Ligda

The appeal here is taken from a judgment of the superior court denying the Solano County Public Defender’s application for a writ of mandate against the Clerk of the Municipal Court of the Vallejo Municipal District.

The public defender had sought to file as the “first paper in a criminal action” a document captioned “In the Matter of Property Seized from Danny Olon Price,” and entitled “Notice of Motion and Motion to Suppress Evidence.” It was directed to “Officers Rust, Bawart, Kilkenny, Odióme, Blass of the Vallejo Police Department.” The motion sought the “return forthwith [of] certain personal property” allegedly owned by “his client” and “unlawfully seized from movant by officers of the Vallejo Police Department, and [an order] directing that the property seized be suppressed as evidence in any criminal proceeding.” It appears that no criminal proceedings had been taken against Price and that no threat or attempt to use the property as evidence in any such proceeding had ever been made.

*717 The clerk of the municipal court stating, “I find no authority to file these documents in a Municipal Court without first having a criminal complaint on file,” refused to file…