Martin

Petitioner, Charles Henry Martin, faces prosecution in Santa Clara Municipal Court for violation of section 8665 of the Government Code, disobeying an emergency order of July 9, 1981, by Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. It is alleged that Martin did not strip his garden of Mediterranean fruit fly host material in the summer of 1981. Martin’s demurrer to the misdemeanor complaint was overruled. He petitioned the superior court in Santa Clara for a writ of mandate in March 1982, asking the superior court to order the municipal court to sustain the demurrer and dismiss the criminal charge. The superior court denied the petition, entered judgment and Martin appeals. We affirm.

The facts are generally not in dispute. The medfly’s presence in the Santa Clara Valley was first detected in the summer of 1980, the numbers increased, and on December 24, 1980, Governor Brown declared a state of emergency of medfly infestation. The situation worsened and on July 8, 1981, the Governor declared an “Amended Proclamation Of A State Of Emergency” which contained this language: “I, Edmund G. Brown Jr., . . . have found that conditions of extreme peril to the agricultural industry and the…