Latest Case: State v. Kwong (Criminal Law)

Who Counts as a Jew?

SHERRY F. COLB

Cornell law professor Sherry F. Colb comments on a recent decision by the Supreme Court of Israel holding that people who have undergone Conservative or Reform conversions in Israel qualify as Jews under the Israeli Law of Return. Professor Colb explains the significance of this decision and explores some of the downsides that remain in the Israeli approach to who counts as a Jew.

Read More

State v. Kwong

Docket: SCWC-19-0000334

Opinion Date: March 4, 2021

Judge: Mark E. Recktenwald

Areas of Law: Criminal Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) affirming Defendant's conviction of operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant (OVUII), Haw. Rev. Stat. 291E-61(a)(1), holding that any error not taking judicial notice that thirty mph was equivalent to forty-four feet per second was harmless. During trial, Defendant's attorney asked the district court to take judicial notice that sixty miles per hour was equivalent to eighty-eight feet per second as a matter that is generally known. The court appeared to conclude that it could not take judicial notice of the conversion and that Defendant would have to present expert testimony. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that trial courts are required to take judicial notice of equivalent measurements unless provided with the mathematical equation for conversion, but the error in this case was harmless.