Hendrickson v. Apperson

Citations

• 245 U.S. 105
• 38 S. Ct. 44
• 62 L. Ed. 178
• 1917 U.S. LEXIS 1792

Syllabus

<p>A valid judgment was recovered against Taylor County, Kentucky, upon bonds which it had issued under a refunding act. 1 Acts Ky., 1877-78, p. 554. Under the law existing when the bonds were issued (Ky. Stats., 1894, §4131), as construed by the highest court of the State, it was the duty of the county court when the office of sheriff was vacant to appoint a single collector, under a single bond, to collect all county taxes, including those levied to pay the county’s debts. An amendment (Acts 1906, p. 153, § 3), as construed by the highest court of the State, authorized the county court to appoint more than one collector, under separate bonds, each charged with the duty of collecting such part of the taxes as should be designated in his appointment — an arrangement which made it possible to evade the satisfaction of the county’s debts without interrupting its revenue for general county purposes. In a mandamus proceeding, the courts below directed the members of the fiscal court of the county to levy taxes to satisfy the judgment at the same time and by the same order which should provide for other county taxes and to place the tax bills for collection in the hands of'the sheriff, and in case the sheriff, or successor, should not give bond and qualify, directed the county judge, when appointing a special collector, to include in his order of appointment a direction to collect both the levies to satisfy the judgment and all other levies of county taxes, and to continue such direction until a collector should qualify and give bond, and to exact of him but one bond covering the collection of all the taxes. It was insisted on behalf of the county that, under the amendment, the county judge might appoint more than one collector and that his discretion in that regard could not be controlled by mandamus. Held, that the county’s action in other cases, viewed with the present controversy, revealed ' well-defined plans of its officials, in notorious operation long before the