Wilson v. Johnson County

Citation879 S.W.2d 807
PartiesO.H. WILSON, Judge of the General Sessions Court of Johnson County, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. JOHNSON COUNTY, Tennessee, Defendant-Appellee.
Decision Date13 June 1994
CourtSupreme Court of Tennessee

H.R. Fallin, Mountain City, for appellant.

William B. Hawkins, Grayson, Hawkins & Wright, Mountain City, for appellee.

William J. Harbison (Deceased), William L. Harbison, Sherrard & Roe, Nashville, for amicus curiae.

OPINION

ANDERSON, Justice.

The determinative issue in this appeal is whether the General Sessions Judge for Johnson County, Tennessee, is entitled to receive a statutory salary supplement for exercising jurisdiction over mental health commitments. The Court of Appeals decided that the Sessions Court exercised mental health jurisdiction only by reason of its juvenile court jurisdiction. Since the Sessions Judge was being paid a salary supplement for exercising juvenile court jurisdiction, the Court of Appeals reasoned that the judge was not entitled to an additional supplement. We disagree and have determined that the plain language of the statute at issue requires that the Sessions Judge receive the additional supplement for mental health commitments because the jurisdiction was obtained by operation of law. 1 Accordingly, the Court of Appeals' judgment is reversed.

BACKGROUND

The plaintiff, Judge O.H. Wilson, is a licensed attorney who was elected to the office of General Sessions Judge for Johnson County effective September 1, 1990. Each sessions court judge is paid a base salary according to the class of population of the County. On September 1, 1990, the salaries ranged from $70,000 for counties of the First Class having a population of more than forty-nine thousand (49,000) to $18,500 for counties of the Eighth Class having a population of less than five thousand (5,000). Johnson County is classified as a county of the Sixth class, 2 and the plaintiff's annual base salary was set at $22,000. The statute at issue provides that in counties of the Sixth Class, general sessions judges are also entitled to annual salary supplements, not to exceed $20,000, if the judge "has or by operation of law obtains" jurisdiction over other matters including juvenile, probate, domestic relations, workers' compensation, or mental health commitments. Tenn.Code Ann. § 16-15-5003(c)(1) (Supp.1993). The plaintiff exercises juvenile jurisdiction and, as a result, receives an annual supplement of $10,000. Another statute, Tenn.Code Ann. § 33-3-603(b)(3) (Supp.1993), grants concurrent jurisdiction of mental health commitments to "[j]uvenile courts in proceedings held by judges who are lawyers or by referees." By virtue of that statute and the fact that he is a licensed attorney, the plaintiff also exercises jurisdiction over mental health commitments. When he claimed entitlement to the additional $10,000 supplement for exercising that jurisdiction, the Johnson County Commission voted against funding the request, despite opinions from the Attorney General and the County Attorney for Johnson County to the contrary. The plaintiff thereafter filed this action for declaratory relief, seeking a judicial determination of his rights to the statutory supplement.

The trial court found in favor of the defendant, Johnson County, concluding that the plaintiff's jurisdiction over mental health commitments was derivative of his exercise of juvenile jurisdiction, for which he was already being compensated. On appeal, the Court of Appeals, in a split 2-1 decision, affirmed the Chancellor.

STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION

In this appeal, the plaintiff contends he is entitled to receive the salary supplement for exercising jurisdiction over mental health commitments because he obtained that additional jurisdiction "by operation of law," pursuant to the statutes relating to juvenile and mental health commitment jurisdiction. On the other hand, Johnson County argues that the lower courts were correct in concluding that the plaintiff is not entitled to the additional supplement because his exercise of jurisdiction over mental health commitments is derivative of his exercise of juvenile jurisdiction, for which he is already receiving a salary supplement.

Our role in construing statutes is to ascertain and give effect to the legislative intent without unduly restricting or expanding a statute's coverage beyond its intended scope. State v. Sliger, 846 S.W.2d 262, 263 (Tenn.1993). We must determine the legislative intent, whenever possible, from the plain language of the statute, "read in the context of the entire statute, without any forced or subtle construction which would extend or limit its meaning." National Gas Distribs. v. State, 804 S.W.2d 66, 67 (Tenn.1991). Moreover, statutes "in pari materia"--those relating to the same subject or having a common purpose--are to be construed together, and the construction of one such statute, if doubtful, may be aided by considering the words and legislative intent indicated by the language of another statute. Belle-Aire Village Inc. v. Ghorley, 574 S.W.2d 723, 725 (Tenn.1978); Spence v. Miles Laboratories, Inc., 810 F.Supp. 952 (E.D.Tenn.1992). Finally, the Legislature is presumed to have knowledge of its prior enactments and to know the state of the law at the time it passes legislation. Neff v. Cherokee Ins. Co., 704 S.W.2d 1, 4 (Tenn.1986).

Applying these well-settled rules, we begin the analysis of legislative intent with Tenn.Code Ann. § 16-15-5003(c) (Supp.1993), which provides for sessions judge salary supplements for additional jurisdiction.

(c)(1) In addition to the base salary provided by subsection (a), if a general sessions judge in a Class 4, 5 or 6 county has or by operation of law obtains any of the following additional jurisdiction, he shall receive an annual supplement in the amounts indicated below:

                (A) Juvenile jurisdiction ........ 10,000
                (B) Probate ....................... 5,000
                (C) Domestic relations ............ 5,000
                (D) Workers' compensation ......... 5,000
                (E) Mental health commitments .... 10,000
                

(2) Regardless of the kind or amount of additional jurisdiction a Class 4, 5 or 6 judge may have, no such judge shall receive annual supplements in excess of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000).

(Emphasis added). The plain meaning of the phrase "by operation of law," as used in the salary statute, clearly requires that general sessions judges receive salary supplements, not to exceed $20,000, when by statute, they acquire jurisdiction over one of the enumerated areas of law.

The plaintiff obtained juvenile jurisdiction by virtue of Tenn.Code Ann. § 37-1-203 (1991), which provides:

The general sessions courts shall exercise juvenile court jurisdiction in all of the counties of this state except in the counties or municipalities in which juvenile courts are or may hereafter be specially provided by law; provided, that only general sessions court judges who are attorneys may order commitment to the department of youth development.

(Emphasis added). Likewise, the plaintiff obtained concurrent jurisdiction over mental health commitments by a statute which provides that such jurisdiction is vested in "[j]uvenile courts in proceedings held by judges who are lawyers or by referees." Tenn.Code Ann. § 33-3-603(b)(3) (Supp.1993) (emphasis added).

Accordingly, the plaintiff, by virtue of being elected General Sessions Judge of Johnson County, obtained juvenile jurisdiction pursuant to statute or "by operation of law"...

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