Opinion ID: 2162544
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Heading: Application of Double Jeopardy-Based Collateral Estoppel

Text: In State v. Jones, supra, 340 Md. 235, 666 A.2d 128, the defendant was arrested for driving while intoxicated. He consented to take the breath test, which revealed an alcohol concentration well in excess of 0.10. As a result, in August, 1994, an MVA administrative law judge, acting under § 16-205.1, suspended his driver's license for 30 days. In November, 1994, Jones was brought to trial in the district court and convicted on the criminal charge. On appeal to the circuit court, he moved to dismiss the charge on double jeopardy grounds. The circuit court found merit in his argument and granted his motion. We reversed. It is important to understand the context in which the double jeopardy issue was presented in Jones. As Chief Judge Murphy pointed out, Jones's argument was founded solely on the dual punishment aspect of double jeopardy: Since neither party contends that the administrative suspension of Jones's license constituted a `prosecution,' the imposition of criminal sanctions against Jones for driving while intoxicated violates the Double Jeopardy Clause only if it constitutes a second punishment. Id., 340 Md. at 242, 666 A.2d at 131. The discussion thereafter was whether, under the holdings of United States v. Halper, 490 U.S. 435, 109 S.Ct. 1892, 104 L.Ed.2d 487 (1989), Austin v. United States, 509 U.S. 602, 113 S.Ct. 2801, 125 L.Ed.2d 488 (1993), and Department of Revenue of Montana v. Kurth Ranch, 511 U.S. 767, 114 S.Ct. 1937, 128 L.Ed.2d 767 (1994), the suspension by MVA constituted a punishment for purposes of double jeopardy and, for that reason, precluded a criminal prosecution intended to lead to a further punishment. We concluded that the administrative sanction did not constitute a punishment for double jeopardy purposes and therefore did not foreclose the criminal prosecution. Collateral estoppel is not required to avoid a multiple punishment problem and does not invoke that branch of the double jeopardy doctrine. It springs, rather, from that aspect of double jeopardy precluding multiple prosecutions. See Ashe v. Swenson, supra, 397 U.S. at 445-46, 90 S.Ct. at 1195, 25 L.Ed.2d at 476-77. Accordingly, neither the rationale nor the holding in State v. Jones serves as precedent in this case. As Ashe v. Swenson makes clear, the collateral estoppel aspect of double jeopardy is intended to preclude a defendant from having to relitigate an issue of fact or law that has already been decided in his or her favor. If otherwise applicable, double jeopardy-based collateral estoppel would apply whether or not a sanction or punishment has been imposed; indeed, in most instances, it comes into play when the defendant has prevailed in the earlier proceeding, at least on the issue in question. See Powers v. State, 285 Md. 269, 401 A.2d 1031, cert. denied, 444 U.S. 937, 100 S.Ct. 288, 62 L.Ed.2d 197 (1979); Bowling v. State, supra, 298 Md. 396, 470 A.2d 797. The State's point, that the double jeopardy aspect of collateral estoppel cannot be founded on an administrative law judge's decision under § 16-205.1, is, however, correct. In Batson v. Shiflett, supra, 325 Md. 684, 602 A.2d 1191, based on a well-established rule in the Federal system, we held that the independent common law doctrine of collateral estoppel may preclude relitigation in a civil action of an issue decided in a prior administrative proceeding (although in that case, we found the doctrine inapplicable). In Bowling v. State, supra, 298 Md. 396, 470 A.2d 797, we concluded that both the common law doctrine and double jeopardy-based collateral estoppel may serve to preclude the relitigation in a criminal case of an issue decided in the defendant's favor by a court in a prior civil action. We are aware of no case, however, and none has been cited to us, clearly holding that the State is precluded by double jeopardy-based collateral estoppel from prosecuting a criminal case because of an earlier determination by an administrative agency. The issue of double jeopardy-based collateral estoppel has been raised in a number of cases similar to this one, and it has consistently been rejected. See Reid v. State, supra, 119 Md.App. 129, 704 A.2d 473; State v. Barlow, 30 Conn.App. 36, 618 A.2d 579 (1993), following State v. Fritz, 204 Conn. 156, 527 A.2d 1157 (1987); State v. Higa, 79 Hawai'i 1, 897 P.2d 928 (1995); State v. Arnold, 593 So.2d 1293 (La.App.1991), writ denied, 594 So.2d 1305 (La.1992); State v. Warfield, 854 S.W.2d 9 (Mo.App.1993); State v. Hoyt, 922 S.W.2d 443 (Mo.App.1996); State v. Bishop, 113 N.M. 732, 832 P.2d 793 (App.1992); State v. Cassady, 140 N.H. 46, 662 A.2d 955 (1995); State v. Young, 249 Neb. 539, 544 N.W.2d 808 (1996); State v. Aguilar, 947 S.W.2d 257 (Tex.Cr.App.1997); Jones v. City of Lynchburg, 23 Va.App. 167, 474 S.E.2d 863 (1996). The two Missouri cases involved almost the same situation as that presented hereat the administrative license-suspension proceeding, the defendant had been found not to be the driver, yet that did not preclude a subsequent prosecution for driving while intoxicated. State v. Warfield, supra, 854 S.W.2d at 10; State v. Hoyt, supra, 922 S.W.2d at 447. The courts have applied different rationales in support of their conclusions. Some have taken the broad view that double jeopardy-based collateral estoppel simply does not arise from the finding of an administrative agency. See State v. Warfield, supra, 854 S.W.2d at 11: Missouri cases hold that, for collateral estoppel purposes, no relationship exists between a determination of fact made in a criminal case and a determination of fact made in an administrative proceeding under [the Missouri counterpart to § 16-205.1]; State v. Cassady, supra, 662 A.2d at 958: Application of the doctrine of collateral estoppel is not constitutionally mandated, however, when the first proceeding is civil, rather than criminal.... We conclude that the administrative review hearing was a civil proceeding, and therefore, that application of the doctrine of collateral estoppel is not constitutionally mandated. Other courts have found more particular reasons not to apply double jeopardy-based collateral estoppel to rulings made in § 16-205.1 type proceedings. Some have found no privity between the prosecutor in the criminal case and the motor vehicle licensing agency, noting their different functions and agendas. Others have stressed the different issues addressed in the two proceedings, the fact that the administrative proceeding is intended to be informal and summary, and the difficulties that would ensue if collateral estoppel were applied. See Reid v. State, supra, 119 Md.App. 129, 704 A.2d 473; State v. Barlow, supra, 618 A.2d at 581-82; State v. Higa, supra, 897 P.2d at 935; State v. Aguilar, supra, 947 S.W.2d 257. The Illinois Supreme Court summarized well the consequence of applying collateral estoppel in the manner urged by Janes: Given even the possibility that the results of a summary suspension hearing would act as collateral estoppel, the State would likely find it necessary to treat the suspension hearing as an integral part of the criminal trial rather than merely an administrative device at the disposal of the defendant in which the defendant can halt the otherwise automatic suspension of his driving privileges. The process would seldom, if ever, be swift. Law enforcement officers would be required to testify regardless of whether the defendant subpoenaed them. The State would also be required to present witnesses to establish that defendant was in fact driving and was doing so while impaired, and experts will often be required to testify concerning the accuracy of the various chemical testing devices. People v. Moore, 138 Ill.2d 162, 149 Ill.Dec. 278, 282, 561 N.E.2d 648, 652 (1990); see also State v. Bishop, supra, 832 P.2d at 796. In addition to the cases cited above, specifically rejecting a double jeopardy-based collateral estoppel argument, there are a number of cases in which such a rejection is implicit from the refusal of the court to apply collateral estoppel on any basis to preclude a criminal prosecution for driving while intoxicated or while under the influence of alcohol. See Gikas v. Zolin, 6 Cal.4th 841, 25 Cal.Rptr.2d 500, 863 P.2d 745 (1993); People v. Moore, supra, 149 Ill.Dec. 278, 561 N.E.2d 648; State v. MacLean, 560 A.2d 1088 (Me.1989); State v. O'Rourke, 114 N.C.App. 435, 442 S.E.2d 137 (1994) (no privity between prosecutor and Commissioner of Motor Vehicles); State v. DeWhitt, 82 Or.App. 55, 727 P.2d 151 (1986); People v. Lalka, 113 Misc.2d 474, 449 N.Y.S.2d 579 (City Ct.1982). Compare Brower v. Killens, 122 N.C.App. 685, 472 S.E.2d 33 (1996), holding that a finding in the criminal case that the police did not have probable cause to arrest the defendant precluded relitigation of that issue in a subsequent administrative proceeding. The concern underlying the decisions noted above is that, in most instances, § 16-205.1-type proceedings do not sufficiently resemble court proceedings, even though the agency acts in a quasi-judicial capacity, to serve as the basis of a constitutional estoppel. They are ordinarily informal in nature, intended to provide minimally necessary due process before temporarily suspending an important privilege, and, as noted, the State is normally not represented by counsel and often offers no evidence beyond the hearsay reports of the officer and the toxicologist. Upon the authority noted, and in the absence of any to the contrary, we conclude that double jeopardy-based collateral estoppel does not preclude the prosecution of a case brought under § 21-902 because of a ruling, finding, or decision made in a proceeding under § 16-205.1.