Title: In Re Request for Opinion of the Supreme Court
Citation: 321 N.W.2d 101
Docket Number: 13828
State: south-dakota
Issuer: south-dakota Supreme Court
Date: June 28, 1982

321 N.W.2d 101 (1982) In re Request for OPINION OF THE SUPREME COURT Relative to the Constitutionality of Senate Bill No. 188, Fifty-Seventh Session, South Dakota Legislative Assembly, 1982. No. 13828. Supreme Court of South Dakota. June 28, 1982. TO HIS EXCELLENCY, WILLIAM J. JANKLOW, THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA. Pursuant to Article V, § 5 of the South Dakota Constitution, you have requested an opinion of the Supreme Court on an important question of law involved in the exercise of your executive power. The factual basis of your request is as follows: Senate Bill 188, which appears in 1982 South Dakota Session Laws as Chapter 186, amends certain provisions of South Dakota Codified Laws as specified in the factual statement set forth above. Those sections directly relevant to your request are as follows: The questions of law that you request that we answer are as follows: You have requested this advisory opinion to avoid litigation such as that which occurred in Van Emmerik v. State, 298 N.W.2d 804 (S.D.1980), and State ex rel. Van Emmerik v. Janklow, 304 N.W.2d 700 (S.D.1981). After carefully considering your request in the light of the factual situation set forth in your request, we must respectfully decline to honor your request for an advisory opinion concerning this matter. South Dakota Constitution Article V, § 5 provides in part that "The Governor has authority to require opinions of the Supreme Court upon important questions of law involved in the exercise of his executive power and upon solemn occasions." Although your request speaks in terms of an important question of law involved in the exercise of your executive power, the factual statement and the legal questions set forth in your request lead us to the conclusion that once you signed Senate Bill 188, no further exercise of your executive power is required by the provisions of Senate Bill 188. Accordingly, we conclude that the situation presented to us by your request is similar to that which caused us to decline to answer a request for an advisory opinion presented by one of your predecessors. See To His Excellency Wollman, 268 N.W.2d 820 (S.D.1978). There, we declined to answer the request for an opinion because we concluded that no action that the Governor proposed to take would be affected by our answer and because the Governor was not required to exercise his executive power under the act of the legislature that formed the basis of the request for an advisory opinion. You have not stated, and rightly so, that the facts set forth in your request for an opinion rise to the level of a solemn occasion. See To His Excellency Wollman, supra; In re Opinion of the Judges, 34 S.D. 650, 147 N.W. 729 (1914). In Wollman, supra, we stated: 268 N.W.2d at 823. We believe that these statements are equally true of the facts presented here. Accordingly, we conclude that the alternative basis for rendering an advisory opinion is not available to us. Respectfully submitted this 28th day of June, 1982. I would honor Governor Janklow's request. After reviewing the authority for declining to honor the Governor's request for an opinion in this case, I cannot agree with my confreres. The questions presented are important questions of constitutional law, particularly the issue of the constitutionality of Senate Bill 188 in the light of the provisions of Article VIII, § 3 of the South Dakota Constitution. Due process rights, however, are not involved, In re Opinion of the Judges, 43 S.D. 645, 180 N.W. 64 (1920), and thus, we are not prevented from granting this request. No one who will be affected by the legislation will be denied their day in court. In re House Resolution No. 30, 10 S.D. 249, 72 N.W. 892 (1897). While a constitutional issue might be reviewed better on appeal with briefs and oral arguments, in my opinion, it is doubtful that we would receive the benefit of any meaningful adversarial presentations because of the small financial amount, i.e., twelve dollars, involved in any given case.