Larsen v. North Dakota Dept. of Transp.
Decision Date | 04 March 2005 |
Docket Number | No. 20040158.,20040158. |
Citation | 693 N.W.2d 39,2005 ND 51 |
Court | North Dakota Supreme Court |
Parties | Stephan T. LARSEN, Petitioner and Appellant v. NORTH DAKOTA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, Respondent and Appellee. |
William D. Schmidt, Schmitz & Schmidt, Bismarck, ND, for petitioner and appellant.
Andrew Moraghan, Assistant Attorney General, Bismarck, ND, for respondent and appellee.
[¶ 1] Stephan Larsen appeals from a district court judgment affirming an order of the North Dakota Department of Transportation ("DOT") suspending his driver's license for a period of two years. We reverse and remand, concluding N.D.C.C. § 39-20-04.1(1) does not authorize a suspension of Larsen's license for two years.
[¶ 2] On November 15, 2003, Larsen was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. An Intoxilyzer test showed Larsen had a blood alcohol content of .19 percent. Larsen's license had previously been suspended, while he was a juvenile in 2000, for driving under the influence of alcohol. Larsen had a blood alcohol content of .05 percent in the 2000 incident.
[¶ 3] After receiving notice from DOT that his license would be suspended for the 2003 incident, Larsen requested a hearing. The hearing officer ordered that Larsen's license be suspended for two years under N.D.C.C. § 39-20-04.1(1)(d). Larsen appealed to the district court, arguing that N.D.C.C. § 39-20-04.1(1) only authorized suspension of his license for 365 days. The district court affirmed DOT's order suspending his license for two years, and Larsen has appealed to this Court.
[¶ 4] Judicial review of a decision to suspend a driver's license is governed by the Administrative Agencies Practice Act, N.D.C.C. ch. 28-32. Kiecker v. North Dakota Dep't of Transp., 2005 ND 23, ¶ 7, 691 N.W.2d 266. Under N.D.C.C. § 28-32-46, the district court must affirm an order of an administrative agency unless it finds any of the following are present:
On an appeal from a district court's ruling on an administrative appeal, this Court reviews the agency order in the same manner. N.D.C.C. § 28-32-49; Ringsaker v. Workforce Safety & Ins. Fund, 2005 ND 44, ¶ 9.
[¶ 5] The interpretation of a statute is a question of law, which is fully reviewable on appeal. Johnson v. North Dakota Dep't of Transp., 2004 ND 148, ¶ 5, 683 N.W.2d 886. When an appeal involves interpretation of a statute, this Court will affirm the agency's order unless it finds that the order is not in accordance with the law. Id.
[¶ 6] The sole issue presented on appeal is whether N.D.C.C. § 39-20-04.1(1) authorizes a two-year suspension of Larsen's license under the facts of this case. Larsen concedes a suspension of his license is appropriate, but argues the suspension should be for only 365 days.
[¶ 7] Section 39-20-04.1(1), N.D.C.C., authorizes the director of DOT to suspend an operator's license when a person has driven while under the influence of alcohol:
[¶ 8] Larsen's Intoxilyzer test showed a blood alcohol content of over . 18 percent. He also had a prior suspension for an offense with a blood alcohol content of .05 percent. DOT argues that this falls within the first part of N.D.C.C. § 39-20-04.1(1)(d), and authorizes a two-year suspension of Larsen's license.
DOT argues that the statute is inartfully drafted, but essentially concedes that, if read literally, this provision focuses upon the blood alcohol content of the prior offense, not the current offense. However, DOT argues that, to make the entire statute logically consistent, we should read additional punctuation and language into the statute so that a two-year...
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