Latest Case: McCullough v. State (Criminal Law)

Discrimination and the “Leveling Down” Puzzle

MICHAEL C. DORF

Cornell law professor Michael C. Dorf considers how much freedom the government has to “level down” in response to a finding of impermissible discrimination. Dorf discusses several of the U.S. Supreme Court’s precedents on leveling down and points out that these decisions are difficult to reconcile with each other and leave unresolved the questions whether and when leveling down is permissible.

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McCullough v. State

Citation: 2020 Ark. 49

Opinion Date: January 30, 2020

Judge: Womack

Areas of Law: Criminal Law

The Supreme Court denied Petitioner's pro se petition to recall the mandate to reinvest jurisdiction in the trial court to consider a petition for writ of error coram nobis, holding that Petitioner's allegations failed to raise cognizable grounds for coram nobis relief or to recall the mandate. Petitioner was convicted of burglary, attempted burglary, and revocation of suspended sentences and subsequently convicted of rape, kidnapping, and residential burglary. Petitioner later filed his petition seeking coram nobis relief, alleging that both his trial and his direct appeal were defective. The Supreme Court denied the petition, holding that Petitioner's claims were not grounds for the writ.