Collateral Estoppel between the Traffic Tribunal

Is the State or a municipality collaterally estopped from trying a defendant again for the same issue already decided by a judge or magistrate of the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal or District Court?

John R. Grasso, Esq. and John E. MacDonald

Is the State or a municipality collaterally estopped from trying a defendant again for the same issue already decided by a judge or magistrate of the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal or District Court? In light of the criminalization of a subsequent breathalyzer refusal, its removal from the Tribunal to the District Court, and the motor vehicle offenses typically arising from drunk driving arrests, it is more likely today than it was prior to June 2007 that the State or a municipality could try the same element first in one forum before trying it again in the next. As a result, criminal defense attorneys might be well-advised to look carefully at all the charges – not just the more serious offenses – when developing their defense strategy. Consider the following fact pattern as an illustration of how collateral estoppel – otherwise known as “issue preclusion” – might bar the government from trying a defendant two or three times where one issue is common to the charges.

John R. Grasso & John E. MacDonald, Collateral Estoppel Between the Traffic Tribunal and District Court, R.I. Bar J., Mar – Apr. 2008, at 31 – 35.

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Collateral Estoppel between the Traffic Tribunal