Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1883-10-05
IN THE DISTRICT COURT,
BOISE COUNTY.
c. s. KINGSLEY, APPELLANT ]


the Board of Commissioners of Bois
county disalowing portion of thu
appellants claim for fees for services
alleged to have been rendered by hin
for said county, as district attorney
The record, and the evidence giveI
on the trial of the appeal in this court
taken toghther, show that at the las
general election, the appellant was
elected district attorney for Boise
county; that he duly qualified as such
officer, and on the first Monday of Jan
uary last entered upon the duties Of
said office; that at the March term
1888, Of the district court held in and
for Boise county he ofliciated as dis
trict attorney, and among other official
acts, he appeared for the county in a
civil action wherein one j. b. Emery
was plaintiff, and the county was de-
PENDANT; that he prepared brief in
another certain civil action relating to
taxes between one T. 5. Harris, plain
tiff, and the tax collector of said cou,-
~, defendant and attended the trial
thereof ready to appear if it should
develop into a case in which the coun-
ty was interested; and that he prepar-
ed and caused to be filed in the Pro-
bate court, complaint for q INSIDE
meanor against one j. Kellar, which,
before trial he dismissed For the
first service above mentioned he charg-
ed the county in his bill, the sum of
one hundred dollars; for the second,
seventy-fve dollars, and for the last,
twenty-five dollars, and at the last
April session of the Board of Com
missioners, each and every one of the
said three items were by said Board
disallowed; from which order of dis.
allowance this appeal was taken.
The main question involved in this
appeal, as Tar as the two first items
are concerned, is, whether the district
alto; ney is entitled by law to charge
and receive tho reasonable value of
services rendered by him in the regu.
lar discharge of his official duties, for
the county, In cases where no specific
fees are provided by the statute.
The law creating the Office of dis
trict attorney, after defining his duties,
prescribcs and fixes his salary and
ices that he shall receive for compenSa
ton, but there is no specific provision
IN that statute fixing any liability for
any fees for services such as were
rendered by the appellant, in the civil
cases mentioned. The rule of law in
such cases is that no services render
cd by public officers can be paid for,
out OF the county treasury unless stat
utory warrant can be found for so do
ing, even though the services are in
cident to their official position. They
take and hold Office cum onere, and one
OF the burdens is the performance of
such duties as have no specific fees
provided for by the statute, gratuit-
Dusty There is a provision of our
criminal law that seems to be conclu.
sive OF this question. 1t reads as fol-
lows; "lt any judge, justice of the
peace, coroner, constable, clerk. or
other officer of this territory, ministe-
rial or judicial shall wilfully receive or
take any fee or reward, to do or exc
cute his duty, as such officer, ercea
such as IS ailo,ced By lao, & *
y every such officer shall be
deemed guilty Of extortion, and on
conviction shall be fined in any sum
not less than two hundred, nor more
than one thousand dollars, and remov
ed from Office The trainers of this
statutory provision are not chargeable
with the absurdity of supposing that
the compensation provided in the fec
bills of the several officers is an exact,
full or adequate one for the perform
ance of the service, in each particular
case, but to have intended, by snch fee
bills, to prescribe such allowances as
taking one case with another, includ-
ing those services for which no fee is
provided, would be fair compensa-
i'on for all. If this allowance is morel
than the service is worth III one class
OF cases, the officer has the benefit of
IT; and it is therefore bot reasonable
that he should suffer the loss in other
cases, if it should turn out that this
fixed compensation is an INADEQUATE
allowance for the service performed
or It some duties are required to be
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