George:

Since this question of an easement to build the Meadow Creek Parkway has come up, I have been intrigued to see the "legal" opinions -- some informed, some not -- flying around.

As I sit here with a copy of Article VII, section 9, in front of me, I don't know what the right answer is. I will not bore everyone with a ponderous attempt to parse the language of the section; suffice it to say that the professor who taught the "Legislation" course in my law school -- where we supposedly learned the principles of statutory construction -- would have a hard time applying those principles to say that the result is clear, in either direction.

Under such circumstances, we should look to some (hopefully) more knowledgeable authority. In Virginia, the first place we look is to Attorney General's opinions. In some cases, there may be an opinion already issued that deals with the issue. As far as I am aware, there is not one that would cover this question. So the next approach is to request an opinion that is specific to your case.

An Attorney General's opinion is not valuable because Jerry Kilgore is blessed with any unique perspicacity; it is valuable because the Assistant Attorneys General who actually write the opinions have been working with these problems for 20 years or more. They have more knowledge than anyone in the state about the law in these areas. They have seen how local judges construe the same provisions, in cases that may never have made public notice. They understand in ways that I don't how this provision might relate to other related provisions. In issues relating to the powers of local government, where they often have to give opinions on the legality of a particular action of local government before the bonds to pay for that action can be sold, they have more experience than just about anyone. When an issue has no political significance to folks in Richmond, odds are pretty good that the opinion that results will be an unbiased reading of the law.

I am not a great fan of the easement idea, but it is not unreasonable to ask for an Attorney General's opinion on the matter.

Lloyd Snook (electronic mail, December 20, 2003)