Court Opinion

ID: 9641228
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 17:25:42.971965+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:10:35.837499
License: Public Domain

L. Brown, Justice, concurring. I concur in the result largely because I do not share the conviction of the majority that a definition of “prisoners of municipalities” from this court will be wholly irrelevant to the current settlement agreement. The disagreement over the scope of the settlement does leave me unwilling to conclude that any genuine controversy remains. However, I am equally unsure that an opinion from this court will have “no practical effect.” Counsel for the City said at oral argument that a settlement agreement had been struck for use of “base beds” but that a decision by this court was needed to determine cost and usage of beds above that base figure this year, or during the term of the current settlement agreement. He thus contended that an opinion by this court would have some relevance. Counsel for the County seemed to disagree, although at one point he said at oral argument that he hoped the two parties had an agreement. In response to questioning he also said that he believes and hopes that the settlement agreement will stand no matter what this court does. The end result, though, was that after the oral argument, I was unsure how any decision by this court on what constitutes “prisoners of municipalities” would affect the current agreement between the City and the County. It was the City’s obligation to make the viability of this issue on appeal crystal clear, and the City did not carry this burden. Hence, I concur. Imber, J., joins this concurring opinion.