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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-1888 CIVILDEANNA RAE STONE, Appellant Vo IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA CIVIL ACTION - LAW LICENSE SUSPENSION APPEAL COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, BUREAU: OF DRIVER LICENSING, Appellee NO. 02-1888 CIVIL TERM IN RE: APPELLANT'S LICENSE SUSPENSION APPEAL BEFORE OLER~ J. OPINION and ORDER OF COURT OLER, J., July 25, 2002. In this appeal of an action taken by Appellee, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Transportation, Bureau of Driver Licensing (hereinafter Department of Transportation or Appellee), Appellant requests that this court rescind that part of a license suspension notice that required, as a prerequisite to scheduled restoration of Appellant's driving privilege, that Appellant equip each of the vehicles owned by her with an ignition interlock system. For the reasons stated in this opinion, Appellant's appeal will be sustained. DISCUSSION The facts in the present case are not in dispute. In an underlying criminal case, Appellant, having pled guilty on February 19, 2002, to driving under the influence, was sentenced to pay the costs of prosecution and a fine, to undergo a term of imprisonment of thirty days to twenty-three months in the county prison, and, as a prerequisite to restoration of her driving privilege, to complete an alcohol treatment program.~ The 1 Appellant's Appeal of License Suspension, filed Apr. 17, 2002, Ex B (Order of Ct., Mar. 26, 2002, Commonwealth v. Stone, No. 01-2532 Criminal Term (Pa. Ct. Com. Pl. Cumberland Mar. 26, 2002) (Oler, J.)). sentencing court did not include a requirement that Appellant install ignition interlock systems in her vehicles.2 Subsequent to this sentencing order, the Department of Transportation sent Appellant a suspension notice dated April 11, 2002, that detailed prerequisites to restoration of her driving privilege. In addition to the requirement in the sentencing order, the Department of Transportation also required, as a prerequisite to scheduled restoration, that Appellant install an approved ignition interlock system in each vehicle that she owned.3 The notice stated, in relevant part, as follows: Before your driving privilege can be restored you are required by law to have all vehicle(s) owned by you to be equipped with an Ignition Interlock System. This is a result of your conviction for Driving Under the Influence. If you fail to comply with this requirement, your driving 4 privilege will remain suspended for an additional year. On April 11, 2002, Appellant filed a license suspension appeal from this aspect of the notice.5 A hearing was held on Appellant's appeal on July 22, 2002. In Schneider v. Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, 790 A.2d 363 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2002), the Commonwealth Court stated: Although [the appellant] had two DUI offenses and pursuant to Section 7002(b), the trial court was required to order installation of an ignition interlock device, that failure does not mean that PennDOT has been given authority to override the trial court's order and require installation. Section 7002 provides that only "the court shall order the installation on an approved ignition interlock device .... "Because this provision gives a court the sole authority, PennDOT has no unilateral authority to impose ignition interlock device requirements if the trial court fails to do so. Id at 366 (footnotes and citations omitted) (emphasis omitted). 2 Id In Commonwealth v. Mockaitis, 50 Cumberland L.J. 184 (2001), a challenge to the constitutionality of the statutory ignition interlock system requirement was upheld by the Honorable Edgar B. Bayley of this court. 3Appellant's Appeal of License Suspension, filed Apr. 17, 2002, Ex. A (notice from Department of Transportation to Appellant, dated Apr. 11, 2002). 4 Jcl. (notice from Department of Transportation to Appellant, dated Apr. 11, 2002). 5Id. Accordingly, the Commonwealth Court affirmed the trial court's order rescinding the ignition interlock system provision in the suspension notice issued to the appellant by the Department of Transportation. Id. On this issue, Schneider is indistinguishable from the present case and, accordingly, the same result must obtain herein. Appellant's appeal will be sustained, without prejudice to Appellee's right to pursue a challenge to this holding, as prescribed by Schneider, on appeal. For the foregoing reasons, the following order will be entered: ORDER OF COURT AND NOW, this 25th day of July, 2002, upon consideration of Appellant's license suspension appeal, and for the reasons stated in the accompanying opinion, the appeal is sustained to the extent that the portion of the Department of Transportation's April 11, 2002, notice requiring Appellant to equip her vehicles with ignition interlock systems, as a prerequisite to scheduled restoration of her driving privilege, is rescinded. BY THE COURT, George Kabusk, Esq. Timothy J. Prendergast, Certified Legal Intern Pennsylvania Department of Transportation 1101 South Front Street Harrisburg, PA 17104-2516 Attorney for Appellee Patrick F. Lauer, Jr., Esq. 2108 Market Street Aztec Building Camp Hill, PA 17011 Attorney for Appellant /s/J. Wesley Oler, Jr. J. Wesley Oler, Jr., J. DEANNA RAE STONE, Appellant Vo IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA CIVIL ACTION - LAW LICENSE SUSPENSION APPEAL COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, BUREAU: OF DRIVER LICENSING, Appellee NO. 02-1888 CIVIL TERM IN RE: APPELLANT'S LICENSE SUSPENSION APPEAL BEFORE OLER~ J. ORDER OF COURT AND NOW, this 25th day of July, 2002, upon consideration of Appellant's license suspension appeal, and for the reasons stated in the accompanying opinion, the appeal is sustained to the extent that the portion of the Department of Transportation's April 11, 2002, notice requiring Appellant to equip her vehicles with ignition interlock systems, as a prerequisite to scheduled restoration of her driving privilege, is rescinded. BY THE COURT, George Kabusk, Esq. Timothy J. Prendergast, Certified Legal Intern Pennsylvania Department of Transportation 1101 S. Front Street Harrisburg, PA 17104-2516 Attorney for Appellee Patrick F. Lauer, Jr., Esq. 2108 Market Street Aztec Building Camp Hill, PA 17011 Attorney for Appellant J. Wesley Oler, Jr., J.