Bureau of Motor Vehicles v. Scott
| Decision Date | 19 September 1986 |
| Docket Number | No. 484S144,484S144 |
| Parties | BUREAU OF MOTOR VEHICLES, Appellant (Defendant Below), v. Randy SCOTT, Appellee (Plaintiff Below). |
| Court | Indiana Supreme Court |
Linley E. Pearson, Atty. Gen., Arthur M. Small, Deputy Atty. Gen., Indianapolis, for appellant.
Max Howard, Anderson, for appellee.
Appellant Bureau of Motor Vehicles appeals the judgment by which the Madison Circuit Court found that appellee Randy Scott had been erroneously determined to be an habitual traffic offender and declared that the administrative suspension procedures of the Habitual Traffic Offender Act 1, were unconstitutional under the "due course of law" provisions of the Indiana Constitution, Art. 1, Sec. 12. Because we believe the trial court unnecessarily reached the constitutional question, we affirm only the trial court's finding that Scott was not an habitual traffic offender. The judgment of the trial court finding the administrative suspension procedures of the Habitual Traffic Offender Act unconstitutional is vacated.
These proceedings were set in motion on August 31, 1983, when Scott, a professional truck driver, received a letter from the Bureau informing him that his driver's license would be suspended effective September 2, 1983. The Bureau alleged three convictions for traffic offenses upon which it determined that Scott was an habitual traffic offender under Ind. Code Sec. 9-4-13-3(a)(2): (1) driving while intoxicated on October 8, 1981, (2) driving with a suspended license on March 31, 1975, and (3) reckless driving on January 16, 1975.
The next day, Scott filed a complaint in the Madison Circuit Court and obtained a temporary restraining order preventing the Bureau from suspending his driver's license. On September 9, 1983, at a hearing on Scott's request for a preliminary injunction, Scott presented a certified docket entry from the city court of Anderson showing that the March 31, 1975, charge of driving with a suspended license had been dismissed. The Bureau did not contest this evidence, and a preliminary injunction was ordered. At no time during the pendancy of these proceedings has Scott's license been suspended.
Scott's motion for summary judgment on his complaint for a permanent injunction was heard on January 18, 1984. The Bureau condeded that it was "in no position to contest" that Scott's driving while suspended charge had been dismissed. However, the parties went on to argue extensively the merits of Scott's constitutional challenge.
Because it was plain that Scott had accumulated only two of the three convictions required under Ind. Code Sec. 9-4-13-3(a)(2), the trial court determined that he was not an habitual traffic offender. It also held 10. Public Law 127-1983 was enacted April 19, 1983 and became effective September 1, 1983. It authorizes summary driving license suspension without prior notification or review and thereby violates Article 1 Section 12 of the Indiana Constitution.
11. Public Law 127-1983 does not contain a severability clause and, therefore, the entire act is unconstitutional.
The court's determination that Scott is not an habitual traffic offender is supported by the evidence before us and will not be disturbed on review. In fact, the Bureau does not argue that Scott is an habitual traffic offender. Though the Bureau urges us to reverse the judgment of the trial court, there appears to be no controversy over the substantive determination that Scott is not an habitual traffic offender. Rather, the parties urge this Court to rule on the constitutionality of the administrative procedures used in suspending Scott's license. We decline.
It is long established that "a constitutional question unnecessary to a determination of the merits should not be decided." Passwater v. Winn (1967), 248 Ind. 404, 405, 229 N.E.2d 622, 623; accord, Hammond City Court v. State ex rel. Hofbauer (1965), 247 Ind. 300, 208 N.E.2d 682; Greene, Mayor v. Holmes (1928) 201 Ind. 123, ...
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