Court Opinion

ID: 9884891
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-10-06 03:22:37.363213+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:48:42.070372
License: Public Domain

Williams, C.J.
(concurring with Riley, J.). My signature is appended to, and I fully support, the well-reasoned opinion of Justice Riley in this matter. I write separately, because, as Chief Justice, I have been intimately involved with the trial courts in their struggles with the problems giving rise to these lawsuits and with the need for guidance in bringing about their resolution. The problems in*753volving these parties are unfortunately neither peculiar to them, nor rare and uncommon.
As a consequence, I will review further the origins and status of the problem and the relationship of statutory power and inherent power as a solution for the problem. I do so knowing of the urgent need for understanding to preserve the smooth functioning of our political system of separation of powers. To fail to do so is to put form over substance and to fiddle while Rome burns.
I. The Underlying Problem
The 1963 Constitution established one court of justice, and the Legislature, in 1980 PA 438, took the first steps to financially implement that mandate. Act 438 provided for state assumption of court costs for the Wayne Circuit, Detroit Recorder’s, and the 36th District Courts. At the same time, the Legislature promised to assume the costs of the courts of the rest of the state. However, for whatever reason, except for partial payment of judges’ salaries, the Legislature has not yet fulfilled its promise.
Meanwhile, most state courts and local funding units struggle with the outmoded and inadequate system of local funding of state courts. In some instances, superior statesmanship on both sides or luck and local prosperity have produced harmonious and successful funding of the administration of justice on a viable level. Elsewhere, the judiciary has struggled with inadequate support and understanding. In too many cases, efforts at negotiated resolution of differences have broken down, and the local judiciary in one way or another has sought to enforce compliance with perceived requirements and entitlements.
The ubiquitousness of dissatisfaction and conflict *754is illustrated by the fact that on the local level both sides have established training in how to legally and procedurally outmaneuver the other side, while both sides at a different level have endeavored to promote conciliation and compromise in order to avoid such conflict.
The two cases at bar, therefore, are not unique and rare phenomena requiring only individual resolution of two specific differences of opinion. These two cases are merely the first two in an already enlarging pipeline tapping a sea of discontent and conflict.
As a consequence, this Court is called upon not merely to decide between A and B and C and D, but to lay down comprehensible guidelines to reasonably regulate the flow of problem solving, with as much understanding and civility and with as little confusion and acrimony as possible. With this in mind, I will consider general principles, their application to the facts, appropriate procedures for future conflict resolution, and guidelines for possible further proceedings in the instant matters.1
II. Basis foe Statutory Power
It is absolutely correct that there is a doctrine of statutory power as well as a doctrine of constitutional inherent power. People v Macomb Co, 3 Mich 475 (1855); Sturgis v Allegan Co, 343 Mich 209; 72 NW2d 56 (1955); Jail Inmates v Wayne Co Sheriff, 391 Mich 359; 216 NW2d 910 (1974). These cases indicate that where there is no question either of the clear statutory duty of a governmen*755tal entity to pay an obligation or of the reasonableness of the obligation, the Court will enforce payment of that obligation.
The obligations in the three cited cases were, respectively, costs incurred by a county board of health as required by statute, the salary of a county school superintendent fixed by the education board pursuant to statute, and the costs to provide, as required by statute, a "suitable and sufficient jail.” In each case, no question was raised as to the reasonableness of the amount or to the statutory mandate.
The salient principle in the doctrine of statutory power is that the court is not exercising its own discretion, but is enforcing the mandate of the Legislature. As Allegan recognized:
The situation here is that we are dealing with plaintiff’s right to collect a salary, not claimed to be unreasonable in amount, duly fixed in accordance with an act of the legislature. [343 Mich 217. Emphasis supplied.]
Indeed, in both Macomb and Jail Inmates, it is emphasized that the Legislature has so well specified what it wants done, that the county has no subordinate legislative power to exercise, but only to carry out. the Legislature’s mandate in an executive capacity. 3 Mich 478; 391 Mich 364. In other words, the county has no discretion to exercise. It has only to perform the duty to pay imposed by the Legislature. And the court’s only function is to enforce that legislative mandate.
