State v. Castillon

OPINION OF THE COURT BY

NAKAMURA, CHIEF JUDGE

In this appeal, we address the question of whether the exceptions to the prohibition against driving without a license (DWOL) set forth in the statute defining the offense constitute defenses to the offense or essential elements of the offense. As explained below, we hold that the statutory exceptions to the DWOL offense are defenses for which the defendant bears the initial burden of producing evidence, and not essential elements that the prosecution in every case must prove do not apply. In doing so, we overrule our characterization in State v.…