State Ex Rel. Helman v. Gallegos

OPINION

MONTGOMERY, Chief Justice.

This is a statutory construction case. It involves two themes or approaches running through New Mexico law and relating to how a court performs the task of applying a statute when the parties to a case disagree over the statute’s meaning. These approaches, though probably intended to be complementary, often seem to work at cross purposes and to call for different answers to the question.

The first approach, relied on by the Court of Appeals in the decision reviewed here on certiorari, State ex rel. Helman v. Gallegos, 114 N.M. 414, 839 P.2d 624 (Ct.App.1992),…