State ex rel. Warren v. Sixth Judicial District Court of the State of Nevada
State ex rel. Warren v. Sixth Judicial District Court of the State of Nevada
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
By the Court,
In November 1935, civil action No. 3335 was commenced in the Sixth judicial district court, Humboldt
On or about November 25, 1935, an order to show cause was issued directing all the defendants to appear in the district court at a certain time and show cause why they should not be punished for contempt of court for disobeying an order theretofore made in said action by Honorable L. 0. Hawkins, judge of said court. On December 2, 1935, defendants objected to Judge Hawkins’ trying said contempt proceedings, under section 8943 N. C. L., which provides, inter alia, that “in all cases of contempt arising without the immediate view and presence of the court, the judge of such court in whose contempt the defendant is alleged to be shall not preside at such trial over the objection of the defendant.” Upon stipulation of plaintiff and defendants, the contempt proceeding was assigned by Judge Hawkins to Honorable James Dysart, judge of the Fourth judicial district, who heard and determined that proceeding on December 5, 1935.
On the same day that defendants objected to the trial of the contempt proceeding by Judge Hawkins, they also requested him to assign said civil action No. 3335 to some other judge for all further proceedings to be had therein, basing said request upon the alleged fact that Judge Hawkins was biased and prejudiced by reason of his “former association and relation” with the late H. Warren, father of plaintiff. Judge Hawkins thereupon informed defendants that if they would file an affidavit of bias or prejudice as provided in section 8407 N. C. L., as amended Stats. 1931, p. 247, c. 153,
The minutes of the district court in said action, under date of December 6, 1935, read as follows: “Upon stipulation of Counsel for the respective parties, it is ordered that this case be and the same is set down for trial for the hour of ten o’clock A. M. on Thursday, January 2, 1936, before the Court'. It is further ordered that this case upon demand of defendants be and hereby is assigned for further proceedings to the Hon. James Dysart, Judge of the Fourth Judicial District Court of the State of Nevada, in and for the County of Elko, for all further proceedings to be had therein, granting and giving unto said Judge all power and authority in the premises. The Clerk is directed to notify the said Judge and Counsel for the Defendants in writing of the above order.”
Said action No. 3335 came on regularly for trial before Judge Dysart on January 2, 1936, resulting in a decree of foreclosure and sale against the property of defendants William M. De Long and Mabel De Long, but adjudging Jewell De Long and Bill De Long, Jr., to
Petitioners contend that when J. W. Dignan’s affidavit of prejudice was filed and the $25 paid to the clerk, the only course that Judge Dysart could lawfully pursue was to request some other district judge to preside on the hearing to show cause. They argue that there has not been one change of judge within the meaning of section 8407.02 N. C. L., Stats. 1931, p. 248, c. 153, sec. 45b (as added by section 3) ; that even if there has been one change of judge within the meaning of that section, the change would operate only as to H. C. Warren and not as to either Harry Cohee or J. W. Dignan, who were not defendants in the main action; that the show cause proceeding is a civil action within the meaning of said amended section 8407 N. C. L., or at least a proceeding-in a civil action, and that petitioners were not too late in filing the affidavit of prejudice or paying the $25 to the clerk [citing State ex rel. Stokes v. Second Judicial District Court, 55 Nev. 115, 27 P. (2d) 534]; that while plaintiff stipulated to the time set for the trial, he did not stipulate that it should be heard by Judge Dysart.
Respondents contend that there was one change of judge within the meaning of said section 8407.02
We are inclined to agree with petitioners that when Judge Dysart was called in to try civil action No. 3335 on the merits, there was not a change of judge within the meaning of said section 8407.02 N. C. L., Stats. 1931, p. 248, sec. 45b, although there was a change of judge in fact. It may well be that if defendants, after Judge Dysart had been called into the case at their request, had later filed an affidavit of prejudice and paid the clerk $25 under the provisions of amended section 8407 N. C. L., we would hold that they were estopped from being granted a change of judge under said section; but that is not the same thing as saying that when Judge Hawkins voluntarily disqualified himself on the mere request of defendants and called in Judge Dysart, a change of judge was granted within the meaning of section 8407.02 N. C. L., Stats. 1931, p. 248, sec. 45b. In other words, by “change of judge,” as used in that section, is meant a change of judge granted pursuant to the filing of an affidavit and payment of $25 to the clerk as provided in said section 8407.
We come now to a consideration of the question whether there was a waiver of the right to be granted a change of judge under the provisions of amended section 8407 N. C. L. In our opinion that right was waived by plaintiff when he not only failed to object to the calling in of Judge Dysart, but expressly stipulated that the cause be set down for trial on January 2, 1936, and
When Judge Hawkins decided to relieve defendants of the necessity of paying $25 to the clerk by disqualifying himself and agreeing to call another judge, plaintiff was under no duty to agree upon the judge to be designated. He could have allowed Judge Hawkins to decide upon the particular judge to be called in, thus reserving his right to disqualify such other judge under the provisions of said amended section 8407 N. C. L. He chose, however, not only to agree upon Judge Dysart as the judge to try the case, but went further and expressly agreed that the cause should be assigned to Judge Dysart “for all further proceedings.” By voluntarily entering into this stipulation, plaintiff, in our opinion, waived his right to afterwards disqualify Judge Dysart under the provisions of amended section 8407 N. C. L.
We have not been able to find statutes in any other state the same as the Nevada sections cited herein,
In the oral argument in this court, petitioners placed special emphasis upon the fact that neither Mr. Cohee nor Mr. Dignan was or is a party in said district court action No. 3335. It is contended that even if plaintiff waived the right to file a disqualifying affidavit against Judge Dysart, certainly Mr. Cohee, and particularly Mr. Dignan — not parties to the main action, but brought into court by receiver on the order to show cause — cannot rightly be held to have lost their right to disqualify Judge Dysart under the provisions of amended section 8407 N. C. L. But an examination of the whole record fails to disclose any particular in which either Mr. Dignan or Mr. Cohee was or is individually interested. We are unable to see in what way the disqualification of Judge Dysart would or could affect either Mr. Dignan or Mr. Cohee personally. Mr. Dig-nan’s only connection with the case appears to be as Mr. Warren’s attorney, while Mr. Cohee’s only interest is as his foreman. In other words, as it appears to us, Mr. Warren was the person whose interests were being litigated, and he had already waived his right to file a disqualifying affidavit. Neither Mr. Dignan nor Mr. Cohee was a party entitled to disqualify Judge Dysart. An analogous situation was presented to the Supreme Court of Montana in the case of Gehlert v. Quinn, 38 Mont. 1, 98 P. 369.
Presumably for the purpose of showing his personal and individual interest in the show cause proceedings, Mr. Dignan said, on oral argument, that the petition for order to show cause in the district court “shows they wanted an order against me to surrender $5,000.00 or put me in jail until I do surrender it”; but
We deem it unnecessary to discuss other questions referred to in the briefs and oral argument.
The petition for a peremptory writ of mandamus is denied, and the alternative writ dismissed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- THE STATE OF NEVADA, Ex Rel. H. C. WARREN, J. W. DIGNAN and HARRY COHEE v. THE SIXTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, in and for the County of Humboldt, and HON. JAMES DYSART, District Judge Presiding
- Cited By
- 3 cases
- Status
- Published