Can Congress Prevent State and Local Traffic Accident Reports From Being Used in State Court?
Pierce County v. Guillen Docket No. 01-1229 From: The Supreme Court of Washington Case at a Glance This case involves a routine (though lamentably fatal) automobile accident that turned into a constitutional controversy. A federal statute designed to encourage state and local governments to identify and remedy hazardous road conditions provides that information “compiled or collected” in that process cannot be discovered or used in state court proceedings. This case requires the Court to determine whether this statute covers materials such as police accident reports and, more importantly, whether Congress has the authority to affect state court proceedings in this manner. • Previewed by Kevin J Worthen, a professor of law and associate dean at the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.
