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Justia › US Law › Case Law › California Case Law › Cal. 3d › Volume 11 › Strumsky v. San Diego County Employees Retirement Assn.
Strumsky v. San Diego County Employees Retirement Assn.
Linley, McDougal, Meloche & Murphy and Donald L. Meloche for Plaintiff and Appellant.
Robert G. Berrey, County Counsel, and Joseph Kase, Jr., Deputy County Counsel, for Defendant and Respondent.
John D. Maharg, County Counsel (Los Angeles), Edward H. Gaylord and Martin E. Weekes, Deputy County Counsel, as Amici Curiae on behalf of Defendant and Respondent.
In the instant case we confront a question concerning judicial review of adjudicatory determinations of administrative agencies which we were not called upon to reach in Bixby v. Pierno (1971) 4 Cal. 3d 130 [93 Cal. Rptr. 234, 481 P.2d 242]. That question, whose presence was expressly noted by us in Bixby (id. at p. 137, fn. 2) is this: When, upon judicial review of an administrative order or decision pursuant to section 1094.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure, it is claimed there has been a prejudicial abuse of discretion in that the findings are not supported by the evidence, what is the proper scope of review when the respondent agency is a local agency or a state agency of local jurisdiction?
If anything has remained consistently clear in the checkered history of the judicial review of administrative decisions under section 1094.5, it has been the answer to the foregoing question. Subdivision (c) of that section provides that when a claim of unsupported findings is made, abuse of discretion (which under subdivision (b) is established if the findings are not supported by the evidence) is shown in cases in which the court is authorized by law to exercise its independent judgment on the evidence if the court determines that the findings are not supported by the weight of the evidence; in all other cases abuse of discretion is established if the court determines that the findings are not supported by substantial evidence in light of the whole record. It has been veritable gospel, at least since the decision of this court in Standard Oil Co. v. State Board of Equal. (1936) 6 Cal. 2d 557 [59 P.2d 119] -- which is the fountainhead from which all subsequent law of judicial review of administrative decisions, including section 1094.5 itself, has sprung -- that with respect to orders [11 Cal. 3d 32] or decisions of local agencies or state agencies of local jurisdiction the court is not authorized by law to exercise its independent judgment on the evidence, and therefore that the proper scope of review with respect to such orders or decisions is that of substantial evidence in light of the whole record. It is this axiom which is challenged here today.
[1a] After solemn and extended consideration we have concluded that there no longer exists any rational or legal justification for distinguishing with regard to judicial review between, on the one hand, local agencies and state agencies of local jurisdiction and, on the other, state agencies of legislative origin having statewide jurisdiction. Accordingly, we hold that the rule of judicial review applicable to adjudicatory orders or decisions of the latter class of agencies -- which was reaffirmed and explained by us in Bixby -- is also applicable to adjudicatory orders or decisions of agencies in the former class. That rule is as follows: If the order or decision of the agency substantially affects a fundamental vested right, the trial court, in determining under section 1094.5 whether there has been an abuse of discretion because the findings are not supported by the evidence, must exercise its independent judgment on the evidence and find an abuse of discretion if the findings are not supported by the weight of the evidence. If, on the other hand, the order or decision does not substantially affect a fundamental vested right, the trial court's inquiry will be limited to a determination of whether or not the findings are supported by substantial evidence in the light of the whole record.
As we explain below, we have concluded that the order and decision in the instant case does affect a fundamental vested right; accordingly the independent-judgment standard stated above is here applicable. Because the trial court in denying the writ considered itself bound by existing law to apply the substantial-evidence standard of review, we reverse the judgment and remand the cause for a new determination under the rule we announce today.
Plaintiff Coreen Strumsky appeals from a judgment denying her petition for a writ of mandate sought to review and set aside the decision of the Board of Retirement (Board) of defendant San Diego County Employees Retirement Association denying her certain death benefits.
Plaintiff is the widow of Richard D. Strumsky, who died in 1968 following [11 Cal. 3d 33] surgery to correct a congenital narrowing of the aorta. At the time of his death Mr. Strumsky was a sergeant in the San Diego County Marshal's office and was in charge of its El Cajon branch; he had been employed by the county for 21 years and for many years had been a "safety member" (see Gov. Code, § 31469.3) of the San Diego County Employees Retirement Association.
Pursuant to the provisions of the County Employees Retirement Law of 1937 (Gov. Code, § 31450 et seq.), plaintiff made application to the Board for the service-connected death allowance established by section 31787 of the Government Code. That section provides in substance and as here relevant that the surviving spouse of a member who dies as the result of an injury or disease arising out of and in the course of his employment is entitled to elect, in lieu of the normal death allowance established by section 31781.1, fn. 1 a lifetime allowance amounting to half the member's salary at death. In the case of Mrs. Strumsky, the service-connected death allowance would be almost three times the nonservice-connected death allowance of $181.03 per month.
