Court Opinion

ID: 9776544
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 19:38:54.373126+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:32:39.649842
License: Public Domain

VANCE, Justice,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent because I consider the majority opinion to be nothing less than legislation by the judiciary. The General Assembly of Kentucky is the representative of the people and has the responsibility to declare public policy.
Occasionally, an issue of public policy will arise in litigation with reference to a situation in which the legislature has not declared a policy. In such a vacuum it falls to the court to declare the policy. Such judicially declared policy then becomes the public policy of the state until the General Assembly exercises its prerogative to declare otherwise.
So it was that in Stratton v. Wilson the court declared a prenuptial agreement looking toward a future separation after marriage void as against public policy. That declared policy has remained in effect since 1916. The legislature has had many opportunities to declare a different policy but has not done so. It is a policy which has now been accorded legislative approval by the fact that it has existed for so many years without repudiation by the General Assembly.
The majority opinion states that review in this case was granted in order that this court might determine whether the long-es*947tablished public policy was still valid or whether other “policy” questions have emerged.
This would be well and good if a proper function of this court were the making and changing of public policy. Policy making and policy changing, however, is a function of the General Assembly, not this court.
Without regard to whether this new policy now legislated by this court is a good or a bad policy, the proposed change is a matter which should have been left to the General Assembly. I am constantly amazed at the unseeming eagerness of this court to undermine the separation of powers which is provided by our constitution and to arrogate unto itself the duty not only to interpret the law, but to enact it as well.
WINTERSHEIMER, J., joins in this dissenting opinion.