Corina Mendoza, Petitioner v. Wis International, Inc., Anthony Adams, and Washington Inventory Services, Inc…

Summary

The court held that Arkansas Code Annotated section 27-37-703 is unconstitutional because it is a procedural rule governing the admissibility and relevance of evidence, an authority reserved to the judiciary under the Arkansas Constitution. The court distinguished substantive legislative privileges from procedural evidentiary rules and rejected the argument that Rule 402 authorizes the legislature to determine evidentiary relevance. Justices Baker, Hart, and Wood dissented, arguing that the statute was substantive or that the certified question was inapplicable and advisory.