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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-2018 CIVILSHARON L. MYERS, Appellant IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA Vo CIVIL ACTION - LAW COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, BUREAU: OF DRIVER LICENSING, Appellee NO. 02-2018 CIVIL TERM IN RE: APPELLANT'S APPEAL FROM IMPOSITION OF IGNITION INTERLOCK REQUIREMENTS BEFORE OLER, J. OPINION and ORDER OF COURT OLER, J., July 29, 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 restoration requirements 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 January 2, 2001, 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 ~ Pet'r Ex. 1, Hr'g, Jul. 27, 2002 (Order of Ct., Feb. 27, 2001, Commonwealth v. Myers, No. 00- 2019 Criminal Term (Pa. Ct. Com. Pl. Cumberland Feb. 27, 2001) (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 restoration requirements letter dated February 27, 2002, that detailed prerequisites to restoration of her driving privilege. The Department of Transportation 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: You are required to have an approved Ignition Interlock System installed in all of your vehicle(s). Approximately 30 days before your ELIGIBILITY DATE, you should contact one of the following approved vendors listed below to make arrangements to have the System installed. - Interlock Installation Services - 1-800-452-1739 - Consumer Safety Technology, Inc. - 1-877-777-5020 - National Interlock, Inc. (serving Eastern PA) - 1-866-342-4984 - American Court Services (serving Central/Western PA) - 1-888-565-6227 - Guardian Interlock Systems - 1-800-499-0994 - Draeger Interlock, Inc. - 1-800-385-8666 You will need to provide the vendor with the following court information before the System can be installed. COUNTY COURT NUMBER COURT TERM CUMBERLAND CTY 02019 2000 Please retain a copy of this letter to assist you in this process. If you choose not to install the Ignition Interlock System in your vehicle(s), your driving privilege will remain suspended for an additional year.4 On April 25, 2002, Appellant filed a Petition for Appeal from Imposition of Ignition Interlock Requirement.5 A hearing was held on Appellant's appeal on July 29, 2002. 2 lc/. 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 Pet. for Appeal from Imposition of Ignition Interlock Requirements, filed Apr. 25, 2002, Ex. A (notice from Department of Transportation to Appellant, dated Feb. 27, 2002). 4/d. (notice from Department of Transportation to Appellant, dated Feb. 27, 2002). In Schneider v. Penns~vlvania 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 PermDOT 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. ]d. at 366 (footnotes and citations omitted) (emphasis omitted). 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. ]d. 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 29th day of July, 2002, upon consideration of Appellant's Appeal From Imposition of Ignition Interlock Requirements, 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 February 27, 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. Pennsylvania Department of Transportation 1101 South Front Street Harrisburg, PA 17104-2516 Attorney for Appellee Paul Bradford Orr, Esq. Law Offices of Paul Bradford Orr 50 East High Street Carlisle, PA 17013 Attorney for Appellant /s/J. Wesley Oler, Jr. J. Wesley Oler, Jr., J. SHARON L. MYERS, Appellant IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA Vo CIVIL ACTION - LAW COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, BUREAU: OF DRIVER LICENSING, Appellee NO. 02-2018 CIVIL TERM IN RE: APPELLANT'S APPEAL FROM IMPOSITION OF IGNITION INTERLOCK REQUIREMENTS BEFORE OLER, J. ORDER OF COURT AND NOW, this 29th day of July, 2002, upon consideration of Appellant's Appeal from Imposition of Ignition Interlock Requirements, 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 February 27, 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. Pennsylvania Department of Transportation 1101 S. Front Street Harrisburg, PA 17104-2516 Attorney for Appellee Paul Bradford Orr, Esq. Law Offices of Paul Bradford Orr 50 East High Street Carlisle, PA 17013 Attorney for Appellant J. Wesley Oler, Jr., J.