Paul E. Danielson, Mendoza v. WIS International, Inc… (2016)
“ It is well settled that there is a presumption of validity attending every consideration of a statute's constitutionality; every act carries a strong presumption of constitutionality, and before an act will be held unconstitutional, the incompatibility between it and the constitution must be clear. ”
Paul E. Danielson, Johnson v. Rockwell Automation… (2009)
“ As was the case in Summerville and Weidrick, the nonparty-fault provision in the instant case conflicts with our "rules of pleading, practice and procedure." While respondents assert the nonparty-fault provision should be upheld because it does not directly conflict with our rules of procedure as the legislative requirements did in Summerville and Weidrick, we take this opportunity to note that so long as a legislative provision dictates procedure, that provision need not directly conflict with our procedural rules to be unconstitutional. ”
Paul E. Danielson, Mendoza v. WIS International, Inc… (2016)
“ In Rule 501 of the Arkansas Rules of Evidence, we granted the legislature the authority to enact statutes regarding privilege because the power of the legislature to enact statutes regarding privilege is substantive law and does not conflict with amendment 80 and the separation-of-powers doctrine. Rule 402, however, is procedural in that it dictates what evidence is relevant. Just as we will not interpret a statutory provision so as to reach an absurd result, neither will we interpret a court rule in such a manner. ”
