State Department of Public Welfare v. Shirley

While there are a number of applicable statutory provisions relating to the right of the state or a county to recover for the maintenance of inmates in institu tions, for some reason best known to itself, the plaintiff puts these to one side and grounds this action which it has brought against the defendants upon the common law.

In order to determine the question raised by counsel in this case it is necessary for us to review as briefly as may be the statutory law of this state relating to the relief and maintenance of insane and poor persons.

In 1838, the territorial legislature passed a bill…