Court Opinion

ID: 9620183
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 05:39:36.568502+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:04:47.984938
License: Public Domain

John Mauzy Pittman, Chief Judge, concurring. Because the court declined to certify this case to the Arkansas Supreme Court, and I must therefore consider the merits of the arguments presented therein, I concur with the result stated in the majority opinion. I write separately to voice my opposition to this court’s continued reluctance to certify significant cases such as this to the Arkansas Supreme Court. We are forced to choose between two potentially unjust results, and to do so we must determine the intent of the General Assembly on a matter that is less than clear. Furthermore, the issues decided herein will potentially affect many Arkansans, including a disproportionately large number of children. To my mind, this case requires construction of Arkansas statutes on an issue of significant public interest, both of which are expressly listed as grounds for certification in Ark. Sup. Ct. R. l-2(b). Refusing to certify cases such as this is simply a waste of resources. As often as not, after multiple panels of this court spend several weeks wrangling over the important issues that a case presents, our effort is rendered meaningless when the Arkansas Supreme Court subsequently accepts review of our decision. See, eg., Barnett v. Monumental General Insurance Co., 81 Ark. App. 23, 97 S.W.3d 901 (2003), aff'd, 354 Ark. 692, 128 S.W.3d 803 (2003). This waste could often be avoided by the simple expedient of certification, which is in reality nothing more than asking the Supreme Court if it would like to decide the appeal in the first instance. To do so, it seems to me, is simply a matter of courtesy. Furthermore, questions of such weight require a definitive and clear opinion. As I noted in my concurrence in Barnett v. Monumental General Insurance Co., supra, even judges of our own court often regard our decisions in such cases to be of dubious precedential value. When issues of significant public interest are involved, the bench, bar, and public deserve an analysis that is authoritative and clear. I respectfully concur.