The Board held a hearing on the question of service-connection. Five witnesses testified, and documentary evidence, including the written reports of four doctors, was introduced. The evidence established clearly that decedent had suffered from hypertension since boyhood due to a congenital narrowing of the aorta; that this condition was aggravated by progressive arteriosclerosis which had become advanced at a point one year prior to his death; and that the unsuccessful surgery was undertaken in order to correct the aortal narrowing or coarctation and thus relieve the severe hypertension which it and the arteriosclerosis had combined to bring about. There was, however, considerable conflict in the evidence concerning the extent to which the stress and tension inherent in decedent's occupation and his personal attitude toward his job affected the development of the arteriosclerosis. On this point the evidence ranged widely from an opinion that the stress and tension of decedent's employment was responsible only to "an infinitesimal extent" for his condition, to an opinion that the arteriosclerosis may have been substantially related to chronic tension. The theory supporting the latter view was that the hypertension caused by decedent's congenital condition was supplemented and exacerbated by occupational [11 Cal. 3d 34] tensions and that the heightened hypertension caused by this combination brought about the arteriosclerotic condition.
The Board by a vote of four to three denied Mrs. Strumsky's application for a service-connected death allowance. Her request for a rehearing was denied, and she thereupon sought review of the decision by administrative mandate. (Code Civ. Proc., § 1094.5.) The trial court denied the writ, finding that "the findings of respondent Board are supported by substantial evidence in the light of the whole record." The court also made the following supplemental finding of fact: "7. That the Court, if this were a case in which the Court was authorized by law to exercise its independent judgment on the evidence, would find that the death of the decedent safety member Richard D. Strumsky was service-connected in nature."
The court thus concluded that there was no prejudicial abuse of discretion committed by the Board and that the alternative writ of mandate theretofore issued should be discharged and the petition for the peremptory writ denied. Judgment was entered accordingly. This appeal followed.
 This reasoning, of course, applies with equal force to all administrative decisions of an adjudicatory fn. 2 nature -- regardless of the administrative [11 Cal. 3d 35] agency involved. It has been held inapplicable, however, in the case of agencies which fall into two categories. The first of these categories is comprised of agencies of constitutional origin which have been granted limited judicial power by the Constitution itself. (See, for example, Boren v. State Personnel Board (1951) 37 Cal. 2d 634 [234 P.2d 981]; Covert v. State Board of Equalization (1946) 29 Cal. 2d 125 [173 P.2d 545]; Ishimatsu v. Regents of University of California (1968) 266 Cal. App. 2d 854 [72 Cal. Rptr. 756]; Palm Springs T. Club v. Cal. Horse etc. Bd. (1957) 155 Cal. App. 2d 242 [317 P.2d 713]; cf. Alta-Dena Dairy v. County of San Diego (1969) 271 Cal. App. 2d 66 [76 Cal. Rptr. 510].) fn. 3 In the second category are the agencies with which we are concerned in the instant case, to wit, "local agencies" -- which includes both purely local agencies and state agencies of limited territorial jurisdiction. (See, for an example of the latter, Atchison etc. Ry. Co. v. Kings Co. Water Dist. (1956) 47 Cal. 2d 140 [302 P.2d 1].) It is established that when review of a decision of an agency falling within either of these two categories is sought pursuant to section 1094.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the court's scrutiny of the agency's factual findings is limited to a determination whether those findings are supported by substantial evidence in light of the whole record -- and this is so whether or not the decision of the agency affects a fundamental vested right.
[1b] With respect to "local agencies" the matter is otherwise. This is so for the simple reason that the separation of powers clause is inapplicable to government below the state level. (People v. Provines (1868) 34 Cal. 520.) Accordingly that clause does not prevent the exercise of judicial powers by "local agencies." (Imperial Water Co. v. Supervisors (1912) 162 Cal. 14, 17-18 [120 P. 780]; Nicholl v. Koster (1910) 157 Cal. 416, 422-423 [108 P. 302]; Holley v. County of Orange (1895) 106 Cal. 420, 424 [39 P. 790]; Wulzen v. Board of Supervisors, supra, 101 Cal. 15, 25-26; Savage v. Sox (1953) 118 Cal. App. 2d 479, 485-487 [258 P.2d 80]; People v. Strong (1931) 114 Cal. App. 522, 527-528 [300 P. 84].) This, however, is not the end of the matter; the fact that agencies below the state level are not prevented from exercising judicial powers by the separation-of-powers doctrine in no way implies in and of itself that they may exercise such powers. fn. 6 Because local bodies, like governmental entities on the state level, ultimately derive all their powers from the state Constitution, it is in that document that we must seek the basis for any exercise of judicial power by such bodies. fn. 7 If no such basis be found, it matters not [11 Cal. 3d 37] at all for present purposes that local bodies are not fettered by the separation-of-powers clause in the exercise of the powers which have been conferred upon them.
In the landmark case of Standard Oil Co. v. State Board of Equal., supra, 6 Cal. 2d 557, we suggested one possible basis for the exercise of judicial powers by local agencies. The primary holding of that decision, which led to the development of much of our present statutory and decisional law with respect to judicial review of administrative decisions, was that legislatively created agencies of statewide jurisdiction could not under the Constitution exercise judicial powers, and that therefore the decisions of such agencies were not reviewable by certiorari. This holding was based upon article VI, section 1, of the Constitution, which at that time provided as follows: "The judicial power of the State shall be vested in the Senate, sitting as a court of impeachment, in a Supreme Court, district courts of appeal, superior courts, such municipal courts as may be established in any city or city and county, and such inferior courts as the Legislature may establish in any incorporated city or town, township, county or city and county." (Italics added.) We held, quoting from earlier cases, that "'Except for local purposes the section disposes of the whole judicial power of the state and vests all of it in the courts expressly named therein, leaving none at the disposition of the Legislature.'" (Italics added.) (6 Cal.2d at p. 561.) Thus, we concluded, the Legislature could not vest judicial powers in agencies of statewide jurisdiction.
