Mexico, the Enabling Act for the state, and the Constitution adopted January 21, 1911, which was also annotated.

Both the Spanish and English languages being spoken and used in the state, and a portion of the population not being able to understand both languages, it has been the uniform practice to publish all laws in both Spanish and English; and in all revisions and compilations of statutes heretofore published the volume in either language has been the exact counterpart of the other, including prefatory matter, indexes, and annotations. After the compilers of the present Code had prepared the same for publication, as stated, Mr. Sedillo, appellee, in order to make the Spanish edition as full and complete as the English edition voluntarily translated all the prefatory matter, annotations, and index. Both editions of the Code were printed by a firm in Chicago, and the printers were unfamiliar with the Spanish language, and it was necessary, or at least Mr. Sedillo so assumed, that some one familiar with the Spanish language should read proof on the Spanish edition. This task he undertook and performed, and in and about this work made three or four trips to Chicago at his own expense.

The Legislature in 1917 enacted chapter 28, the title to which act reads as follows:

“An act appropriating the sum of one thousand five hundred ($1,500.00) dollars to pay A. A. Sedillo for expenses sustained and extra work done and services performed in connection with the translation into Spanish of the 1915 codification of the laws of New Mexico, and other printed matter contained in the Spanish edition of the New Mexico Statutes Annotated, codification of 1915, including the prefatory matter, annotations, code and indexes, in said volume contained and other than the 1915 Session Laws.”

Section 1 of the act reads as follows:

“There is hereby appropriated the sum of one thousand five hundred ($1,500.00) dollars to be paid to A. A. Sedillo on account of expenses sustained and extra work done and services performed by him in connection with the translation and preparation for publication of the Spanish edition of the 1915 codification of the laws of New Mexico; and the state auditor is directed to draw his warrant therefor, payable out of any funds in the treasury not otherwise appropriated.”

Appellant concedes the power of the Legislature, under the constitutional provision...