Request By:
Mr. James A. Dressman, Jr.
Kenton County Judge/Executive
Municipal Building
Covington, Kentucky 41011
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Charles W. Runyan, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
We concluded in OAG 78-69 that a county judge/executive, under KRS 62.020, has no authority to administer oaths, since the statute relates to judicial judges only. This is true although administering an oath out of court is a nonjudicial function. Your question is whether KRS 423.010, which provides that the county judge/executive shall administer the oaths of notary publics before entering into their duties, provides a general basis for the county judge/executive's administering oaths?
The term "judge" has been held to be any judge, and comprehends an entire class, i.e., any judge of a court.
Commonwealth v. Wetzel, 84 Ky. 537, 2 S.W. 123 (1886) 125. A "judge" is "an officer so named in his commission, who presides in some court; a public officer, appointed to preside and to administer the law in a court of justice;. . ." Black's Law Dictionary (4th Ed.) p. 976. Section 549 of the Old Civil Code provided that an affidavit may be made in Kentucky before a "judge of a court", etc. (Emphasis added). Section 3754, the forerunner of KRS 62.020, of the Kentucky Statutes (Russell's St. § 4856) provided in part that "the official oath of any officer may be administered by any judge . . . ." (Emphasis added). Within this historical context there is nothing to suggest that the dropping of the phrase "of a court" has any significance in view of the earlier use of the term.
Anderson v. Commonwealth, Ky., 117 S.W. 364 (1909) 367.
There is nothing in KRS 62.020 to suggest that a "judge" is something other than a judge of a court of law.
The significance of KRS 62.020 is that it was enacted as a general statute, carrying with it the general authority to administer oaths on the part of judges of courts of law and other officials enumerated.
KRS 423.010 reads in part:
"Before a notary acts, he must take an oath before the county judge/executive of his county that he will honestly and diligently discharge the duties of his office."
Prior to the amendment of KRS 423.010 in 1978 (Ch. 384, § 524), a notary, before assuming his duties, was required to take the oath before the county court of his county.
It is our opinion that the specific statute, KRS 423.010, prevails over KRS 62.020 only to the extent that the former authorizes the county judge/executive to administer the oaths of notaries before they assume office.
City of Bowling Green v. Board of Education, Ky., 443 S.W.2d 243 (1969) 247. But KRS 423.010 is not a general statute and it authorizes the county judge/executive to administer oaths for the very narrow purpose outlined therein, i.e., for notaries before they assume office. It is authority for nothing more.
As we concluded in OAG 78-69, there is no general authority for the county judge/executive to administer oaths. There is an exception, namely, KRS 423.010. However, that statute relates only to administering oaths to notaries before they take office.
It is a well established rule that where the language of a statute clearly restricts its meaning and confines its operation to a single thing or class, other things or persons of other classes not mentioned are thereby excluded.