It was the italicized exception, however, which in later cases was seized upon as the basis for a different rule with respect to "local agencies." (See especially Nider v. City Commission (1939) 36 Cal. App. 2d 14, 28 [97 P.2d 293]; see also Fascination, Inc. v. Hoover (1952) 39 Cal. 2d 260, 264-265 [246 P.2d 656]; La Prade v. Department of Water & Power (1945) 27 Cal. 2d 47, 53 [162 P.2d 13]; Walker v. City of San Gabriel (1942) 20 Cal. 2d 879, 881 [129 P.2d 349, 142 A.L.R. 1383]; Corcoran [11 Cal. 3d 38] v. S. F. etc. Retirement System (1952) 114 Cal. App. 2d 738, 740-741 [251 P.2d 59].) The rationale, generally speaking, was that article VI, section 1, while forbidding the exercise of judicial powers by legislatively created agencies of statewide jurisdiction, permitted the Legislature to vest such powers in such "inferior courts" as it might establish on the local level -- and that "local agencies" could be considered to be such "inferior courts." Article XI of the Constitution, which we proceed to examine in some detail infra, clearly allowed the Legislature to establish the powers of local bodies such as counties and cities and to approve the powers delineated in city and county charters. These powers, it was reasoned, might include purely judicial powers pursuant to the grant of article VI.
It is the effect of this amendment which is our primary concern today. For the present, however, it is sufficient to observe that the deletion wrought by the amendment rendered the section no longer available as a basis for the exercise of judicial powers by "local agencies."
We express at the outset our suspicion that the reasoning of Dierssen was grounded to a large extent upon a grammatical misunderstanding of the language of this court in Drummey. The sentence from the latter case which we have quoted above (see text accompanying fn. 9, ante) is concerned with restating the "theory" of Standard Oil, such "theory" being in full effect at the time of Drummey. In the course of such restatement we indeed indicated that the then article VI, section 1 "vest[ed] the entire [11 Cal. 3d 40] judicial power of the state in the courts, except as to local boards, and the railroad and industrial accident commissions, which are governed by special constitutional provisions." (13 Cal.2d at p. 81.) It is clear to us, however, that the final clause of eight words in this statement refers only to the seven words next immediately preceding it and not to the phrase concerning "local boards." The only "special constitutional provision" which Standard Oil had related to local boards was article VI, section 1 itself, a section which, as indicated above, was amended in 1950 (11 years after Drummey) to remove the support which Standard Oil had found in it. Thus it is our opinion that the Dierssen court was misled at the outset in undertaking its search for other constitutional support; all the support necessary at that time was provided by article VI, section 1.
The matter is otherwise when we come to Savage v. Sox, supra. By the time of that decision article VI, section 1 had indeed been amended and new constitutional justification was necessary to replace it, if the distinction in standards of review was to be maintained. The Savage court, by adopting Dierssen, likewise adopted the constitutional supports which had been needlessly "discovered" 12 years before: the home-rule provisions of article XI. These it duly installed as the "new" constitutional source of judicial power in "local agencies."
The error in the Savage decision is fundamental: it fails to appreciate the relationship between article VI and article XI, and in so doing it totally misapprehends the comprehensive effect of the 1950 amendment on the former article. Article XI does not and cannot stand alone. It invests the Legislature with the authority to bestow powers upon, and to set up procedures for, governmental bodies below the state level. This is carried out for so-called general law (i.e., noncharter) cities and counties by direct legislation of statutes found in the Government Code. With respect to charter cities and counties such powers and procedures are prescribed by means of legislative approval or disapproval of the charter presented to the Legislature. In each case, however, the Legislature is limited in the nature and extent of the powers which it may grant. With respect to legislative powers, the question is one of proper delegation of powers vested in the Legislature itself by article IV of the Constitution. fn. 10 With respect to executive powers, the question is one of avoiding conflict with the executive powers reserved to members of the executive branch in article V. With respect to judicial powers, the question is one of compliance [11 Cal. 3d 41] with the limitations imposed by article VI -- a matter which we now proceed to examine in some detail.
As we have indicated above, prior to 1950 article VI permitted the Legislature to establish "inferior courts" on the local level and thus to vest judicial powers to that extent. The Legislature exercised this grant directly by establishing a plethora of local courts at the municipal and township level, including township justice of the peace courts, police courts, city justice of the peace courts, and city courts. In addition, according to the interpretation adopted in Standard Oil and its progeny, it exercised the grant by vesting judicial powers in "local agencies."
Article XI of the Constitution was (and today remains) the conduit through which the Legislature vested in "local agencies" whatever powers it was entitled to vest in them. It was and is not, as the Dierssen and Savage courts assumed, an independent source of power -- rather it was and is the instrument by and through which the Legislature takes the powers it is constitutionally entitled to bestow and in turn bestows them at least in part on governmental units below the state level.
