McDonald v. Cline
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January 1995 Term
__________
No. 21292
__________
ALFRED O. MCDONALD, JR.,
Petitioner Below, Appellant,
v.
JANE L. CLINE, COMMISSIONER,
DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES,
Respondent Below, Appellee
_________________________________________________
Appeal from the Circuit Court of Kanawha County
Honorable John Hey, Circuit Judge
Civil Action No. 91-AA-233
AFFIRMED
_________________________________________________
Submitted: January 18, 1995
Filed: February 17, 1995
Jack L. Hickok
Charleston, West Virginia
Attorney for the Appellant
Paul E. Jordan
Senior Assistant Attorney General
Charleston, West Virginia
Attorney for the Appellee
JUSTICE WORKMAN delivered the Opinion of the Court.
JUSTICE BROTHERTON did not participate.
JUDGE FOX sitting by Temporary Assignment.
SYLLABUS
The administrative procedures set forth in West Virginia Code
§§ 17C-5A-1 to -4 (1991 & Supp. 1994), which permit the revocation
of an individual's license to operate a motor vehicle in this state
for driving under the influence of alcohol, are not violative of an
individual's constitutional rights of due process and equal
protection where such individual requires the use of his vehicle to
maintain employment.
Workman, Justice:
Alfred O. McDonald appeals from the March 5, 1992, order of
the Circuit Court of Kanawha County which affirmed the revocation
of Appellant's driver's license for six months for first offense
driving under the influence of alcohol ("DUI") by order of Appellee
Jane L. Cline, the Commissioner of the Division of Motor Vehicles.
Appellant asserts that West Virginia Code §§ 17C-5A-2 and -3 (Supp.
1994)See footnote 1 violate his substantive due process and equal protection
rights because such provisions more severely impact on him as an
individual who requires his vehicle to maintain employment. Having
considered the issue in full and finding no merit to Appellant's
position, we affirm.
Appellant was arrested on May 12, 1990, for first offense DUI.
Pursuant to the administrative procedures for suspension and
revocation of licenses for DUI as set forth in West Virginia Code
§§ 17C-5A-1 to -4 (1991 & Supp. 1994), Appellant's driver's license
was suspended for a period of six months. See W. Va. Code § 17C-
5A-1(c).See footnote 2 The revocation of Appellant's license was stayed during the pendency of his appeal pursuant to West Virginia Code § 17C-5A-
2.See footnote 3
Appellant is a twenty-seven-year employee of Western Union
whose position requires him to travel by car throughout the State
of West Virginia, as well as parts of Maryland and Virginia. In
addition to requiring a driver's license for the purpose of
continuing his employment, Appellant states that he is responsible
for the welfare of an adult who is currently under the supervision
of Shawnee Hills Mental Health Center.See footnote 4
Appellant argues that the statutes at issue compelling the
loss of his driver's license for DUI impact more negatively on him
than upon an individual who does not require an operator's license
to maintain his employment. He posits further that this alleged
disparate effect rises to the level of violating his substantive
due process and equal protection rights. See W. Va. Const. art. 3,
§ 10. In support of his argument that constitutional concerns are
implicated, he cites this Court's holding in State ex rel. Harris
v. Calendine, 160 W. Va. 172, 233 S.E.2d 318 (1977):
Inherent in the due process clause of the
State Constitution are both the concept of
substantive due process and the concept of
equal protection of the laws. In order for
the statutory scheme . . . to withstand
consitutional [sic] scrutiny under the
substantive due process standard, it must
appear that the means chosen by the
Legislature to achieve a proper legislative
purpose bear a rational relationship to that
purpose and are not arbitrary and
discriminatory.
Id. at 179, 233 S.E.2d at 324 (footnotes omitted).
Appellant predicates his allegation of due process denial on
the procedures utilized at the administrative hearing before the
Department of Motor Vehicles ("DMV"). Specifically, he suggests
that the proceedings were tainted because the hearing examiner, as
an employee of the same entity which issued the revocation order,
violated the accepted maxim that the facts in a disputed case
should not be determined by a party to the litigation. Appellant similarly objects to the hearing examiner's certification of the
transcript from the administrative proceedings as accurate.
In response to Appellant's due process argument, Appellee
explains that the DMV has been granted quasi-judicial powers for
the purpose of revoking licenses for DUI. See W. Va. Code
§§ 17C-5A-1 to -4. We observe that both the "principal question"See footnote 5
to be addressed at such hearings as well as the sentence to be
imposed upon a finding of DUI are controlled by statute. W. Va.
Code § 17c-5a-2(d). Appellee further notes that all notice and
hearing requirements applicable to revocation proceedings have been
expressly set forth by statute. See W. Va. Code § 17C-5A-2(b).
