Imperial Valley press., 1925-09-05
Order Restraints
County Clerk in
Signature Check
Board of Supervisors Also Prevented From Taking
Action to Cali Special Election in Custer
Move II Valley

petition against District Attorney
Utley achieved partial success this
morning when Judge Walton j.
Wood OF the Los Angeles superior
court, granted the application of
Harold A. Kumsey and Bales G..
Walker for a temporar- injunction
restraining County Clerk Mousseau
from making furV-ler examination
of the signatures or the recall pc
tition against Utley, and also re-
strained the boarc of supervisors
from calling d special election to
decide the recall ISSUE.
The court set September IA as the
date for hearing on an application
to make the injunction permanent.
Bonds in the sum Of $1,000 were fill
ed by Walker and Rumsey. Judge
Wood was called in to hear the APP
plication for the injunction, as
Judge Cole and conkling of this
county are disqualified from sitting
III the case.
Fraud Is Alleged
The complaint filed by Rumset
and Walker sets forth the claim that
numerous signatures to the recall
petition against Utiev were obtain
ed by fraud and Misrepresentation,
and that the legality of others is
indefinite owing to the fact that
many signatures We're obtained from
people not having legal residence III
the voting precincts for which they
signed the petition.
It also cites the fact that District
Attorney Utley was regularly elect
ed TO office in 1922 and that the
present and former grand jurics OF
Imperial county have returned aceu-
sations charging malfeasance in of.
flee against four directors of the
Imperial irrigation district, three Of
whom are charged with responsible
ity for inStigating the recall move.
ment against Utley in retaliation
for the accusations filed against
them.
The district attorney is the legal
adviser of the county clerk, the
complaint asserts, but i'll view of
the fact that the former is most
concerned in the recall, he is dis
qualified from giving any legal ad
vice to the county clerk. The dis
tancc from FL Centre to Sacramento
and the numerous papers involved
in the matter, make it practically
impossible for the county clerk to
obtain legal advice from the attor-
ney- general of the state. The com
plant therefore requests the court
to decide az to the legality of the
signatures ON the recall petition.
Needless Expense Claim
If the county clerk is permitted
to continue his examination Of the
signatures. it will result in heavy
expense to the county, the COM
plant asserts, and the same result
is true if the board of supervisors
is permitted to call Il special elec
tion to decide the recall issue.
charges, are needless expenses which
would have to be borne by the tax
payers and citizens of Imperial
county.
Walker and Rumsey each assert in
separate paragraphs of the com
plaint that they were induced to
sign the recall petition against Ut
ley by fraud and Misrepresentation
and have since made affidavits TO.
that effect, the .affidavits being
filed with the county clerk as Il
matter of public record. The charge
is made that numerous similar affi-
davitS have been filed by other vot
erS who were induced to sign the
recall petition by fraud aud mis-
representation.
Not Enough Names, Charge
\ total of 6S79 votes were cast
for the office of district attorney
in the 1922 election. the complaint
sets forth and if the total of alleged
Illegal signatures to the recall Pc
tition is deducted from the number
of votes east, the signatures remain-
ing will not constitute 90 per cent
OF the total number of votes east
Mt the election, which is the num-
Der required by law before n recall
election can be ordered. a total of
16S Illegal signatures to the recall
petition is claimed by the plaintiffs
in the action.
The temporary restraining order
WAS served upon the county clerk in
his office this morning and deputy
shcriffs were searching for the sup
ervisors TO serve each with q copy
Of the court order restraining them
from calling an election.
Harry W. Horton is attorney for
the plaintiffs, Walker and Rumsey.