The effect of this conclusion upon the question immediately before us is clear. Because judicial powers may no longer be exercised by "local agencies," the factual findings of those agencies are entitled to no greater deference than those of other agencies lacking judicial powers under the Constitution. Accordingly we conclude that the rule of review which was reaffirmed by us in Bixby v. Pierno, supra, for application to adjudicatory decisions by legislatively created agencies of statewide jurisdiction is equally applicable to decisions by "local agencies" as well.
We therefore hold that in all such cases, if the order or decision of the agency substantially affects a fundamental vested right, the court, in determining under section 1094.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure whether there has been an abuse of discretion because the findings are not supported by the evidence, must exercise its independent judgment on the evidence and find an abuse of discretion if the findings are not supported by the weight of the evidence. If, on the other hand, the order or decision does not substantially affect a fundamental vested right, the trial court's [11 Cal. 3d 45] inquiry will be limited to a determination of whether or not the findings are supported by substantial evidence in light of the whole record. So that there will be no misunderstanding, we emphasize that this rule shall apply to all pending and future proceedings in trial courts and all pending and future appeals.
 We have concluded that the decision of the Board in this case substantially affected a fundamental vested right, to wit, plaintiff's right to receive a service-connected death allowance.
It has long been established that retirement benefit rights of the nature here involved are vested. (See Pearson v. County of Los Angeles (1957) 49 Cal. 2d 523, 531-532 [319 P.2d 624]; Wallace v. City of Fresno (1954) 42 Cal. 2d 180, 183 [265 P.2d 884]; Dryden v. Board of Pension Commrs. (1936) 6 Cal. 2d 575, 579 [59 P.2d 104].) We also believe that the right here in question is not only vested but "fundamental" within the meaning of Bixby v. Pierno, supra. "In determining whether the right is fundamental the courts do not alone weigh the economic aspect of it, but the effect of it in human terms and the importance of it to the individual in the life situation." (4 Cal.3d at p. 144.) It is the latter consideration which renders the instant right fundamental. Above and beyond the "economic aspect" present in all pension cases, we have here a situation in which the benefits sought might well mean to the officer's widow the difference between self-support and the necessity that she supplement pension income through employment or other means. fn. 17 Thus, the impact in human terms of the decision is manifest.
The judgment is reversed and the cause is remanded to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Wright, C. J., Tobriner, J., and Mosk, J., concurred.
The majority hold that, as a matter of constitutional law, henceforth our trial courts must reweigh and independently adjudge decisions of local administrative agencies which touch upon "fundamental vested rights." The rationale employed to place this ruling upon a constitutional basis is that in 1950 the thousands of local boards in this state were deprived of the right to exercise quasi-judicial power. Given the critical importance of the majority's new rule and the vast changes it will cause in administrative review, the question immediately comes to mind: Why has it taken nearly 25 years to make this startling discovery? The question is, of course, rhetorical; the cases (including a unanimous 1964 decision by this court) have considered and uniformly rejected the majority's premise regarding the effect of the 1950 amendment to article VI of our state Constitution. Furthermore, if indeed local agencies may not exercise such quasi-judicial power, to weigh the evidence adduced at the hearings before them and to render binding decisions based thereon, in such widespread local activities as are conducted by such boards, fn. 1 what [11 Cal. 3d 47] further principle excuses trial courts from independently adjudging the decisions of local agencies which do not affect fundamental vested rights, but at the same time constitute the exercise of quasi-judicial powers? The majority can not have it both ways; either local boards have quasi-judicial fn. 2 power or they do not. If, as the majority insist, such power no longer exists, then necessarily every agency decision of which someone complains must be independently reviewed by the courts. The majority's premise, however, is patently, demonstrably incorrect, reversing an unbroken line of authority extending back more than 100 years.
In addition to other serious consequences which will follow today's decision, the majority has taken from the Legislature (in an ironic violation of the separation of powers doctrine) its constitutional authority to provide for local governmental bodies and invest them with appropriate powers. Unless and until a remedial constitutional amendment has been adopted to rewrite into the Constitution that which the majority decision here emasculates (authority for such local agencies to exercise quasi-judicial power), courts will be required, for the first time in the history of this state, to undertake the unnecessary and burdensome task of reweighing and redeciding (without deference to administrative expertise) every complained of decision of the thousands of local boards which affect "fundamental vested rights." Moreover, by improperly extending the scope of that term to include mere economic benefits, the majority vastly expand [11 Cal. 3d 48] the number of decisions subject to independent judgment review. fn. 3 In view of the grave consequences of the majority's decision and the errors contained therein, I will review the opinion at some length.
1. Constitutional sources of local agency powers -- The majority incorrectly assume that the source of the power of local boards to exercise quasi-judicial (fact-finding) functions derived solely from article VI, section 1, of our Constitution, which vests judicial power in the courts, and which formerly authorized the Legislature to establish "inferior courts" in towns, cities and counties. Of course, the majority's premise, weak as it seems, is that local administrative agencies were considered "inferior courts" by the framers of our Constitution. This premise was exploded over 100 years ago.
