State v. Hutchinson

For the following reasons, I dissent. All statutory references are to Utah Code Annotated, 1953, as amended.

The analysis of the majority opinion utilizes the familiar technique of erecting a straw man, in this case, the abstract principle of law identified as Dillon’s Rule, and throttling it with the evocative shibboleth of local control. The majority then interprets Section 17-5-77 as a carte blanche delegation of the state police power to local government, unless there be a specific and direct conflict between state and local law. This interpretation is inconsistent with the multiple…