concurring. Fender and Sanders argue that the appeal in this matter was essentially filed too late. I agree. The Committee to Establish Sherwood Fire Department filed its notice of appeal on October 31, 2002. No motion for expedited consideration was filed. They point the court to the case of Ward v. Priest, 350 Ark. 462, 88 S.W.3d 416 (2002). In Ward, Harry Ward, on behalf of himself and others similarly situated, and a ballot question committee known as APPLES, sought an expedited review in conjunction with an original action filed by APPLES on October 28, 2002, pursuant to Amendment 7 to the Arkansas Constitution, and Act 877 of 1999. The petition requested the court to enjoin the Secretary of State, Sharon Priest, from placing the food tax on the November 5, 2002, ballot, or, in the alternative, that the votes not be counted. Another committee, ALERT, objecting to the request for expedited consideration, intervened. This court in Ward engaged in the following analysis:
This case is like McCuen v. Harris, 318 Ark. 522, 891 S.W.2d 350 (1994), in which we denied a motion for expedited review where the motion and brief were presented to this court just five days prior to the election. We stated that such time limitations would not only be unfair to the appellee, it would also not give this court the time needed for deliberation of the issue or issues to be presented. Id.; see also Stilley v. Young, 342 Ark. 378, 28 S.W.3d 858 (2000); Mertz v. State, 318 Ark. 239, 884 S.W.2d 264 (1994).
The original-action petition filed by APPLES on October 28, 2002, alleges that this court has jurisdiction pursuant to Amendment 7 and Act 877 of 1999 to review the sufficiency of the popular name and ballot title of the proposed constitutional amendment. We take this opportunity to once again note that the purpose of Act 877 is to provide for the timely and expeditious review of the legal sufficiency of initiative petitions by the Supreme Court. Ark. Code Ann. § 7-9-502(b) (Repl. 2000). Furthermore, Act 877 was intended to provide a process to timely review the legal sufficiency of a measure in a manner which avoids voter confusion and frustration which occur when measures are stricken from the ballot on the eve of an election. Ark. Code Ann. § 7-9-502(b) (Repl. 2000).
There are only six days between now and the date of the election. Election-eve review is contrary to Act 877 of 1999, the statute under which APPLES now proceeds. Moreover, to grant review at this late hour would not only be unfair to the adverse parties, but it would not give this court a sufficient amount of time necessary for meaningful deliberation of the issues presented. We, therefore, must deny the motion for expedited review. Accordingly, the motion to dismiss filed by ALERT is moot.
Although § 7-9-502 applies to statewide initiatives, and this is a municipal matter, the need for meaningful deliberation of the issues remains. See Stilley v. Young, 342 Ark. 378, 28 S.W.3d 858 (2000). This court has decided in several cases that there has to be enough time for the adverse parties to prepare and for the court to be able to engage in meaningful deliberation. Id.; McCuen v. Harris, 318 Ark. 522, 891 S.W.2d 350 (1994). For this reason alone, I would dismiss this appeal.
Imber, J., joins this concurrence. Corbin and Thornton, JJ., not participating.