Thus, Provines teaches us that the Constitution does not contain any limitation upon the powers of local government, other than as are contained in the Constitution itself or in statutes or charters adopted pursuant thereto. Accordingly, no constitutional prohibition prevents local boards from exercising quasi-judicial functions subject to ordinary substantial evidence review by the courts. The Provines rule has been consistently followed in subsequent cases. (See Wulzen v. Board of Supervisors (1894) 101 Cal. 15, 25-26 [35 P. 353]; Holley v. County of Orange (1895) 106 Cal. 420, 423-424 [39 P. 790]; Dierssen v. Civil Service Commission (1941) 43 Cal. App. 2d 53, 59-61 [110 P.2d 513]; County of Mariposa v. Merced Irr. Dist. (1948) 32 Cal. 2d 467, 476 [196 P.2d 920].) It is true that some cases have suggested that the "inferior courts" language in former article VI also furnished a basis for the exercise of judicial functions by local government. (See Drummey v. State Bd. of Funeral Directors (1939) 13 Cal. 2d 75, 81 [87 P.2d 848]; Laisne v. Cal. St. Bd. of Optometry (1942) 19 Cal. 2d 831, 847 [123 P.2d 457].) fn. 4 Yet no case has ever considered article VI to be the sole source of that authority; indeed, the cases have followed Provines' assertion in 1868 that article XI (the "home rule" provisions), in conjunction with article III (requiring a separation of the powers of state government), furnish additional, independent support.
In sum, then, the majority err in assuming that local agencies lack a constitutional basis for the exercise of quasi-judicial functions. fn. 5 Nothing contained in the Constitution limits local powers (as art. III pertains solely to state government, as the majority concede), and the home rule provisions of article XI vest broad power in local government (flowing from charter provision or legislative grant).
2. The effect of the 1950 amendment to article VI -- The majority insist that Dierssen was incorrectly decided, and that the sole constitutional provision empowering local boards to exercise judicial functions was contained in the "inferior courts" language of former article VI, section 1, which language was deleted by a 1950 constitutional amendment. As I have explained, however, Dierssen simply continued the unbroken chain of cases which commenced in 1868 with Provines and which held that the state Constitution imposes no limitation upon the power of local government in dealing with municipal affairs.
Next, in 1964, this court expressly and unanimously approved Savage and its interpretation of the effect of the 1950 amendment. In Berggren v. Moore, 61 Cal. 2d 347, 349 [38 Cal. Rptr. 722, 392 P.2d 522], plaintiff had contended that the trial court erred in refusing to exercise its independent judgment regarding the decision of a city council to adopt a redevelopment plan. We disagreed: "Plaintiffs' further suggestion that such holding [refusal to exercise independent judgment) contravenes the intent of the 1950 amendment of section 1 of article VI of the California Constitution is likewise without merit. (See Savage v. Sox, [supra], 118 Cal. App. 2d 479, 485-488 ....)"
I fail to understand on what basis the majority now decided to abandon the reasoning of Savage and Berggren regarding the effect of the 1950 amendment. Certainly, no new information has come to light since 1964 regarding the intent of the framers of that amendment; my own research conclusively discloses that the amendment was not intended to effect any substantive change whatever in the functioning of local administrative decisions, or in judicial review of the decisions of those agencies. (See Judicial Council of Cal., 12th Biennial Report (1948) pp. 13-20, 41; Judicial Council of Cal., 14th Biennial Report (1953) pp. 13-14). Since the authorities uniformly held, prior to 1950, that local boards properly exercised quasi-judicial functions, by reason of the homerule provisions of article XI and the narrow scope of article III, and since it is clear that the 1950 amendment to article VI was not intended to effect a change in the law applicable to local boards, how can this court in 1974 (following contrary decisions in 1953 and 1964) seriously suggest that the 1950 amendment caused radical and revolutionary changes in administrative law? Under the majority's analysis, for nearly 25 years local boards have been exercising powers that they no longer possess; likewise, the trial courts have, for that period, improperly failed to undertake their constitutional responsibility to exercise independent review. In my view, this analysis is absurd.
Although the cases refer to retirement benefits as being "vested" in the member and his beneficiaries, no vested right to a benefit in a specific amount arises until the happening of the contingency upon which the benefit is payable. (See Packer v. Board of Retirement, 35 Cal. 2d 212, 215-218 [217 P.2d 660]; Kern v. City of Long Beach, 29 Cal. 2d 848, 855 [179 P.2d 799]; Casserly v. City of Oakland, 6 Cal. 2d 64, 66-69 [56 P.2d 237].) The case most analogous is Bertch v. Social Welfare Dept., 45 Cal. 2d 524, 529 [289 P.2d 485], wherein this court held that an applicant for old age benefits is not entitled to an independent judgment review of an adverse administrative decision: "Petitioners here were not possessed of a vested right, but the right to make application for old age benefits provided that they were able to comply with the statutory prerequisites therefor (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 2160 et seq.)." (See also Taylor v. Martin, 28 Cal. App. 3d 1057 [105 Cal. Rptr. 211] [welfare benefits].) In the instant case, the right to a service-connected death benefit was similarly contingent upon compliance with statutory prerequisites, including proof of a service-connected death.
For the reasons set forth above, I respectfully dissent to the majority opinion.
The principle of separation of powers upon which the majority predicate their opinion is, of course, an integral part of our constitutional structure -- but the keystone of that structure is the proposition that all power flows from the People. Before and certainly after Dierssen (1941), as pointed out by Burke, J., the bench and bar were convinced that the Constitution had been adequately amended by the People to endow a "local agency" to make binding findings of fact when such findings are based upon substantial evidence.
