Griffin v. State

Decision Date05 September 1995
Docket NumberNo. 27A04-9502-PC-43,27A04-9502-PC-43
Citation654 N.E.2d 911
PartiesJimmy J. GRIFFIN, Appellant-Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff.
CourtIndiana Appellate Court
OPINION

CHEZEM, Judge.

Case Summary

Appellant-defendant, Jimmy Griffin ("Griffin"), appeals his conviction for Operating a Motor Vehicle While Privileges are Suspended, 1 a class D felony. We reverse.

Issue

Although, Griffin presents three issues for review, we address only the following as it is dispositive: whether the contents of the Bureau of Motor Vehicle's notice to Griffin of his license suspension sufficiently complied with the statute.

Facts and Procedural History

On September 9, 1994, Indiana State Trooper David Haines pulled over Griffin on a routine traffic stop. Griffin produced a Nevada driver's license. After running a records check, Trooper Haines discovered that Griffin's Indiana driving privileges had been suspended for being a habitual traffic offender ("HTO").

Griffin was charged with Operating a Motor Vehicle While Privileges are Suspended. At trial, the State introduced a copy of Griffin's driving record from the BMV. The record indicated that a suspension notice had been mailed to Griffin at two addresses. The State also introduced a copy of the suspension notice itself, dated December 18, 1992. The notice stated that the BMV had determined from its records that Griffin was a HTO and that his license would be suspended for ten years effective January 28, 1993. Griffin was found guilty.

Discussion and Decision

The three elements of a prosecution under IC 9-30-10-16 are: (1) operating a motor vehicle; (2) while driving privileges are suspended; and (3) a showing that the defendant knew his driving privileges had been suspended as a result of his HTO status. Stanek v. State (1988), Ind.App., 519 N.E.2d 1263. Griffin argues there is insufficient evidence of a valid suspension because the December 18, 1992 suspension notice did not contain the advisements required by statute.

Indiana Code § 9-30-10-5 provides in pertinent part:

(a) ... the bureau shall mail a notice to the person's last known address that informs the person that the person's driving privileges will be suspended for thirty (30) days because the person is a habitual violator according to the records of the bureau.

* * * * * *

(c) The notice must inform the person that the person may be entitled to relief under section 6 of this chapter or may seek judicial review of a person's suspension under this chapter.

Although proof of mailing is not an element of operating a motor vehicle while privileges are suspended, it is an evidentiary prerequisite to establishing that the suspension is valid as occurring 30 days after the notice of suspension. Borton v. State (1990), Ind.App., 563 N.E.2d 182, 183. Further, proof of the contents of the notice mailed is an evidentiary prerequisite to a valid suspension. Bishop v. State (1994), Ind.App., 638 N.E.2d 1278, reh. denied.

The December 18, 1992 suspension notice mailed to Griffin contained the following language:

The Bureau of Motor Vehicles has determined that you qualify as a habitual traffic violator (Indiana Code 9-30-10-4(B)). Therefore, your driving privileges will be suspended for a ten year period effective Jan. 28, 1993. If our records contain a clerical error, you may request an administrative review (see enclosed form). You may be entitled to a probationary license after serving five consecutive years of...

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12 cases
  • Fields v. State
    • United States
    • Indiana Appellate Court
    • December 31, 1996
    ...as permissible evidence from which a necessary element, a driver's knowledge of the suspension, may be inferred"); Griffin v. State, 654 N.E.2d 911, 912 (Ind.Ct.App.1995); McKeown v. State, 601 N.E.2d 462, 466 (Ind.Ct.App.1992), trans. denied ("First we note that proof of mailing was not an......
  • DeSantis v. State
    • United States
    • Indiana Appellate Court
    • December 21, 2001
    ...driver's license be validly suspended."), disapproved by Stewart v. State, 721 N.E.2d 876, 880 (Ind.1999); see also Griffin v. State, 654 N.E.2d 911, 912 (Ind.Ct.App.1995) ("As Griffin's license suspension was invalid, his conviction of operating a motor vehicle while privileges are suspend......
  • Etter v. State
    • United States
    • Indiana Appellate Court
    • May 27, 1999
    ...in the evidence being insufficient to sustain a conviction for Driving While Suspended. Pebley, 686 N.E.2d at 170; Griffin v. State, 654 N.E.2d 911, 912 (Ind.Ct.App.1995). Citing Pebley and Griffin, Etter argues that his conviction must be vacated. Etter fails to recognize the important dis......
  • Pebley v. State, 34A02-9609-CR-558
    • United States
    • Indiana Appellate Court
    • October 20, 1997
    ...driving privileges are suspended; and (3) a showing that the defendant knew his driving privileges were suspended. Griffin v. State, 654 N.E.2d 911, 912 (Ind.Ct.App.1995). In order to effectively suspend a defendant's license, Indiana Code § 9-30-10-5 (1992) (a) ... the bureau shall mail a ......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

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