United States v. Reese

CERTIFICATION OF QUESTION OF STATE LAW*

NEIL M. GORSUCH, Judge.

To decide this appeal we need to know whether a New Mexico statute offends and so gives way to the New Mexico Constitution. If it does, James Reese prevails. If it does not, he loses. At the heart of this federal appeal, then, lies not just a question of state law but a question about the meaning and effect of a state’s governing charter. It is, too, a close question with persuasive arguments on both sides. In these circumstances, our respect for our cooperative federal system leads us to conclude that the New Mexico Supreme Court,…