State Ex Rel. Human Services Department v. Staples

I respectfully dissent from the majority opinion which holds § 40-7-4(B)(4), N.M.S. A.1978, as enacted by Laws 1979, ch. 387, § 1 (now found in 1982 Cum.Supp.), unconstitutional.

The majority agrees with appellant that the section under attack is so vague and indefinite that persons of common intelligence must guess at its meaning. That is, indeed, the test to be applied when such a claim of unconstitutionality is made. State v. Libero, 91 N.M. 780, 581 P.2d 873 (Ct.App.1978). But in testing the statute, it is also an indispensable rule that the whole statute be brought under consideration.…