Court Opinion

ID: 9625418
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 07:40:28.683463+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:28:13.436209
License: Public Domain

*849THOMAS, Justice,
specially concurring.
I concur in the disposition of this case as reflected in the majority opinion. I would, however, invoke a different mode for the disposition of the arrest issue. I am persuaded by the remarks of Mr. Justice Stone that too often the judiciary follows the habit of ignoring legislation as a source of law upon which to build future precedent. Stone, “The Common Law in the United States,” 50 Harv.L.Rev. 4 (1937).
In treating with legal problems, however, lawyers, judges and others who are interested have been taught to investigate the legislative as well as the judicial source for rules relating to the problem. In this instance there is a specific statute stating the legislative policy of the State of Wyoming with respect to situations in which ah arrest can be made without a warrant. The particularly pertinent part of this statute reads as follows:
“(ii) He has reasonable grounds to be-' Heve that a felony, as defined by section 6-2 [§ 6-1-102] of the statutes has been committed and he has reasonable grounds for believing that the person to be arrested has committed it; or” Section 7-2-103(a)(ii), W.S.1977.
While it may be granted that this statute states nothing different from the historical concept of probable cause, it does represent at least a distillation of the myriad of judicial opinions relating to the problem. It may also represent a legislative choice of language to express that concept.
In such an instance the statute should be the point of departure for the court in dealing with the problem. The statutory expression of the rule is general and it is entitled to broader application than a rule developed in a prior judicial opinion which must be limited to substantially identical facts. As Justice Parker, speaking for the court, said in Leet v. Joder, 75 Wyo. 225, 235, 295 P.2d 733, 735 (1956):
“* * * [I]t will be well to bear in mind that analogies are helpful only insofar as they are applicable. In that respect, no decision determines the law, except as it relates to the specific facts before the court.”
As the majority opinion demonstrates, in turning to judicial precedent we first must identify the rule; we then must hold it to the facts of this case; and then we apply it. The use of the statutory cornerstone is more efficient.
Our court, did not deal with this subsection of the statute in Rodarte v. City of Riverton, Wyo., 552 P.2d 1245 (1976). Neither did we treat with other aspects of the statute in a criminal context except by way of dicta. Using the statutory language as the point of departure, the holding of the instant case with respect to the arrest issue can be expressed succinctly. The police officers, given - the factual background described in the court’s opinion, had reasonable grounds to believe that a felony had been committed and reasonable grounds for believing that DeHerrera had committed it as required by the statute. This approach makes it unnecessary to develop the rule in our opinion before applying it. It also lends itself to an increased certainty on the part of those who must identify and apply the rule in future instances.