County of Sacramento v. Superior Court

The County of Sacramento has petitioned for a writ of prohibition restraining the superior court from proceeding with the trial of a petition for a writ of mandate brought by its former auditor-controller, Walter R. Hale (real party in interest), as plaintiff versus the county as defendant. The purpose of the proceeding in mandamus is to compel the county to pay Hale’s attorney’s fees and costs incurred in defending himself in an earlier criminal proceeding.

The earlier proceeding was based upon a grand jury accusation filed June 18, 1963, to remove Hale from office for wilful misconduct. The charge was dismissed and the dismissal was affirmed by the Court of Appeal for the Fifth District in People v. Hale (1965) 232 Cal.App.2d 112 [ 42 Cal.Rptr. 533 ].

The current mandamus proceeding brought by Hale was the third of three court actions attempting to assert his claim for attorney’s fees and costs. In the others demurrers were either sustained or the action abandoned. The claim under all of them was and is that Government Code section 995.8 is apposite to afford Hale relief. That section in relevant part provides: that a public entity is not required to provide for the…