State ex rel. Wilke v. Hamilton Cty. Bd. of Commrs.

• Citation: 734 NE 2d 811,90 Ohio St.3d 55
• Decision Date: 20 September 2000
• Docket Number: No. 99-2325.,99-2325.
• Parties: THE STATE EX REL. WILKE, JUDGE, v. HAMILTON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ET AL.
• Court: United States State Supreme Court of Ohio

90 Ohio St.3d 55

734 NE 2d 811

THE STATE EX REL. WILKE, JUDGE, v. HAMILTON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ET AL.

No. 99-2325.

Supreme Court of Ohio.

Submitted July 6, 2000.

Decided September 20, 2000.

Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur, Mark E. Elsener, Kathleen M. Trafford and Julie L. Atchison, for relator.

Rendigs, Fry, Kiely & Dennis, L.L.P., David W. Peck and James J. Englert, for respondents.

Per Curiam.

R.C. 2101.11(B)(2); Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court

R.C. 2101.11(B)(2) provides the following procedure for a probate judge's request for an appropriation of funds from the board of county commissioners and requires a probate judge who disagrees with the amount appropriated by the board to file a mandamus action in the court of appeals to resolve the dispute:

"The probate judge annually shall submit a written request for an appropriation to the board of county commissioners that shall set forth estimated administrative expenses of the court, including the salaries of appointees as determined by the judge and any other costs, fees, and expenses * * * that the judge considers reasonably necessary for the operation of the court. The board shall conduct a public hearing with respect to the written request submitted by the judge and shall appropriate such sum of money each year as it determines, after conducting the public hearing and considering the written request of the judge, is reasonably necessary to meet all the administrative expenses of the court, including the salaries of appointees as determined by the judge and any other costs, fees, and expenses * * *.

"If the judge considers the appropriation made by the board pursuant to this division insufficient to meet all the administrative expenses of the court, the judge shall commence an action under Chapter 2731. of the Revised Code in the court of appeals for the judicial district for a determination of the duty of the board of county commissioners to appropriate the amount of money in dispute. The court of appeals shall give priority to the action filed by the probate judge over all cases pending on its docket. The burden shall be on the probate judge to prove that the appropriation requested is reasonably necessary to meet all administrative expenses of the court." (Emphasis added.)

Under Section 2(B)(1)(b), Article IV of the Ohio Constitution, the Supreme Court of Ohio has original jurisdiction in mandamus actions, and pursuant to Section 2(B)(3), Article IV, "[n]o law shall be passed or rule made whereby any person shall be prevented from invoking the original jurisdiction of the supreme court." See, also, State ex rel. Natl. City Bank v. Cleveland City School Dist. Bd. of Edn. (1977), 52 Ohio St.2d 81, 86, 6 O.O.3d 288, 291, 369 N.E.2d 1200, 1203. Based on these constitutional provisions, R.C. 2101.11(B) is unconstitutional because it prevents a probate court judge dissatisfied with the amount appropriated for the probate court from invoking the original jurisdiction of this court in mandamus. Instead, it relegates an aggrieved probate judge to a mandamus action in the court of appeals. Statutes, including R.C. 2101.11, "should not be construed as controlling the exercise of original jurisdiction in [extraordinary writ actions] constitutionally granted to courts of appeals and this court." State ex rel. Pirman v. Money (1994), 69 Ohio St.3d 591, 593, 635 N.E.2d 26, 29, citing Whiteside, Ohio Appellate Practice (1993) 134, Section T 10.07.

This result is consistent with precedent. For example, in State ex rel. Morley v. Lordi (1995), 72 Ohio St.3d 510, 512, 651 N.E.2d 937, 939, we expressly held that "a writ of mandamus is available in this court to compel funding for the reasonable and necessary expenses of the court of common pleas and its divisions." And in that case, we denied a motion to dismiss the mandamus action in which the board of county commissioners argued that under R.C. 2101.11, the mandamus action should have been filed in the court of appeals rather than the Supreme Court. See 71 Ohio St.3d 1479, 645 N.E.2d 1258.

Finally, respondents do not assert that R.C. 2101.11(B)(2) required Judge Wilke to file this mandamus action in the court of appeals.

Based on the foregoing, the merits of Judge Wilke's mandamus action are properly before this court.

Mandamus: Burden of Proof and Presumptions in

Common Pleas Court Appropriation Cases

Judge Wilke requests a writ of mandamus to compel the board to comply with his probate court appropriation orders for 1999 and 2000. In resolving his claim, we are guided by the following.