III. Basis for Inherent Power
Justice Riley, in Part 11(B) of her opinion, has clearly set out the origins, universal acceptance, and character of the doctrine of inherent power. It *756remains therefore in this opinion only to examine and compare the differences in the bases for statutory and inherent power.
In examining the doctrine of statutory power, I concluded that "[t]he salient principle in the doctrine of statutory power is that the Court is not exercising its own discretion but is enforcing the mandate of the Legislature.” In the cases we examined, the court was ordering the county to pay health bills, a superintendent of education’s salary, and jail-improvement costs, all clearly and unequivocally upon the mandate of the Legislature.
In examining the doctrine of inherent power, we are dealing with the exercise of a power by a court to protect the court’s constitutional position in our tripartite governmental system. See Riley, J., ante, pp 736-737; Wayne Circuit Judges v Wayne Co (On Rehearing), 386 Mich 1, 9; 190 NW2d 228 (1971). The basis for the specific exercise of the power may be possessed "irrespective of specific grant by constitution or legislation.” 20 Am Jur 2d, Courts, § 78, p 440, quoted by Justice Riley, ante, p 734. Or it may arise because of support of a specific constitutional right, such as the right to trial by jury, e.g., Stowell v Jackson Co Bd of Supervisors, 57 Mich 31 (1885) mentioned by Justice Riley, ante, p 735. Likewise, the basis may be constitutional with legislative mandate, as ordering additional personnel in order to administer justice, Wayne Circuit Judges, supra, referenced by Justice Riley, p 735. See also the opinion of Justice Levin in Wayne Circuit Judges v Wayne Co, 15 Mich App 713, 723; 167 NW2d 337 (1969): "In almost all the cases where the inherent power of the judiciary to direct the appropriation of funds was recognized the court also relied on legislation authorizing the expenditure . . . .”
*757In short, the basic difference in the foundation for the exercise of statutory power and for the exercise of inherent power is that, with respect to statutory power, the court is enforcing a clear legislative mandate without employing its own discretionary judgment, whereas, with respect to inherent power, the court in its sound constitutional judgment is protecting its position in our tripartite system of government, usually in order to properly continue the administration of justice.
IV. Application of Analysis to Instant Facts
Before turning to the instant facts, it may be instructive to review the analysis as applied to the cited Michigan cases. Obviously, in Macomb, Allegan, and Jail Inmates, the Court was enforcing the clear legislative mandate to pay bills for Health Department smallpox services ordered by the Legislature, to pay the salary of a school superintendent fixed in accordance with statute, and also to pay costs to provide a "suitable and sufficient jail” per statute. The Court was not protecting its own constitutional place in government, it was enforcing the Legislature’s mandate.
In Wayne Circuit Judges, however, the court was protecting its constitutional role to administer justice. The court had requested additional personnel, over and above the budget appropriated by the county. The county refused to pay for such personnel. The county did not claim such personnel were not needed nor unreasonable. The county challenged the right of the court to order the county to pay for such personnel. 383 Mich 34 (opinion of Black, J.) and 386 Mich 9.
Looking to the instant facts, it is abundantly apparent that there is no clear statutory mandate *758to enforce, and hence statutory power cannot support these actions.
What is the mandate? What are the facts? The mandate is for the funding unit to pay compensation fixed by the court "within appropriations provided.” The facts in both Hillsdale and Cheboygan appear to be that the courts were seeking compensation not "within,” but in excess of "appropriations provided.” There is no clear mandate because the Legislature ordered payment only when the compensation was "within appropriations provided,” and here payment was not "within appropriations provided.”
In both cases the records indicate that the courts sought to have items included in the budget which the county specifically excluded. There is nothing in the record to indicate that there were internal budget transfers to provide for compensation for the rejected items. Rather, it would appear that the courts were seeking to compel payment of compensation outside of, and in excess of, the budget.
