Burke v. State

The majority holds that both the seller and the purchaser on a land sale contract are “owners” for the purposes of Ballot Measure 49. In reaching that conclusion, the majority starts from the proposition, with which I agree, that the definition of “owner” in Measure 49 is ambiguous. It is possible to read that definition either as the seller and the purchaser do (owner includes both the seller and the purchaser) or as the state does (in the context of a land sale contract, owner means only the purchaser). The majority errs, however, in resolving that ambiguity. It appears to derive certainty…