Court Opinion

ID: 9503754
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-06 19:48:56.858148+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:03:43.061979
License: Public Domain

*656KELLY, J.
(concurring in the result only). The majority decides that defendant Tri-County Metro Narcotics Squad (TCM) is (1) an aggrieved party able to prosecute this appeal and (2) a juridical entity capable of being sued, but (3) not a state agency. I do not disagree with any of these conclusions. But I cannot sign the majority opinion because, in my view, it goes one bridge too far.
Whether a prevailing party can prosecute an appeal is an interesting legal issue. In the ordinary case, it would engender strong arguments from both sides. But not here. In this case, all parties agree that TCM is an aggrieved party capable of maintaining this appeal. As a result, standing is not a disputed issue that needs to be resolved. Moreover, there is an utter lack of advocacy for the position that TCM lacks standing.
Because of the absence of argument on one side of this nonissue, this case is not a good vehicle for creating broad precedent about it. Accordingly, I believe that we should decide the issues that have been presented and wait for a case in which standing is contested and there is advocacy by both sides. Because the majority disagrees with my assessment and finds it necessary to engage in a lengthy discussion of standing, I concur only in the result of the opinion.
CAVANAGH and WEAVER, JJ., concurred with KELLY, J.