Court Opinion

ID: 9745561
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 23:09:53.808963+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:25:02.563118
License: Public Domain

DeBRULER, Justice
dissenting.
Whenever a claim is filed in court seeking a judgment upon the issue of whether a statute is constitutional, the threshold duties fall upon the court to first determine its own jurisdiction and second to a require the claiming party to show standing. Board of Com'rs v. Kokomo City Plan Com'n (1975), 268 Ind. 282, 330 N.E.2d 92. These are matters of judicial necessity, and must be addressed irrespective of the failure of parties to do so. In my view, this plaintiff office holder has no standing, either individually or as a representative of the residents and voters of the township, to challenge the imposition of the duty to appoint professional park superintendents, upon the office of trustee, by the legisla*728ture, on pure constitutional grounds. Id. I would therefore order the trial court to expunge its judgment and dismiss the case, and in the process express no opinion of this court upon the merits of the constitutional question.