State ex rel. Mueller v. Thompson
State ex rel. Mueller v. Thompson, 137 N.W. 20 (1912)
Winning Party
Appellant
Key Issue
Challenge to the constitutionality of the Home Rule Act (ch. 416, Laws of 1911)
Case Type
CIVIL
Facts
•
The trial court decided in the affirmative regarding the constitutionality of the act.
•
The case concerns the constitutionality of ch. 416, Laws of 1911, commonly called the “Home Rule” act.
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Key Holdings
•
Ch. 416, Laws of 1911, is unconstitutional because it involves an attempted legislative abdication of power to grant corporate charters for cities, which is a legislative function at common law and made exclusively such by the Wisconsin Constitution.
Citations
State ex rel. Mueller v. Thompson, 137 N.W. 20, 1912 Wisc. LEXIS 164, 149 Wis. 488 (1912)
Legal Reasoning
The court reasoned that the power to grant corporate charters for cities is a legislative function at common law and made exclusively such by the Wisconsin Constitution. The act in question attempts to delegate this power to cities, which is an unconstitutional abdication of legislative authority. The court also considered whether a constitutional amendment adopted in 1871 authorized the legislature to delegate this power but concluded that it did not.
Outcome
The order appealed from is reversed, and the cause is remanded with directions to sustain the motion to quash the alternative writ and to dismiss the mandamus action with costs.
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