Guinn v. Legislature of the State of Nevada

76 P.3d 22 (2003)

From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Guinn v. Legislature of the State of Nevada

Nevada Supreme Court
76 P.3d 22 (2003)

SC

Facts

Nevada’s 2004 fiscal year began on July 1, 2003. Despite many attempts, the Nevada state legislature (defendant) failed to approve a balanced budget by the beginning of the fiscal year, violating its duty under the state constitution. This failure resulted in the failure of the legislature to appropriate sufficient funding for public education, another of its constitutional duties. Through an amendment approved by ballot initiative, the constitution required that the legislature pass bills that increased public revenues by a two-thirds majority. After the amendment, however, the constitution still required only a simple majority vote for appropriations. The legislature was unable to pass a budget that met the two-thirds threshold. The lack of appropriate funding for public education left schools unfunded for the 2003–04 school year. Kenny Guinn (plaintiff), the governor of Nevada, filed a petition with the Nevada Supreme Court for a writ of mandamus, asking the court to order the legislature to pass a balanced budget that funded public education. The Nevada Supreme Court directed the state legislature to reconvene and pass a balanced budget to fund public education by a simple majority. Eleven days later, the legislature passed a balanced budget with sufficient education funding by a two-thirds majority. A group of 20 legislators filed a petition for rehearing the supreme court and filed a motion asking the supreme court to withdraw its opinion.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Per curiam)

Dissent (Maupin, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 816,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 816,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 816,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership