State ex rel. Cosper v. Porter
State ex rel. Cosper v. Porter
Opinion of the Court
The question of the location of the county seat was voted upon by the electors of Roberts county at the general election of 1898. The vote having been canvassed, and result declared, the county offices, records, etc., were removed to the town of Sisseton. In January, 1898, this proceeding was instituted to compel the defendants to return their respective offices to Wilmot,'it being claimed that the election was void. Defendants’ demurrers to the application for a peremptory writ of mandamus were sustained, and the relator appealed. The order of the circuit court having been .reversed, and the proceeding remanded, defendants answered, denying certain averments of the application, and alleging, in substance, that the county offices were removed to Sisseton by order of the county commissioners, where suitable buildings had been provided ; that the county neither owned nor controlled any suitable buildings at Wilmot; that suitable roofns and vaults could not be obtained at Wilmot; and that the commissioners, after due demand,
This court said on the former appeal: “If the averments of the application in this proceeding are true, the question of location was submitted at the election of 1898, in direct contravention of the statute. All the proceedings in relation to such submission, and the vote thereon, were void, and of no effect; and the county seat remained at Wilmot, to which place the defendants should be compelled to return the records, files, and other property pertaining to their several offices.” State v. Porter, 13 S. D. 126, 82 N. W. 415. The court below having found the facts to be as averred in the application, and its findings being supported by the evidence, the question arises whether there was any allegation of the answer established by competent evidence which avoids the effect of such facts.
If the election of 1898 did not result in the removal of the county seat to Sisseton, it remained at Wilmot, and its location could not be changed by an order of the commissioners directing a removal of the public records. This must be so; otherwise the commissioners would be clothed with power to overrule the decisions of this court. Therefore the fact that the offices were removed by direction of the commissioners constitutes no defense in this proceeding. It will certainly be conceded that county commissioners cannot change the de jure county seat by merely providing public buildings at another location. The allegation that suitable rooms and vaults could not be obtained at Wilmot is not sustained by the evidence. Indeed, the averment is unreasonable, in view of other undisputed facts. The county seat had been at Wilmot for more than ten years preceding its removal to Sisseton, and no substantial change in the conditions existing in that town during that period is disclosed by
The contention that certain of the defendants are not required by law to maintain offices at the county seat is untenable. The law of this case was otherwise determined upon the former appeal, ihough attention was not especially directed to the particular duties of each county officer. And, though the statutes may not expressly require each of the defendants to maintain an office at the
Reference
- Full Case Name
- State ex rel. Cosper v. Porter, Sheriff
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- 1. In mandamus to compel the officers of a county to return their offices to the county seat after the election to change the county seat, and pursuant to which the offices were moved, has been adjudged invalid, the fact that the offices were ordered to be so moved by the commissioners constitutes no defense. 2. Where, in an action to compel the officers of the county to return their offices to the county seat, after they had been moved pursuant to a void election, an allegation in the answer that suitable rooms and vaults could not be obtained there is not sustained, where the evidence discloses no substantial change in the condition at the county seat, where the offices were situated for ten years before the removal. 3. The fact that the county neither owns nor controls a suitable building at the county seat is no defense to an action to compel the county officers to hold their offices there, since it is the duty of the commissioners to procure suitable rooms, and, if they do not do so voluntarily, the officers can compel them to. 4. While the statutes do not expressly require every officer of the county to maintain an office at the county seat, the law clearly contemplates that, to the extent that any officer is required to maintain an office, it shall be at the county seat. Cousi», J., dissenting.