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55 Cal. 242

Desmond v. Dunn

California Supreme Court

Decided July 1, 1880

California Supreme Court · decided 1880-07-01

<p>Application for writ of mandamus.</p> <p>The facts are stated in the opinion.</p>

Key passage — most relied on by later courts

““Corporations for municipal purposes shall not be created by special laws; but the legislature, by general laws, shall provide for the incorporation, organization, and classification, in proportion to population, of cities and towns, which laws may be altered, amended, or repealed. Cities and towns heretofore organized or incorporated may become organized under such general laws whenever a majority of the electors voting at a general election shall so determine, and shall organize in conformity therewith; and cities and towns heretofore or hereafter organized, and all charters thereof framed or adopted by authority of this constitution, shall be subject to and controlled by general laws.””

quoted by 1 later decision, including Huntington v. City of Nevada

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1880-07-01

How this case has been cited

Cited by 18 later decisions — most recently May 1921

17 state decisions

8018801890190019101920decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

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Myrick, J., concurring:

¶1I concur in the judgment, and in the views expressed in the opinion written by Mr. Justice Sharpstein, save as to the conclusion reached in the latter part of the opinion, that the entire act is unconstitutional; as to that, I express no opinion. In regard to the other points referred to in the opinion, I think that the Constitution, directly in two instances, impliedly in one, has placed before the people of the City and County of San Francisco, three courses, either of which may be pursued, viz:

1. They may, under § 8, article xi, (as has been done) elect fifteen freeholders to frame a charter; such charter when framed to be submitted to the people, and if ratified, to be submitted to the Legislature, for its approval or rejection as a whole, without amendment. If ratified and approved, it will supersede any existing charter.
2. If the Legislature has or shall pass a general law providing for the incorporation, organization, and classification, in proportion to population, of cities and towns, they (the people of the City and County of San Francisco) may determine to become organized under such general law whenever a majority,of the electors, voting at a general election, shall express their wish to do so.
3. By non-action—that is, by failing to pursue to the end either of the courses above indicated—they may retain and act under their present charter, (known as the Consolidation Act) *254except' as to such parts as are in conflict with the Constitution,. viz., method of street improvements and the like.

¶2[Morrison, C. J., and Boss, J., were not present at the argument, and did not participate in the decision.]

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