State Ex Rel. Maloney v. Sierra , 82 N.M. 125 ( 1970 )

TACKETT, Justice

(dissenting).

The majority opinion holding contrary, I respectfully join Justice Watson in his dissent and add the following.

The paramount question is whether there is here present an actual or justiciable controversy to declare rights and legal relations of any interested party. We do not have an interested party in this action. The authorities on which the majority relies had an interested party. ■ ■{

We should decline to permit our' district courts to be converted into “judicial ponds” to fish for legal advice under the guise of a declaratory judgment. Orange Independent School District v. West Orange Independent School District, 390 S.W.2d 81 (Tex.Civ.App. 1965). The majority opinion is opening wide the door to allow fishing in judicial ponds for legal advice, This’court has repeatedly held it will not render advisory opinions, yet that is exactly what the majority is doing.

There is one additional matter in the majority opinion which troubles me considerably. The majority opinion states:

“The Director interprets ch. 216 so as to permit the serving on Sunday of alcholic liquors if previously purchased. There are some obvious enforcement problems with the Director’s interpretation but those problems do not make his interpretation so absurd or unreasonable as to require us to go in the direction urged by the Attorney General.”

The majority holds that “serve” does not include “sell,” but customers can drink 011 Sunday if the liquor was “previously purchased.” I feel that such reasoning invites violation pf the law. It encourages dishonesty in the sense that it will encourage those who drink on Sunday to actually pay for the liquor consumed on Sunday, while being forced to claim that the liquor consumed was really “previously purchased.”

I respectfully dissent.