Opinion

State Ex Rel. Rathe v. Jefferson Parish School Board

  • 206 La. 317
  • 19 So. 2d 153
  • 1943 La. LEXIS 1130
Court
Supreme Court of Louisiana
Filed
Dec 13, 1943
Status
Published
Author
Ponder
On the bench
Fournet, Hamiter, Higgins, O'Niell, Odom, Ponder, Rogers
Cited by
63 cases
Authority
More cited than 39.8%

holding that members of school boards are appointed or elected because of their knowledge and expertise in the administration of school systems

How later courts described this case

  • holding that members of school boards are appointed or elected because of their knowledge and expertise in the administration of school systems
  • a motion to recuse a supreme court justice on rehearing was untimely where the party and her counsel participated in the original hearing with knowledge of facts on which the motion to recuse was based
  • "[I]t was the defendant's duty to file a motion to recuse immediately after the facts were known to him, and the failure to file the motion in time was a waiver of his rights."

Written by the judges who cited it.

The opinion

*355

PONDER, Justice

(concurring on rehearing) .

I do not believe that we have the right, after a hearing has been given in compliance with the law, to substitute our judgment for that of the School Board where there is no arbitrary discrimination, and the Board has not acted in a capricious manner. State ex rel. Bourgeois v. Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University, Etc., 205 La. 177 , 17 So.2d 25 ; State ex rel. Cotonio v. Louisiana Bar Ass’n, 111 La. 967 , 36 So. 50 ; State ex rel. Thoman v. State Board of Certified Public Accountants, 172 La. 261 , 134 So. 85 ; Walsh v. New Orleans Cotton Exchange, 188 La. 338 , 177 So. 68 . Also see: Frank Bros. v. Nat’l Labor Relations Board, 64 S.Ct. 817 ; International Ass’n of Machinists v. National Labor Relations Board, 311 U.S. 72 , 61 S.Ct. 83 , 85 L.Ed. 50 .

The mere fact that Act 58 of 1936 provides that the right of appeal is not impaired does not, in my opinion, alter the general rule.

I do not believe that it was ever the intention of the Legislature to divest the School Board of discretion in matters of this nature, provided the discretion is not exercised in an arbitrary or capricious manner.

For these reasons, I concur in the decree.

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.

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