Opinion ID: 1200134
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Discussion of the Majority Opinion

Text: 1. This Court adopted the test for retroactive application of judicial decisions set forth in Chevron Oil v. Huson, 404 U. S. 97 (92 SC 349, 30 LE2d 296) (1971) in Flewellen v. Atlanta Cas. Co., 250 Ga. 709 (300 SE2d 673) (1983), but Flewellen did not declare a statute unconstitutional. [6] The majority also states in Div. 2: Retroactive application of a judicial decision is not compelled constitutionally or otherwise where unjust results would accrue to those who justifiably relied on the prior rule. As set out in Div. 3, infra, of this dissent, there is no question of retroactive application of a judicial decision when a statute is declared unconstitutional in Georgia. Once a statute is declared unconstitutional it becomes the constitutional duty of the judiciary to declare the statute void. 2. The majority would have us believe an earlier unsuccessful constitutional challenge in Scott v. State, 187 Ga. 702 (2 SE2d 65) (1939), somehow negates the constitutional mandate requiring this Court to declare the unconstitutional statute void. There is nothing in the Georgia Constitution indicating that reliance upon earlier decisions of this Court in any way changes or modifies the mandate of the constitution to declare unconstitutional statutes void.