Court Opinion

ID: 9593708
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 00:24:07.750152+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:53:31.380670
License: Public Domain

BAKES, Justice,
dissenting in part:
I concur in Chief Justice Shepard’s dissent “from that portion of the majority opinion which holds that denial of review of a decision of the Court of Appeals establishes the decision of the Court of Appeals as controlling precedent.” Ante at 317, 766 P.2d at 787. This Court has never, to my knowledge, decided a substantive issue of law based solely upon the presentations of one side of the ease, and then without oral argument. However, that is precisely what will now occur in view of the majority’s adopting the position that a denial of a petition for review of a decision of the Court of Appeals constitutes an acceptance of the law of that decision as controlling precedent of this Court.
Any party aggrieved by an opinion of the Court of Appeals may file a petition for review of that opinion by this Court. I.A. R. 118. The petition must be supported by a brief (to be filed within fourteen days thereafter). Ordinarily there is no responsive brief filed, nor have we granted oral argument before ruling upon whether or not to allow the petition for review. I.A.R. 118.
I believe it is an incorrect practice to hold that the denial of a review of a decision of the Court of Appeals based solely upon a presentation from one side, and then without the benefit of oral argument and conferencing, establishes a controlling precedent of this Court. Certainly there is nothing in I.A.R. 118 which requires, or even permits that result. No citation of authority is given for the action today, and it certainly runs contrary to the practice in the Supreme Court of the United States and other states, as set out in Chief Justice Shepard’s dissenting opinion. This Court does not have a summary disposition calendar, much less one which disposes of cases based upon briefs from only one side. The Court’s decision today will constitute a strong incentive for members of this Court to automatically vote to grant a petition for review in every case in order to prevent the precedent of this Court from being created by default.