One wonders what the result at bench would have been if the constitutional language, pursuant to which "local agencies" have acted for so many years, had specifically included language authorizing a "local agency" to make a binding determination of facts in respect of fundamental vested rights. Since what rights are and what rights are not fundamental and vested elude definition, can any amendment be framed which would withstand nullification if it deprives the judiciary of binding fact-finding power in any case. If the exercise by a "local agency" of binding fact-finding power is the exercise of a judicial function in respect of fundamental and vested rights -- it is also the exercise of a judicial function in respect of such rights, if any, which may be tolerantly regarded as nonfundamental and not vested.
The current decision demonstrates that amendments to our fundamental law, even though originally ratified and accepted by the courts, may be reconstrued in such a manner as to effectually emasculate them.
The real question is not one of separation of powers but whether the People have, by the Constitution they originally wrote, effectively foreclosed themselves from making any change in their constitutional structure and have abdicated all power to the judiciary.
FN 1. Generally speaking, the normal (i.e., nonservice-connected) death allowance provided for by section 31781.1 of the Government Code is equal to 60 percent of the retirement allowance the decedent would have received had he retired or been retired for nonservice-connected disability on the date of death.
FN 4. The quoted section was adopted in 1972. Substantially identical language has appeared in the Constitution since 1849.
FN 5. The validity of the foregoing rationale for the exercise of judicial powers by "constitutional agencies" is not here in question.
FN 6. We note what appears to be a contrary opinion on this point among certain commentators. (See Kleps, Certiorarified Mandamus: Court Review of California Administrative Decisions 1939-1949 (1950) 2 Stan.L.Rev. 285, 291, fn. 23; Kleps, Certiorarified Mandamus Reviewed: The Courts and California Administrative Decisions -- 1949-1959, supra, 12 Stan.L.Rev. 554, 561-562; Cal. Administrative Mandamus, supra, § 5.65, p. 75.) To the extent that our interpretation of these comments is accurate (i.e., to the extent that they indicate that the inapplicability of the separation-of-powers clause in and of itself constitutes an authorization for the exercise of judicial powers by local boards), we disagree with them.
FN 8. Article VI, section 1, now provides: "The judicial power of the State is vested in the Supreme Court, courts of appeal, superior courts, municipal courts, and justice courts. All except justice courts are courts of record."
FN 9. Article XI has undergone substantial amendment and reorganization since Dierssen, but the provisions upon which the court relied remain in substance.
FN 10. Section 1 of article IV provides: "The legislative power of this State is vested in the California Legislature which consists of the Senate and Assembly, but the people reserve to themselves the powers of initiative and referendum."
FN 11. The argument against the amendment set forth in the voters' pamphlet clearly indicates that the power of the Legislature in this area was at issue.
FN 12. Former section 11 of article VI, which was a part of the amendment in question but was repealed in 1966 -- having served its purpose -- treated this aspect of the measure.
FN 13. By its terms the amendment purported to concentrate all judicial power in the courts. This, however, would create a conflict with constitutional provisions which might expressly bestow judicial powers on certain "constitutional agencies" (see fns. 4 and 5 and accompanying text), a possible conflict which we avoid by interpreting the effect of the amendment as indicated.
FN 15. We note in passing that the Legislature, at least in 1942, was apparently of the view that, even with its then powers under article VI to create "inferior courts," it lacked the ability to bestow judicial powers on "local agencies." In that year the case of Laisne v. Cal. St. Bd. of Optometry (1942) 19 Cal. 2d 831 [123 P.2d 457] had been decided; that case, along with the other progeny of Standard Oil, had created uncertainty and upheaval concerning the proper role of the courts vis-a-vis legislatively created agencies. The Legislature, recognizing that a constitutional amendment would serve to settle the law in the area, passed (by a two-thirds vote) Senate Constitutional Amendment 8 and presented it to the electorate as Proposition 16 on the November 1942 ballot. Generally speaking, the measure sought to place truly judicial powers in both statewide agencies and "local agencies," limiting court review of all factual findings to a substantial evidence basis. Apparently concluding in spite of the Standard Oil line of cases and the Dierssen case that neither article VI nor article XI provided sufficient constitutional support for this, the Legislature proposed, through the above proposition, the following amendment to the latter article: "When any city or city and county, which has adopted or shall adopt a charter in pursuance of this Constitution, has provided or shall provide by charter, by any amendment thereof, or by ordinance, that decisions of question of fact made by any administrative officer, board, commission or agency in respect to municipal affairs shall be final, no court of this State shall have power to set aside such finding of fact if there is substantial evidence to support it. Nothing in this section shall be construed as limiting the power of any county, city, or city and county under this Constitution to make and enforce within its limits local, police, sanitary and other regulations and, when not in conflict with general law, to provide by ordinance that decisions of questions of fact made by any administrative officer, board, commission or agency shall be final." (Proposed Amendments to Constitution, Propositions and Proposed Laws; General Election, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 1942; Part II -- appendix, p. 23.) We must conclude from the approval of this language by the Legislature and its presentation to the electorate almost immediately after the Dierssen decision, that the Legislature was unpersuaded by the Dierssen court's discovery of a grant of judicial powers in the then (and now) article XI.
