Tacker v. Board of Com'rs of Polk County

• Court: United States State Supreme Court of Florida
• Citation: 170 So. 458,127 Fla. 248
• Parties: TACKER v. BOARD OF COM'RS OF POLK COUNTY et al.
• Decision Date: 28 October 1936

170 So. 458

127 Fla. 248

TACKER
v.
BOARD OF COM'RS OF POLK COUNTY et al.

Florida Supreme Court

October 28, 1936

En Banc.

Suit by J. H. Tacker against the Board of Commissioners of Polk County and others. From the judgment, plaintiff appeals. On appellant's application for a constitutional writ of injunction in the nature of a supersedeas.

Constitutional writ of injunction granted. [127 Fla. 16] Appeal from Circuit Court, Polk County; H. C. Petteway, Judge.

COUNSEL

Johnson & Bosarge, of Bartow, R. E. Bradley, of Lake Wales, and Smith & Petteway, of Lakeland, for appellant.

M. D. Wilson, of Bartow, for appellees.

OPINION

DAVIS, Justice.

This is a controversy involving the proper interpretation of section 12-A of chapter 17257, Acts of 1935, commonly known as the referendum provision of the 1935 Slot Machine Act. The court below denied the injunction sought by appellant to restrain the appellees, County Commissioners of Polk County, from printing upon November 3, 1936, general election ballots the special question of recall of slot machine licensing provided to be voted upon under section 12-A, supra, in the event a petition of 20 per cent. of the 'qualified electors' of any county should so pray.

The case is now before this court upon appellant's application for a constitutional writ of injunction in the nature of a supersedeas to conserve this court's appellate jurisdiction in a case where injunctive relief, if proper to be granted at all, must be granted prior to the printing of the 1936 general election ballots if it is to be effective for the purposes of appellant's suit. See: Anderson v. Tower Amusement Co., 118 Fla. 437, 159 So. 782 (4th headnote).

The submission to the electors of the question provided for by section 12-A [170 So. 459] of chapter 17257, Acts of 1935, is expressly provided to be a conditional submission, the condition being that an election can be had only upon the condition that a petition signed by 20 per cent. of the 'qualified electors' of the county is duly presented to the County Commissioners in time to have the proposition of same printed upon the ballots. Inasmuch as the result of [127 Fla. 17] the question if unlawfully submitted may adversely affect their statutory rights, citizens and taxpayers have an equitable standing to have enforced by injunction the observance of the statutory condition that is precedent to any legal right in the County Commissioners to call an election...