Los Angeles herald., 1891-11-24
The Power Of the Police
Court Defined.
A Very Important Decision by
Judge Van Dyke.
His Views on the Provisions of the
whitney Act.
The Petition for Writ of Prohibition
Denjed-P0lice Courts Have Ex-
elusive JurisdictiOn-The
Decision.

Judge Van Dyke, sitting in depart
ment four OF the Superior court, yester
day handed down an interesting opinion
in the case OF J. p. Goytino VS.. The
Police Court of Los Angeles, in which
Mr.. Goytino applied for writ Of pro
bibition to prevent the hearing OF his
case in the police court, alleging that
the latter has no jurisdiction.
Goytino, French journalist, is
charged with criminal libel. and was
taken before a police justice for trial
when he applied to the Superior court
for writ.
Judge Van Dyke holds that the police
court has jurisdiction, as will be seen by
his opinion, which is given in full.
This is an application for writ ol
prohibition directed to the police court
of Los Angeles city to restrain said court
from proceeding to try the petitioner
herein, j. p. Goytino, on complaint in
an action of libel, on the ground, as al
legged, that the said court has no juris.
diction OF said action, nor authority to
proceed to trial in said action against
said defendant for said offense, but that
the said offense is triable only in the
Superior court upon indictment or upon
information after preliminary examina-
ton.
Sec. 5 article 6 OF the constitution,
after comforting jurisdiction upon the
superior court in civil cases Confers also
jurisdiction upon said court, "In all
criminal cases amounting to felony and
cases of misdemeanor not otherwise pro-
vided for" In 1885 the legislature
passed an act entitled, can act provid-
ing for police courts in cities having
10000 and under 100, 900 inhabitants,
and providing for officers thereof" Sec.
l of said act reads: "The judicial
power of every city having $4,000 and
under 100000 inhabitants, shall be
vested in police court to be held there
in by the city justices, or one OF them,
to be designated by the mayor, and
either 6f said Justices may hold such
court without such designation, and it
is hereby made the duty of said city JUS
tices, in addition to the duties now re-
quired Of them by law, to hold said po-
lice court.
Sec. 2. The police court shall
have exclusive jurisdiction of the fol-
lowing public offenses committed in the
city:
First-Petty larceny.
Second-Assaulto battery not charged
to have been committed upon public
officer in the discharge of official duty,
with intent to kill. -T~--
Third-Breaches of the peace, riots,
affrays, committing willful injury to
property, and all misdemeanors punish
able by fine or imprisonment or by both
such fine and imprisonment" etc.
The crime of libel is misdemeanor
punishable by fine not exceeding $4,000
or imprisonment in the county Jail not
exceeding one year; therefore, it falls
within the provisions of the act OF 1885,
commonly known as the Whitney act !;
and unless it can be shown that the act
is unconstitutional in this respect, the
police court would have exclusive juris-
diction in the trials of such offenses,
and it may be added that the supreme
court has held the act constitutional in
either respect.
cisco, rs CAL, 500, was an application
like this for prohibition to prevent the
superior court from proceeding further
in an action against the petition upon
charge OF conspiracy. The court says,
"The ground upon which. this jurisdic-
ton of the superior court is contested is
that conspiracy is punishable by impris-
onment not exceeding one year
or by fine not exceeding $1,000
or by both, and the jurisdiction in such
cases is exclusively in the police court
in said city and county. The judicial
power of this state is vested in a senate,
sitting as a court of Impeachment, in
the supreme court, the superior courts,
justices of the peace and such inferior
courts as the legislature may establish
in any incorporated city or town, or city
and county. Constitution, art. 6, sec.
I.) The constitution provides that the
superior court shall have Jurisdiction in
all criminal cases amounting to felony
and cases of misdemeanor not otherwise
provided for, Cart, 6, sec. 81. 1t is fur
ther provided that the legislature shall
fix by law the jurisdiction of any infe-
rior court which may be established in
pursuance of section l of this article,
and shall fix by law the powers, duties
and responsibilities of the justices there
of. In pursuance of these constitu-
tional provisions the legislature OF the
state has by what is known as the con-
solidation act, as amended in 1878, pre-
scribed the jurisdiction OF the police
court of the city and county of San
Francisco, and among other things it
provides that said court shall have juris-
diction of misdemeanors punishable by
fine not exceeding $1,000 or by imprison-
ment not exceeding one year or by both, (,
which necessarily includes the ofense
charged in this case and OF which the
superior court has assumed jurisdiction.
The point made and relied upon in this
application is that under the provisions
OF the constitution the legislature has
the power to establish inferior courts
and to confer upon such courts jurisdic-
ton in cases OF misdemeanor, and when
such jurisdition is provided for the jur-
isdiction in that class of cases is taken
away from the superior court, for the
reason that they become misdemeanors
otherwise provided for within the
meaning of the constitution" The
court therefore, concludes as follows {:
"The evident object and purpose OF the
constitution in providing for the luris-
diction of superior courts in cases OF
misdemeanor of the lower grades was to
leave it to the legislature to provide in
ferior courts in cities and towns with lu~
risdiction to try the same. and that such
jurisdiction should vest in the superior
court only until such inferior court
be provided for. The language of the
constitution can bear no other construc-
ton it vests this jurisdiction in the su-
perior court if not otherwise provided
for. Just as soon as the jurisdiction is
othoruisa urovided for the authority nj