Ex parte Harrold
Ex parte Harrold
Opinion of the Court
The prisoner, who is the County Treasurer of San Joaquin ■ County, was indicted for “willfully omitting as a public officer to perform a duty enjoined by law upon him.” The offense, as charged in the indictment, is his failure, during a specified period, to reside at the county seat of his county. He is now held in custody by virtue of a bench-warrant issued by the County Court, after having been tried and found guilty as charged in the indictment. The only question we shall consider, is whether the indictment charges the commission of a public offense.
It is provided by the one hundred and seventy-sixth section of the Penal Code, that “every willful omission to perform any duty enjoined by law upon a public officer or person holding any public trust or employment, Avhere no special provision shall have been made for the punishment of such delinquency, is punishable as a misdemeanor.” The Political Code (Sec. 4,119), provides that certain county officers, among whom is the County Treasurer, must reside at the county seats of their respective counties.
It is claimed on the part of the prosecution, that it is S,n official duty of the defendant, as the Treasurer of the County of San Joaquin, to reside at the city of Stockton, the county seat of that county. The duty enjoined by law, within the "meaning of Sec. 176, Penal Code, is an official duty. It is an act to be performed by the incumbent of the office, in his official capacity. It is not a qualification or condition, which a person must possess in order that he may be eligible to, or continue to hold, an office. Should it be provided by competent authority that no officer should absent himself from the State for more than thirty days, or that he should not discharge the duties of his office after he
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Ex Parte HARROLD
- Cited By
- 3 cases
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- Published
- Syllabus
- Residence oe Oeetoeb at Gountt Seat.—The failure of a County Treasurer to reside at the county seat of his county, as required by Section 4,119 of the Political Code, is not an “ omission to perform any duty enjoined by law upon a public officer,” within the meaning of Section 176 of the Penal Code, and is not made a misdemeanor. Penad 'Code as to Residence oe Oeficebs.—Section 176 of the Penal Code, which makes a willful omission by an officer to perform a duty enjoined by law a misdemeanor, does not apply to conditions or qualifications upon which the incumbent’s right to hold an office depends, but to duties pertaining to the office, while in the discharge of official duties.