State ex rel. Cosper v. Porter

Citations

• 15 S.D. 387
• 89 N.W. 1012
• 1902 S.D. LEXIS 20

Syllabus

<p>1. In mandamus to compel the officers of a county to return their offices to the county seat after the election to change the county seat, and pursuant to which the offices were moved, has been adjudged invalid, the fact that the offices were ordered to be so moved by the commissioners constitutes no defense.</p> <p>2. Where, in an action to compel the officers of the county to return their offices to the county seat, after they had been moved pursuant to a void election, an allegation in the answer that suitable rooms and vaults could not be obtained there is not sustained, where the evidence discloses no substantial change in the condition at the county seat, where the offices were situated for ten years before the removal.</p> <p>3. The fact that the county neither owns nor controls a suitable building at the county seat is no defense to an action to compel the county officers to hold their offices there, since it is the duty of the commissioners to procure suitable rooms, and, if they do not do so voluntarily, the officers can compel them to.</p> <p>4. While the statutes do not expressly require every officer of the county to maintain an office at the county seat, the law clearly contemplates that, to the extent that any officer is required to maintain an office, it shall be at the county seat.</p> <p>Cousi», J., dissenting.</p>