In Re Williams

This is an application for a writ of habeas corpus filed on behalf of J. J. Williams, alleging that he is unlawfully detained by the constable of the township of Heber, in the county' of Imperial.

The petition alleges that Heber Public Utility District, in the county of Imperial, is a public utility district organized and existing under and by virtue of the state laws (Stats, of 1921, p. 906, as amended, Deering’s Gen. Laws, Act 6391) ; that the board of directors of this district adopted an ordinance purporting to impose a license tax for transacting and carrying on certain businesses, trades, professions and occupations within the limits of the district, fixing the amount of such licenses with the method of collecting the same and prescribing a penalty for nonpayment thereof; that the said Williams is a truck driver in the employ of the Standard Oil Company of California, a corporation; that he brought gasoline from without the territorial limits of said district and made a retail sale and delivery of a quantity of gasoline from said truck to an individual within said district; that neither he nor the Standard Oil Company of California has secured a license from said district…