Appellee contends additionally that a review of the record
illustrates that the Appellant was given adequate notice, a fair
hearing, and was ably assisted by counsel.See footnote 6
Despite Appellant's attempts to characterize the hearing
examiner as a party to the litigation, the hearing examiner is no
more a party to a revocation proceeding than any other individual
who presides over cases which are administrative in nature. Cf. Varney v. Hechler, 189 W. Va. 655, 434 S.E.2d 15 (1993)
(recognizing W. Va. Code § 29A-5-1(d) (1993) as authority for
administrative agency's appointment of member to preside as hearing
examiner and rejecting argument that independent examiner was
required because of alleged conflict of interest). Under the logic
employed by Appellant, no hearing should ever be conducted by an
administrative law judge employed by the same agency as the case is
before. This position is simply untenable. Finding no due process
violation by virtue of the hearing examiner's employment by the DMV
or by his certifying the accuracy of the transcript, we conclude
that no deprivation of due process rights was suffered by Appellant
under the facts of this case.
The crux of Appellant's argument lies in his contention that
the statute authorizing revocation of operator licenses for DUI
affects him and others who require a vehicle throughout the work
day in such a negative manner as to rise to the level of an equal
rights violation. In citing from this Court's decision in
Calendine, Appellant failed to include the critical language
regarding equal rights law which reads: "Furthermore, under the
equal protection standard it must appear that the statutes do not
invite invidious discrimination based on race, color, creed, sex,
national origin, or social class." 160 W. Va. at 179-80, 233 S.E.2d at 324. Appellant's equal protection argument fails to come
within the purview of the standard as he has neither alleged nor
proven that he is a member of a protected class.
Quite simply, Appellant is not entitled to more consideration
under the applicable laws than an individual who does not utilize
his vehicle during the work day other than for the purposes of
commuting to and from work. Appellant has been treated in the same
manner, as required by statute, as all others in this state who
have been found to have operated a motor vehicle under the
influence of alcohol. The DUI statutes at issue make no exceptions
with regard to the issue of license revocation.
Appellant further suggests that he has been denied equal
protection of the law based on his position that the statute is not
uniformly enforced. In support of this contention, he refers to
the fact that if the arresting officer does not appear to testify
at the administrative hearing, the revocation proceeding is
dismissed. As Appellee explains, "[w]hile it [is] true and
unfortunate that officers sometimes fail to appear and testify in
administrative hearings, the [DMV] Commissioner simply has no power
over such appearances by arresting officers." Notwithstanding this
issue of compelling arresting officers to testify at the
administrative hearings, an equal protection issue does not result.
As we previously recognized in Shell v. Bechtold, 175 W. Va.
792, 338 S.E.2d 393 (1985), "[t]he purpose of the administrative
sanction of license revocation is the removal of persons who drive
under the influence of alcohol and other intoxicants from our
highways." Id. at 796, 338 S.E.2d at 396. Appellant has never denied that he was properly arrested for DUI--only that the laws of
this state are fair in their application towards him. Upon review,
we conclude that the administrative procedures set forth in West
Virginia Code §§ 17C-5A-1 to -4, which permit the revocation of an
individual's license to operate a motor vehicle in this state for
driving under the influence of alcohol, are not violative of an
individual's constitutional rights of due process and equal
protection where such individual requires the use of his vehicle to
maintain employment.
Based on the foregoing, the decision of the Circuit Court of
Kanawha County is hereby affirmed.
Affirmed.
Footnote: 1
Although the statutes were amended in 1994, the statutory
provisions at issue are identical to those in effect in 1991.Footnote: 2
West Virginia Code § 17C-5A-1(c) provides, in pertinent part:
If, upon examination of the written
statement of the officer and the tests [sic]
results described in subsection (b) [blood,
breath, or urine] of this section, the
commissioner shall determine that a person was
arrested for an offense described in section
two, article five of this chapter [DUI] . . .,
and that the results of any secondary test or
tests indicate that at the time the test or
tests were administered the person had, in his
or her blood, an alcohol concentration of ten
hundredths of one percent or more, by weight,
. . . the commissioner shall make and enter an
order revoking the person's license to operate
a motor vehicle in this state. Footnote: 3
West Virginia Code § 17C-5A-2(a) provides, in part, that
[u]pon the written request of a person whose license to operate a motor vehicle in this state has been revoked or suspended under the provisions of section one [§ 17C-5A-1] of this article . . . the commissioner of motor vehicles shall stay the imposition of the period of revocation or suspension and afford the person an opportunity to be heard. Footnote: 4 Appellant explained additionally that the State has appointed him as the custodian of the individual's SSI payments and that he has been charged with the care of such individual for a number of years. Footnote: 5 West Virginia Code § 17C-5A-2(d) provides in part that: "The principal question at the hearing shall be whether the person did drive a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, . . . or did drive a motor vehicle while having an alcohol concentration in the person's blood of ten hundredths of one percent or more, by weight . . . ."Footnote: 6 We note, however, that these issues are more applicable to a claim which involves an alleged violation of procedural due process rather than substantive due process.
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