Pease v. Pease

Opinion

BOREN, J.

May a trial court in a civil proceeding give collateral estoppel effect to a criminal conviction involving the same issues if the conviction resulted from a guilty plea? Our Supreme Court instructs us that the answer to this question is an unequivocal “No,” because this would unfairly deprive a party of his right to an adversary proceeding in which to present his case. Because the trial court in this case erroneously arrived at a contrary answer to the question posed here, we must reverse.

Facts

This case began with the filing of a civil complaint against appellant Clarence…