FN 16. Lest it be considered that we have oversimplified the thrust and meaning of article XI in referring to it as a mere conduit for the granting of powers having their source, if any, elsewhere in the Constitution, we here undertake to review the provisions of that article, giving special attention to the provisions relied upon by the court in Savage. Section 1 of the article deals with the formation and government of counties and provides as here relevant that the Legislature shall prescribe procedures for formation, consolidation, and boundary change, and shall additionally "provide for county powers." Section 2, dealing with cities, provides that the Legislature "shall prescribe uniform procedure for city formation and provide for city powers." Section 3 deals in general with the procedure for adopting county and city charters, including the necessity of their approval by the Legislature. Section 4 concerns provisions which are mandatory in county charters, all of which remain subject to legislative approval under section 3; it also provides that "Charter counties shall have all the powers that are provided by this Constitution or by statute for counties."
Subdivision (b) of section 5 presently provides: "It shall be competent in all city charters to provide, in addition to those provisions allowable by this Constitution, and by the laws of the State for: (1) the constitution, regulation, and government of the city police force (2) subgovernment in all or part of a city (3) conduct of city elections and (4) plenary authority is hereby granted, subject only to the restrictions of this article, to provide therein or by amendment thereto, the manner in which, the method by which, the times at which, and the terms for which the several municipal officers and employees whose compensation is paid by the city shall be elected or appointed, and for their removal, and for their compensation, and for the number of deputies, clerks and other employees that each shall have, and for the compensation, method of appointment, qualifications, tenure of office and removal of such deputies, clerks and other employees." (Italics added.) Suffice it to say that we do not construe the italicized language to authorize the establishment by a charter city in itself of powers which, since the 1950 amendment to article VI, section 1, have been exclusively vested in the state courts.
FN 17. As we have pointed out above (see text accompanying fn. 1, ante) the service-connected death allowance in Mrs. Strumsky's case would be almost three times the nonservice-connected allowance of $181.03 per month.
FN 1. I.e., activities such as those entrusted to city councils, boards of trustees, school boards, boards of freeholders, charter revision commissions, zoning boards, planning commissions, variance boards, appeals boards under building codes, fire and police appeals boards, pension and retirement boards, civil service and merit systems boards and commissions, civic parade boards, business licensing boards, parks and playgrounds boards, recreation commissions, animal shelter boards, zoo boards, library boards and many others.
FN 2. Unlike the majority (ante, p. 42, fn. 14), I do not find the term "quasi-judicial" to be an inaccurate or unacceptable description of the administrative adjudicatory process, including fact-finding and decision-making functions. As stated by Justice Molinari in Le Strange v. City of Berkeley, 210 Cal. App. 2d 313, 322-323 [26 Cal. Rptr. 550], "A municipality may lawfully confer quasi-judicial powers on boards or commissions dealing solely with municipal affairs. This power is acquired by municipalities under Article XI, section 8 1/2, subdivision 4 of the Constitution. [Citation.] ... [¶] The essential characteristic of the quasi-judicial body is its fact finding power and the concomitant requirement to make a determination or adjudication of fact in connection with matters properly submitted to it after a hearing. [Citations.]"
The foregoing power is termed "quasi-judicial" because it involves an adjudication of rights subject to judicial review under heretofore well-defined standards. In essence, we are faced herein with the question whether any provision of our Constitution forbids local boards the power to make fact findings which must be upheld by the courts if supported by substantial evidence and are not the result of arbitrary, capricious, or fraudulent action. Relief from the latter class of actions has always been available through appropriate court action.
FN 3. See Bixby v. Pierno, 4 Cal. 3d 130, 144-147 [93 Cal. Rptr. 234, 481 P.2d 242]. My views regarding the need for a uniform substantial evidence review of all administrative decisions are set forth in my dissent in that case (p. 151) and will not be repeated here.
FN 5. As I understand it, the majority's ruling is based primarily upon the premise that, in the absence of an express constitutional grant of power, local agencies may not exercise quasi-judicial functions. Yet as the Provines and Dierssen cases so clearly explain, such a grant of power is implicit in the home rule provisions of article XI and in the powers granted the Legislature to provide for local agencies of government contained in that article, and the limitation of article III to state government. The majority rely upon the remarks of a "leading commentator in the field of local government" to the effect that a municipality has no "inherent right of self government ...." (ante, p. 37, fn. 7.) Yet, as this same commentator explains in a subsequent chapter of his work, "In addition to powers conferred on municipal corporations by express enumeration in the constitution, statutes or charter, it is beyond dispute that municipal corporations possess certain implied, sometimes referred to as incidental, powers ...." (Italics added; 2 McQuillin, Municipal Corporations (1966 3d rev. ed.), § 10.12, pp. 765-766.) These implied powers include those powers necessarily or reasonably arising from those powers expressly granted, those powers essential to give effect to powers expressly granted, and those powers regarded as indispensable to local government to enable the municipality to fulfill the objects for which it was formed. (Id., pp. 767-771.) The power to conduct fact-finding hearings and make decisions having at least a limited finality (being subject to ordinary substantial evidence review) seems clearly implicit in the constitutional grant of power under article XI. Under the majority view, such fact-finding hearings would serve little purpose, since the findings and conclusions which result therefrom must be ignored by the trial court in reweighing the evidence and redetermining the case in order to fulfill its newly imposed obligation to render an independent judgment review of the cold record before it.
