Opinion

State Ex Rel. Deeb v. Ausley

  • 116 Fla. 762
  • 156 So. 909
Court
Supreme Court of Florida
Filed
Oct 6, 1934
Status
Published
On the bench
Davis, Whitfield, Ellis, Terrell, Brown, Buford
Cited by
6 cases
Authority
More cited than 62.7%

The opinion

Per Curiam.

This is an original proceeding in mandamus to compel the County Commissioners of Leon County to call an election to be held on the 6th day of November, 1934, at the time and place at which the general election is' to be held, to determine whether or not intoxicating liquors, wines and beer may be legally sold in Leon County, Florida, if and when the proposed Constitutional amendment submitted under House Joint Resolution No. 83 shall be adopted by the electors as part of the organic law of- this State at the general election to be held in the Several precincts in Florida on November 6, 1934.

To determine the questions involved it is only necessary for us to state elementary principles governing mandamus proceedings.

The duties of County Commissioners are only those which are prescribed either by the Constitution or statutes. House Resolution No. 83 is neither a statute nor at this time any part of the Constitution of the State of Florida.

For one to be entitled to have issued a peremptory writ of mandamus to coerce the performance of any alleged duty, it must appear that it is clearly the legal duty, of the officer

*764

proposed to be coerced to perform the duty which is sought to be coerced and that he has refused or failed to perform that duty.

There is no statute nor provision of the present Constitution of Florida which requires the Board of County Commissioners of Leon County to call and provide for an election to be held such as is contemplated by the alternative writ of mandamus in this case. Therefore it follows as an elementary principle that this Court is without power to issue its peremptory writ of mandamus pursuant to the alternative writ heretofore issued.

Therefore, the motion to quash the alternative writ of mandamus is' granted and the cause is dismissed.

So ordered.

Davis, C. J., and Whitfield, Ellis, Terrell, Brown,, and Buford, J. -J., concur.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

A word about cookies

We need a few to keep you signed in and the library working. The rest help us see which pages people use and where they get stuck. They stay off unless you say yes.