State v. Hutchinson
Utah Supreme Court
624 P.2d 1116 (1980)

- Written by Darius Dehghan, JD
Facts
The Utah legislature passed Utah Code Ann. § 17-5-77 (the statute), which granted local governments the power to enact all ordinances necessary to promote the general welfare of their citizens. Salt Lake County (the county) enacted an ordinance that required the disclosure of campaign contributions in county elections. A violation of this ordinance constituted a misdemeanor. The State of Utah (the state) (plaintiff) charged William Hutchinson (defendant) with violating the ordinance. Hutchinson sought to dismiss the charges, contending that the county lacked the power to enact the ordinance. The city court agreed with Hutchinson and dismissed the charges. The district court affirmed the dismissal, finding that the statute did not grant the county the power to enact the ordinance. The state appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Stewart, J.)
Dissent (Maughan, J.)
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