Smith v. State

1 concur in the principal opinion. I write separately only to object to the obi-ter dicta suggestions offered to the legislature by our respected colleague, Judge Price, in his concurrence. There is no question that the courts are the final arbiters of the law and that the judiciary may not shirk their duty to interpret the law.1 Coupled with this noble pursuit, however, is the unqualified need and long-standing tradition of exercising judicial restraint and avoiding the political thicket to serve the public interest of “allowing the political process to function free from judicial…