Opinion of the Justices, 160
| Decision Date | 15 August 1957 |
| Docket Number | No. 160,160 |
| Citation | 266 Ala. 370,96 So.2d 752 |
| Parties | OPINION OF THE JUSTICES. |
| Court | Alabama Supreme Court |
State Capitol
Montgomery, Alabama
Dear Sirs:
Under date of August 2, 1957, the Clerk of the House of Representatives transmitted to the Justices of the Supreme Court of Alabama your Resolution No. 72, wherein you request an advisory opinion of the Justices concerning the constitutionality of H. B. 938, a true copy of which was attached to and made a part of your resolution.
We have examined H. B. 938 with considerable care and find that it is identical in every material respect with the language used in Act No. 805, approved September 11, 1951, Acts of Alabama, 1950-1951, p. 1402, except that in H. B. 938 the word 'sugar' appears wherever the word 'cigarette' appears in the 1951 act, supra.
Act No. 805, supra, is known as 'The Unfair Cigarette Sales Act,' and we know as a matter of common knowledge that it has been under attack in the nisi prius courts of this state on several occasions. It is not unreasonable to assume that this court will ultimately be called upon to pass on the validity of 'The Unfair Cigarette Sales Act' because of its highly controversial nature and we entertain the view that we should decide that question in an adversary proceeding, unfettered by an advisory opinion rendered without the benefit of briefs or argument of counsel.
Under a long prevailing view, the provisions of § 34 et seq., Title 13, Code 1940, have been considered as privileging--but not requiring--the individual Justices of the Supreme Court to give advisory opinions at the request of the Governor or either House of the Legislature on important constitutional questions. These opinions are usually given in deference to the executive and legislative departments of the state in order to guide them in the proper dispatch of their duties and to protect the officers and departments of the state in the performance of their duties under enated legislation or under stipulations of proposed bond issues, etc.
We think it appropriate at this time to again invite attention to the fact that while as individual Justices the members of this court, within permissible limits of the statute, are privileged to give their individual opinions on constitutional questions properly submitted to them, yet the court of which they are members is a court of appellate review and the constitutionality of existing statutes...
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Opinion of the Justices
... ... 160, 266 Ala. 370, 371, 96 So.2d 752, 753 (1957). See also, Opinion of the Justices No. 274, 394 So.2d 957, 959-60 (Ala.1981) ... Because the question you pose is one of great public interest, and because the question raises a question of fundamental constitutional law relating to ... ...
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Opinion of the Justices
... ... "Opinion of the Justices [No. 160], 266 Ala. 370, 371, 96 So.2d 752, 753 (1957). See, also, Opinion of the Justices [No. 274], 394 So.2d 957, 959-60 (Ala.1981). However, as has been pointed out many times, the procedure, as well as the advisability, of rendering advisory opinions is not without difficulty, particularly in view of ... ...
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