If there had been lawful budget transfers so that the employee or employees could be paid the court-fixed compensation "within appropriations provided,” then statutory power could be used to compel payment if the county refused to pay, because such payment would fall within the Legislature’s mandate. The same would be true if another employee with the same compensation retired and was not replaced, because funds from the retired employee would then be available. If, however, the court were seeking to compel the payment of compensation for employees at a higher rate along with all the rest of the budget granted, as in Hillsdale, or was seeking to compel the compensation of an additional employee over and above all the other employees and other expenses, *759as in Cheboygan, then the court would not be enforcing a legislative mandate, and statutory-power would not support the action.
At this point, it might be remarked that in Cheboygan the county did not refuse to pay the part-time employee in question while there were funds available for such payments and for the rest of the budget presumably. If at that point, while there were yet funds available, the county had refused to pay the part-time employee in issue, then the theory of statutory power would have applied. In fact, however, the county paid until such funds ran out before challenging payment for this employee.
The theory behind this rule is as follows. The phrase, "fix their compensation within appropriations provided” by the governmental unit, is a significant and pregnant statement. On the one hand, it permits judicial appointment of personnel and setting of salaries to be paid by local government under MCL 600.591; MSA 27A.591 and MCL 600.8271; MSA 27A.8271, but, on thé other hand, it allows the exercise of that judicial power only within the limitation "within appropriations provided.” "[W]ithin appropriations provided” means that the Legislature has delegated to the local unit the legislative discretion to determine the maximum appropriation. Judges of the 74th Judicial Dist v Bay Co, 385 Mich 710, 726; 190 NW2d 219 (1971). That limitation is of utmost significance. While the local unit of government is generally subordinate to the Legislature’s mandate to pay for salaries fixed for personnel appointed by the judiciary, the previously recognized limitation of "within appropriations provided” transforms a purely executive response by local government into an executive response modified by the grant of specific legislative power contained in the limita*760tion "within appropriations provided.” In other words, the court has no clear legislative mandate to enforce unless the local governmental unit is refusing to pay compensation "within [the] appropriations provided.”
If the local unit of government refused to pay compensation "within appropriations provided,” then it might very well be violating the doctrine set forth in Allegan, where the county refused to pay the salary of a superintendent of education fixed according to statute and where there was no statutory limitation and no contesting of the reasonableness or need.
In short, in neither Hillsdale nor Cheboygan is there a clear mandate of the Legislature to enforce. The applicable legislation relates to compensation "within appropriations provided.” The applicable facts relate to compensation not "within appropriations provided.” Therefore, there is no legislative mandate with respect to the facts of Hillsdale and Cheboygan for the courts to enforce under statutory power. If appropriate, enforcement can only be through the exercise of inherent power.
Thus, this construction of "within the appropriations provided” is clear. Justice Brennan, in Judges v Bay Co, supra, 726, adverted to this fact as follows:
If, however, the statute means what it says, i.e., that the judges are to fix the compensation of their employees, then it follows that the language "within appropriations” simply means that the judges’ statutory power to employ personnel and fix their compensation must be exercised within the overall limits of funds appropriated by the district control unit or units, for the operation and maintenance of the district court.
*761Furthermore, the comments of Justice Adams in his separate opinion in Wayne Circuit Judges, 383 Mich 47, are apropos:
In my view, the Court of Appeals has confused the implementation of inherent power with the exercise of statutory authority. Inherent power, when it is present, needs no statutory implementation. But where a court is proceeding under a statute, it is bound by the statute’s terms and conditions. The action taken must conform to the statute and may not be in derogation of that part of the statute which imposes restrictive conditions.

 These cases do not present a question involving the authority of a court to negotiate collective bargaining agreements, Livingston Co v Livingston Circuit Judge, 393 Mich 265; 225 NW2d 352 (1975). We do not express an opinion on the method by which such controversies shall be resolved.