Court Opinion

ID: 9756197
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-28 21:14:14.048541+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:28:15.751938
License: Public Domain

*23Concurring Opinion
Williamson, C. J.
I concur in the result. The defendant has suffered no loss of rights under the Constitution of Maine either in the creation of the game preserve or in the prohibition against hunting. Further, the report is not sufficiently complete for decision on the charge of possession of a shotgun on the preserve.
It is a well settled principle of judicial administration to refrain from passing on the constitutionality of legislation unless compelled to do so by the case. Great rights rest upon Section 16 of our Declaration of Rights, which reads:
“Every citizen has a right to keep and bear arms for the common defense; and this right shall never be questioned.”
I file this concurring opinion only to make it plain beyond any doubt that I have not deemed it necessary to consider the application of Art. I, Sec. 16 of our Constitution to the problem presented by the record in this case.