State v. Hills

While I agree that this judgment should be affirmed, I do not agree with the practice this Court has adopted of affirming serious criminal cases by a one-word judgment: “Affirmed”. In this cycle twenty-six such judgments have been handed down.1

In my view fully researched and justified opinions serve an essential function in the process of adjudication in state courts of last resort.

Principally, in affirming a conviction the opinion informs the defendant and his counsel of the reasons why the Court has rejected their claim of error in the trial. From this source the litigant learns of the…