Opinion ID: 1663485
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Practical Problems with the Principal Opinion

Text: The principal opinion relies upon postal regulations and postal duties. In the area of postal administrative regularity, Missouri courts have consistently refused to speculate on the regular flow of mail. Hoelscher v. Sel-Mor Garment Co., 430 S.W.2d at 748. The principal opinion goes one step beyond, and takes judicial notice of intricate postal inspection matters. The principal opinion's rule is a bonus to sophisticates who own postage meters and can affix the postage meter imprint but then not deposit the appeal until a later date. At the same time, the unsophisticated may deposit the appeal after 5:00 p.m. and receive a postmark days later. The principal opinion encourages sophisticated corner-cutting, but penalizes honest ignorance. Even assuming a perfect world, the principal opinion ignores some crucial provisions of the Domestic Mail Manual (DMM). Under these provisions, a person with a postal meter can use the prior day's date if the letter or package is deposited in the mail before the first collection of the day. § 144.471(b) DMM. When metered mail is inspected, a postmark with the prior day's date is not erroneous if the letter is found in the first collection of the day. § 144.517 DMM. Even if there were no cheating by the party with the postage meter, the principal opinion's rule still gives the parties owning them an advantage. The party who files by personal delivery has a deadline of, typically, 5 p.m. on the deadline date. The party who files by mail has a deadline of approximately the same time (depending upon when the time of the last mail pickup). The party who files by metered mail, however, is given a deadline of, at least, 11:59 p.m. A French philosopher once said: The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread. [2] In this case, according to the principal opinion, the law, in its majestic equality, allows the poor as well as the rich to use postal meters. The statute, however, intends that the working poor, and small-business owners, can inexpensively and effectively appeal to the LIRC. In the absence of clear legislative intent, the statute should not be interpreted to give an advantage to those who are wily and resourceful. For these reasons, I dissent.