Cochise County v. Southern Pacific Co.

BERNSTEIN, Vice Chief Justice

(dissenting) .

I regret that I must dissent. I respectfully submit the majority opinion proceeds upon the erroneous premise that the Board of Equalization acted judicially in carrying out its tax power and therefore cannot be attacked in the absence of showing that it acted in bad faith or so arbitrarily as to amount to constructive fraud. The majority states the issue to be whether the Board has abused its discretion. The correct issue is whether the Board has any discretion.

The majority opinion holds that a public official can violate the mandatory provisions of…