Opinion ID: 1756978
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Downs' eligibility for appointment.

Text: Sections 400.11 and 400.17, The Code 1979, provide that no person shall be certified as eligible or appointed to a civil service position unless he has passed the civil service examination for the position. A complete civil service examination for a police officer applicant tests both mental and physical suitability. § 400.8(1). As observed earlier, the list certified by the CSC said only that the named persons had passed the written and oral examinations, both of which test only mental suitability. There is no evidence in the record which indicates that the CSC made any determination as to whether Downs had passed the physical examination to its satisfaction. If no such determination was made, or if the CSC determined she had not passed the physical examination, Downs' name would not have been properly placed on the certified list. [4] If that were the case, the pension board's action would not have had the illegal effect of rendering a properly certified applicant ineligible for appointment. Trial court appears to have assumed, without making a factual determination, that because the CSC placed Downs' name on the certified list, she must have passed the physical examination to the CSC's satisfaction. We do not believe this assumption was warranted, however, in light of the fact that the CSC permitted Downs to take the oral examination only under compulsion of court order, and that the certified list mentioned only the written and oral examinations. Accordingly, we conclude that trial court acted prematurely in sustaining the writ of certiorari without first conducting a factual inquiry on this question. We therefore reverse and remand for trial court to determine if the CSC actually decided whether Downs had passed the physical examination.