Augustino v. Colorado Dept. of Revenue Motor Vehicle Division
Decision Date | 06 June 1977 |
Docket Number | No. 27066,27066 |
Citation | 193 Colo. 273,565 P.2d 933 |
Parties | Sebastian Salvatore AUGUSTINO, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE MOTOR VEHICLE DIVISION, Defendant-Appellee. |
Court | Colorado Supreme Court |
Dan Stormer, La Junta, for plaintiff-appellant.
J. D. MacFarlane, Atty. Gen., Jean E. Dubofsky, Deputy Atty. Gen., Edward G. Donovan, Solicitor Gen., Arthur G. Staliwe, Sp. Asst. Atty. Gen., Denver, for defendant-appellee.
EN BANC.
The appellant appeals the decision of the district court affirming the revocation of his driver's license under the Colorado implied consent law, section 42-4-1202, C.R.S.1973. He bases his appeal on the grounds that: (1) he did not knowingly refuse to take an intoxication test and (2) section 42-4-1202(3)(e) violates his right to equal protection. We find his arguments to be without merit and therefore affirm.
The appellant was arrested in January, 1975, for a traffic offense, and he refused to take an intoxication test. An administrative hearing was held to determine whether the appellant's license should be revoked.
The police officers testified that, because he smelled strongly of alcohol and had trouble controlling his gait and articulating they advised the appellant of his Miranda rights and then took him to the police station. At the station, they again read the appellant his Miranda rights and informed him of his rights as required by section 42-4-1202(3)(b). The officers testified further that the appellant had been belligerent and had displayed a totally uncooperative attitude. He refused to listen to the recitation of his rights, to read or sign the implied consent form, and to take any intoxication test.
The appellant testified that he had refused to cooperate because he had asked for a lawyer before signing anything, and the police had denied the request. The appellant testified freely.
The hearing officer questioned the officers as to whether the appellant might have been confused between the Miranda rights and the implied consent rights. She found that a preponderance of the evidence showed that the police officers had reasonable grounds to request that the appellant submit to an intoxication test. She further found that the appellant had been informed of his rights pursuant to section 42-4-1202(3)(b), that he had refused to take any test, and that he had failed to provide any evidence that taking the test would have been medically inadvisable. Therefore, she ordered that the appellant's license be revoked, as required by section 42-4-1202(3)(e).
Augustino appealed this ruling to the District Court of Otero County. The court affirmed, finding that the record, when considered as a whole, showed that the hearing officer's decision was neither arbitrary nor capricious.
The other officer testified that, when they had given the appellant the implied consent form to sign, he just threw it on the table and refused to have anything to do with it. There was no evidence that the appellant had asked for an attorney or that the officers had denied such a request.
The circumstances surrounding the administrative hearing in this case also do not fall within the ambit of the Calvert decision. In Calvert, the hearing officer did not consider the question as to whether Calvert might have been misled by the reading of his Miranda rights. In the appellant's case, the hearing officer did consider the question; and on review, the district court found the hearing officer's decision was not arbitrary or capricious. Additionally, we note that neither the appellant nor his counsel made any effort to request a continuance of the administrative hearing when it was apparent that counsel would not be present.
As there was substantial evidence to justify the hearing officer's decision and no abuse of discretion at the administrative hearing, we affirm the ruling of the district court. Morrison Road Bar, Inc. v. Industrial Commission, 138 Colo. 16, 328 P.2d 1076 (1958).
We hold that section 42-4-1202(3)(e) of the implied consent law, which mandates revocation of licenses of those drivers who refuse to take a blood alcohol test for intoxication but makes revocation discretionary for drunken drivers who take a test, does not violate the appellant's right of equal protection.
A person's right to drive an automobile in Colorado is an adjunct of his constitutional right to possess property, but the state may limit that right through proper exercise of its police power when the limitation is based upon a reasonable relationship to the public health, safety and welfare. People v. Brown, 174 Colo. 513, 485 P.2d 500 (1971), appeal dismissed, 404 U.S. 1007, 92 S.Ct. 671, 30 L.Ed.2d 656 (1972).
The purpose of the mandatory revocation penalty is "to encourage the suspected drunk driver to take a blood alcohol test voluntarily". Calvert, supra, 184 Colo. at 217, 519 P.2d at 343. The test assists in the prosecution of the drunken driver and the reduction of accidents, injuries and deaths on Colorado's roads. People v. Brown, supra; Colorado Legislative Council Research Publication No. 123, Highway Safety in Colorado, 37-46 (1966).
We quote with approval from Walker v. Department of Motor Vehicles, 274 Cal.App.2d 793, 79 Cal.Rptr. 433 (1969), which concerned a similar mandatory revocation penalty in California's implied consent statute:
To continue reading
Request your trial-
Dayhoff v. State, Motor Vehicle Division
...is to curb drunk driving by assisting law enforcement officers in prosecuting those who drink and drive, Augustino v. Colorado Department of Revenue, Colo., 565 P.2d 933 (1977); Calvert v. Motor Vehicle Division, 184 Colo. 214, 519 P.2d 341 (1974); Zahtila v. Motor Vehicle Division, Colo.Ap......
-
Noe v. Dolan
...assists in the prosecution of drunken drivers and the reduction of accidents, injuries and deaths, Augustino v. Colorado Dept. of Revenue, 193 Colo. 273, 565 P.2d 933 (1977), the refusal to take the test thwarts the enforcement of the statute proscribing driving while under the influence. S......
-
People v. Olson
...the remedial purpose of fostering the safety of the general public who use the highways of the state. See Augustino v. Department of Revenue, 193 Colo. 273, 565 P.2d 933 (1977) (purpose of mandatory revocation penalty is to encourage the voluntary taking of a blood alcohol test which assist......
-
People v. Wehmas
...reenacted 2008) (refusal to take tests requires administrative revocation of drivers license). See also Augustino v. Colo. Dept. of Rev., 193 Colo. 273, 276, 565 P.2d 933, 935 (1977) (explaining that the purpose of mandatory drivers license revocation procedures is to encourage suspected dr......
-
There Must Be Fifty Ways to Lose Your (driver's) License
...6. CRS § 42-2-124(1). 7. Zahtila v. Motor Vehicle Division, 560 P.2d 847 (Colo.App. 1977); see also Augustino v. Department of Revenue, 565 P.2d 933 (Colo. 1977) (different treatment of drivers who refuse a test and drivers who fail a test is not a denial of equal protection). 8. CRS § 42-2......