The State ex rel. Milwaukee Medical College v. Chittenden and others

Summary

The Wisconsin Supreme Court affirmed a circuit court judgment that, on certiorari, vacated the State Board of Dental Examiners' resolution declaring the Milwaukee Medical College's dental department 'not a reputable dental school.' The court held that certiorari proceedings are 'actions,' that board members are not 'state officers' under the 1905 venue act (so denial of the venue change to Dane county was proper), that the college had standing to sue out the writ, and that certiorari reaches jurisdictional error only. On the merits the board's action was void for jurisdictional error twice over: it adjudicated the college's status in rem without notice or opportunity to be heard, and its condemnation rested on arbitrary rules about fees, entrance examinations, and make-up of deficiencies that exceeded the board's legitimate sphere and lacked any reasonable basis. The court upheld the dental act against delegation-of-powers and other constitutional challenges; Dodge, J., dissented, and the author of the majority opinion noted his own reservation on the construction of 'reputable.'