FN 6. See, e.g., Berggren v. Moore, supra, 61 Cal. 2d 347, 349; In re Redevelopment Plan for Bunker Hill, 61 Cal. 2d 21, 39 [37 Cal. Rptr. 74, 389 P.2d 538]; Albonico v. Madera Irr. Dist., 53 Cal. 2d 735, 739 [3 Cal. Rptr. 343, 350 P.2d 95]; Damiani v. Albert, 48 Cal. 2d 15, 17 [306 P.2d 780]; Atchison etc. Ry. Co. v. Kings Co. Water Dist., 47 Cal. 2d 140, 143 [302 P.2d 1]; Thompson v. City of Long Beach, 41 Cal. 2d 235, 239-240 [259 P.2d 649]; Fascination, Inc. v. Hoover, 39 Cal. 2d 260, 264-266 [246 P.2d 656]; Covert v. State Board of Equalization, 29 Cal. 2d 125, 131 [173 P.2d 545]; La Prade v. Department of Water & Power, 27 Cal. 2d 47, 53 [162 P.2d 13]; Walker v. City of San Gabriel, 20 Cal. 2d 879, 884 [129 P.2d 349, 142 A.L.R. 1383] [conc. opn. by Traynor, J.]; Laisne v. Cal. St. Bd. of Optometry, supra, 19 Cal. 2d 831, 847; Imperial Water Co. v. Supervisors, 162 Cal. 14 [120 P. 780]; see Code Civ. Proc., § 1094.5, subd. (c); Cal. Administrative Mandamus, supra, § 5.65, p. 75.
FN 7. See, e.g., Petry v. Board of Retirement, 273 Cal. App. 2d 124, 127 [77 Cal. Rptr. 891]; Rau v. Sacramento County Ret. Bd., 247 Cal. App. 2d 234, 236 [55 Cal. Rptr. 296]; Flaherty v. Board of Retirement, supra, 198 Cal. App. 2d 397, 408 [18 Cal. Rptr. 256]; Robinson v. Board of Retirement, 140 Cal. App. 2d 115, 117 [294 P.2d 724]; Corcoran v. S. F. etc. Retirement System, 114 Cal. App. 2d 738, 740 [251 P.2d 59]; Rogers v. Retirement Board, 109 Cal. App. 2d 751, 757 [241 P.2d 611]; Odden v. County Foresters etc. Board, 108 Cal. App. 2d 48, 49 [238 P.2d 23]; Dornell v. Retirement Board, 72 Cal. App. 2d 197, 198-199 [164 P.2d 266]; Ware v. Retirement Board, 65 Cal. App. 2d 781, 788 [151 P.2d 549]; Murphy v. Retirement Board, 49 Cal. App. 2d 58, 60-61 [121 P.2d 101]; Naughton v. Retirement Board of S. F., 43 Cal. App. 2d 254, 262-263 [110 P.2d 714] [conc. opn. by Peters, P. J.].
FN 8. See generally, California Administrative Mandamus, supra, section 1.3, page 5; Kleps, Certiorarified Mandamus: Court Review of California Administrative Decisions 1939-1949, 2 Stan.L.Rev. 285, 291-292; Kleps, Certiorarified Mandamus Reviewed: The Courts and California Administrative Decisions 1949-1959, 12 Stan.L.Rev. 554, 560-562; McGovney, The California Chaos in Court Review of the Decisions of State Administrative Agencies, 15 So.Cal.L.Rev. 391, 409-410; Peters, Review of Administrative Board Rulings Limited to Writ of Mandate, 14 State Bar J. 313; Elliott, Certiorari and the Local Board, 29 Cal.L.Rev. 586; Comment, Scope of Judicial Review of Local Administrative Agencies in California, 29 So.Cal.L.Rev. 332.
FN 1. The trial judge in setting aside the agency's finding in the mandate proceeding need write no opinion. However, a trial judge in the usual case over which he presides may not set aside a judgment in a jury or nonjury case and grant a new trial unless he does with detail and specificity list his reasons for doing so. (Code Civ. Proc., § 657; Scala v. Jerry Witt & Sons, Inc. (1970) 3 Cal. 3d 359 [90 Cal. Rptr. 592, 475 P.2d 864].) If a trial judge presiding in a mandate review permits additional evidence, no matter how meager -- the findings of the trial judge would be binding upon the appellate courts. It may be that if in the mandate hearing no additional evidence is taken, that an appellate court may also review the record independently and arrive at a different conclusion, albeit in a written opinion. In brief, on fundamental vested rights, the "local agency" may reach one conclusion, if the trial court takes evidence on mandate review then under compulsion of settled law, appellate courts must accept the trial court's findings. However, if no evidence is taken in the trial court, there is no finality in the state courts until the Supreme Court has spoken. Since any adroit lawyer can transmute a fundamental vested right into a constitutional right, a litigant may always hopefully anticipate that a federal district court will "civilly writ" the state court. A fruitful and fertile field for such federal procedure may be found in 28 United States Code section 1343 (jurisdiction of federal courts) and 28 United States Code sections 1443 and 1446 (the removal sections).

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