Common pleas courts and their divisions possess inherent authority to order funding that is reasonable and necessary to the court's administration of its business. State ex rel. Lake Cty. Bd. of Commrs. v. Hoose (1991), 58 Ohio St.3d 220, 221, 569 N.E.2d 1046, 1048; State ex rel. Weaver v. Lake Cty. Bd. of Commrs. (1991), 62 Ohio St.3d 204, 205, 580 N.E.2d 1090, 1092; Morley, 72 Ohio St.3d at 511, 651 N.E.2d at 939. In turn, the board of county commissioners is obligated to appropriate the requested funds, unless the board can establish that the court abused its discretion by requesting unreasonable and unnecessary funding. State ex rel. Avellone v. Lake Cty. Bd. of Commrs. (1989), 45 Ohio St.3d 58, 61, 543 N.E.2d 478, 481, and cases cited therein.

In effect, the court's funding orders are presumed reasonable, and the board bears the burden to rebut the presumption. State ex rel. Donaldson v. Alfred (1993), 66 Ohio St.3d 327, 329, 612 N.E.2d 717, 719. This presumption emanates from the separation-of-powers doctrine because courts must be free from excessive control by other governmental branches to ensure their independence and autonomy. Morley,72 Ohio St.3d at 512,651 N.E.2d at 939, quoting Hoose, 58 Ohio St.3d at 221-222,569 N.E.2d at 1048; Donaldson,66 Ohio St.3d at 329,612 N.E.2d at 719.

With the foregoing precedent in mind, we next consider the merits of Judge Wilke's mandamus claim.

1999 and 2000 Probate Court Budget Orders

In attempting to satisfy its burden to rebut the presumed reasonableness of Judge Wilke's funding orders, the board asserts that Judge Wilke abused his discretion by ordering funding for (1) additional court employees before the completion of a work-flow study, (2) expenses associated with the NCSC staffing and compensation studies, (3) overtime and temporary employees, and (4) retroactive lump-sum payments for 1999 salary increases.

"Abuse of discretion" implies an unreasonable, arbitrary, or unconscionable attitude. State ex rel. First New Shiloh Baptist Church v. Meagher (1998), 82 Ohio St.3d 501, 503, 696 N.E.2d 1058, 1059-1060. And the reasonableness of a court's request "must be determined `only from a consideration of the request in relation to the factual needs of the court for the proper administration of its business.'" State ex rel. Milligan v. Freeman (1972), 31 Ohio St.2d 13, 18, 60 O.O.2d 7, 10, 285 N.E.2d 352, 355, quoting State ex rel. Moorehead v. Reed (1964), 177 Ohio St. 4, 5, 28 O.O.2d 409, 201 N.E.2d 594, 596.

It was reasonable for Judge Wilke to order funding for additional court employees before the completion of a work-flow study. The evidence establishes that his request for the equivalent of 5.457 full-time employees was supported by the NCSC staffing study. Judge Wilke's order to appropriate funding for these additional employees before the completion of a work-flow study was also justified by the immediacy of the employee-shortage problem.

In addition, Judge Wilke's order for the board to reimburse the court for expenses incurred on the NCSC staffing and compensation reports reasonably related to the court's proper administration of its business. The reports were demanded by the board and county officials and involved improving the probate court's ability to perform its judicial duties. Respondents' disagreement with the methodology employed by NCSC in making its staffing recommendations does not alter our conclusion that Judge Wilke's reimbursement order is warranted because the methodology was reasonable. The board is not authorized simply to substitute its judgment for that of Judge Wilke in these matters. Cf. State ex rel. Foster v. Wittenberg (1968), 16 Ohio St.2d 89, 45 O.O.2d 442, 242 N.E.2d 884, paragraph three of the syllabus. Judge Wilke's orders for funding for overtime and temporary employees are also justified. Despite respondents' claims that these orders are unnecessary due to the concurrent order for additional permanent employees to alleviate the same worker shortage, the NCSC staffing report recommended 8.88 full-time employees rather than the 5.457 employees ordered by Judge Wilke, and the report did not account for the probate court's extensive case backlog.

Moreover, Judge Wilke's orders for retroactive lump-sum payments of 1999 salary increases in December 1999 were reasonably related to the court's judicial business. The board acknowledged in its 1999 budget the court's intention to conduct a compensation study, and the board was notified by Judge Wilke in 1998 that he reserved the right to request supplemental appropriations for 1999 based on the NCSC compensation study. The county personnel department's human resources manager stated that the county was essentially in agreement with the requested salary increases.

In addition, the board and its members remain under a duty to appropriate the probate court's reasonable and necessary expenses as long as those needs exist, and to the extent that these needs extend into succeeding budget years, the duty continues. Weaver, 62 Ohio St.3d at 208, 580 N.E.2d at 1094. And a court may modify its budget any time to include retroactive payments for that year, assuming that this modification is otherwise reasonable and necessary. State ex rel. Arbaugh v. Richland Cty. Bd. of Commrs. (1984), 14 Ohio St.3d 5, 14 OBR 311, 470 N.E.2d 880 (mid-year amended budget request for salary...