City of Rocky River v. State Employment Relations Board

At the outset I must say that the majority opinion is a breathtaking and ofttimes scholarly exercise. However, in the effort to achieve a result that meets the particularized need of the appellees, the lead opinion has, in my view, created some most unfortunate jurisprudence.

Before dealing with the untimely demise of the right of local government to order its own affairs, a few kind words are in order with respect to other portions of Justice Douglas’ opinion. The majority’s articulate dissertation concerning the doctrine of stare decisis carefully distinguishes between cases involving…