Standard Oil Co. v. State Board of Equalization

Petitioner seeks a writ of review for the purpose of determining the validity of an order of the respondent State Board of Equalization imposing upon it an additional assessment of retail sales tax for a designated period. This proceeding was instituted under section 33 of the Retail Sales Tax Act (Stats. 1933, p. 2599, and amendments thereto) which provides that “Every order, decision or other official act of the board shall be subject to review ... in accordance with the provisions of Ch. I, Title I of Part III of the Code of Civil Procedure ...” The designated portion of the Code of Civil Procedure regulates the procedure incidental to applications for, and the petitioner here seeks, the constitutionally authorized and commonly known writ of certiorari.

Upon the oral argument it was suggested to counsel by the court that we were confronted at the threshold of this proceeding with a jurisdictional question addressed to the legislative propriety of providing, in the absence of constitutional authority, a proceeding of the type contemplated by section 33 of the act. In reply to this suggestion the attorney-general, appearing for and on behalf of the respondent board, merely…