Curtis v. State

I agree with the result but write about this court’s inherent rule making power. It’s a power we have abused, and I am not confident we can use it with proper restraint. At least, it needs a thorough airing.

I have no disagreement with the theoretical principle that courts have an inherent power, if they choose to use it, to adopt purely practice and procedural rules. But when courts speak of their inherent power, it is like monarchs invoking divine rights: the people had better check their pockets and their persons because they are about to lose something they thought was theirs.

The most…