Latest Case: State v. Domut (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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State v. Domut

Docket: SCWC-16-0000402

Opinion Date: January 31, 2020

Judge: Sabrina S. McKenna

Areas of Law: Criminal Law

On Defendant's appeal from his convictions of driving without a license and of no motor vehicle insurance, the Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the district court and the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) and remanded this case to the district court for further proceedings, holding that there was no knowing and intelligent waiver of Defendant's fundamental right to a jury trial. Specifically, the Court held (1) the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Defendant was not in constructive possession of a license from Mexico or Canada, which would have exempted him from licensing requirements pursuant to Haw. Rev. Stat. 286-105; (2) the ICA erred by requiring Defendant to present evidence of a "borrower/lender relationship" with the registered owner of the vehicle to assert the "good faith lack of knowledge" defense, but this error did not require vacating Defendant's no motor vehicle insurance conviction; but (3) there was no valid waiver of Defendant's right to a jury trial on the charge of driving without a license, and therefore, Defendant's convictions must be vacated and the matter remanded for further proceedings.