Ward v. Flood

Citations

• 48 Cal. 36

Syllabus

<p>'Motion fob Judgment in Mandamus Case.—A motion by the applicant for a writ of mandamus, that the writ issue notwithstanding the matters alleged in the defendant’s answer, amounts to a general demurrer to the answer..</p> <p>Refusal to Peefoem a Duty.—The general rule that if a party whose duty it is to perform some act, bases his refusal to perform it on some defect in the proceedings of his adversary, he will not afterwards be permitted to allege a new or additional defect, does not apply to officers whose duties are governed by law.</p> <p>Admission of Child into Public Schools.—If the principal of a public graded school refuses to receive a child into the school for a reason which is not good in law, but there is a good legal reason for the refusal, the principal, on mandamus to compel him to admit such child, will not be precluded from relying on the true reason why the child should have been refused admittance.</p> <p>Idem.—A principal of a public graded school may refuse a child admission as a scholar, provided such child has not sufficient education to enter the lowest grade of such school.</p> <p>PBivmKqE of Attending Public Schools.—The privilege accorded to a child,, of attending the public schools, is not a privilege appertaining to a citizen of the United States as such, nor can any person demand admission into such schools on the mere status of citizenship.</p> <p>Right to Attend Public Schools.—The opportunity of instruction in public schools given by the statute to the youth of the State, is in obedience to the special command of the State Constitution, and -the privilege thereby granted is a legal right, as much so as a vested right in property.</p> <p>Fourteenth Amendment to U. S. Constitution.—The clause, in the XIV. Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which forbids a State to “ deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws,” did not create any new legal rights, but operated upon legal rights as it