PEOPLE, BY RUSSEL v. District Court for Fourth JD

By way of an original proceeding, C.A.R. 21, the People challenge a ruling entered by respondent court which held 1971 Perm. Supp., C.R.S. 1963, 40-3-102(1 )(d), a portion of the homicide statute, unconstitutional on the ground that it was facially void for vagueness. Due to the great public importance of the ruling and with conflicting holdings in other district courts, we issued an order to show cause why a writ of mandamus should not issue directing the respondent court to reinstate the charge.

I

The constitutional principle that statutes must clearly apprise the citizen of the nature of the…