Petrovick v. COM., DEPT OF TRANSP.

• Decision Date: 13 December 1999
• Parties: Shannon PETROVICK, Appellee, v. COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, BUREAU OF DRIVER LICENSING, Appellant. Philip J. Frantz, Appellee, v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Transportation, Bureau of Driver Licensing, Appellant, Donald Joseph Eck, Appellee, v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Transportation, Bureau of Driver Licensing, Appellant.
• Court: Pennsylvania Supreme Court

559 Pa. 614

741 A.2d 1264

Shannon PETROVICK, Appellee, v. COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, BUREAU OF DRIVER LICENSING, Appellant.

Philip J. Frantz, Appellee, v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Transportation, Bureau of Driver Licensing, Appellant, Donald Joseph Eck, Appellee, v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Transportation, Bureau of Driver Licensing, Appellant.

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Argued April 27, 1999.

Decided December 13, 1999.

Timothy P. Wile, Asst. Counsel, Harold H. Cramer, Asst. Chief Counsel, Andrew S. Gordon, Chief Counsel, Dept. of Transp., Paul A. Tufano, Gen. Counsel, for Dept. of Transp. & Com.

Kelly M. Carrubba, Jermyn, for Shannon Petrovick. Francis X. O'Connor, Great Bend, for Philip J. Frantz.

Angelo T. Almonti, Allentown, for Donald Joseph Eck.

Before FLAHERTY, C.J., and ZAPPALA, CAPPY, CASTILLE, NIGRO, NEWMAN and SAYLOR, JJ.

OPINION

CAPPY, Justice.

We granted allocatur in these three consolidated cases to address the effect of an out-of-state conviction under New York's driving while ability impaired (DWAI) statute and Maryland's driving while under the influence (DUI) statute upon a Pennsylvania citizen's driver license privileges pursuant to the Driver License Compact (Compact). The Compact is an agreement among several states to promote compliance with each party state's motor vehicle laws. 75 Pa.C.S. § 1581, Article I(b)(1)-(2). Pennsylvania became a party state to the Compact in 1996 by adopting sections 1581-1585 of the Motor Vehicle Code. In each of these three cases, Pennsylvania's Department of Transportation (PennDOT) revoked the driver's license of a Pennsylvania citizen for an out-of-state conviction. In each case, the Commonwealth Court affirmed the trial court's reversal of PennDOT's suspension of the licenses of Appellees, and directed PennDOT to reinstate Appellees' driving privileges. For the reasons set forth herein, we affirm.

Our scope of review of a decision in a license suspension case is to determine if the factual findings of the trial court are supported by competent evidence, and whether the trial court committed an error of law or an abuse of discretion. Commonwealth of Penn., Dept. of Transportation, Bureau of Driver Licensing v. Boucher, 547 Pa. 440, 691 A.2d 450, 453, reargument denied (Pa.1997).

On March 12, 1997, Appellee Shannon Petrovick was convicted in New York of violating N.Y. Veh. & Traf. Law § 1192(1). Appellee Philip Frantz was found guilty of the same offense on August 22, 1997. The New York Department of Motor Vehicles reported the convictions to PennDOT on March 31, 1997 and September 8, 1997, respectively. Subsequently, PennDOT treated Appellees' out-of-state convictions as if they were violations of Pennsylvania's DUI statute, 75 Pa.C.S. 3731(a), and suspended Appellees' licenses for one year, pursuant to the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Code, 75 Pa.C.S. § 1532(b)(3), which mandates a one-year suspension of the driving privileges of persons who have been convicted of violating 75 Pa.C.S. § 3731. On June 9, 1997, Appellee Donald Eck was convicted in Maryland for driving while under the influence of alcohol in violation of Md.Code, Trans. § 21-902(b). The Maryland Department of Transportation reported Eck's conviction to PennDOT, which, in turn, notified Eck on June 27, 1997 that his driving privileges were being suspended for one year due to his conviction for an offense deemed to be equivalent to 75 Pa.C.S. § 3731.

Initially, we must clarify the appropriate analysis under Article IV of the Compact. Appellant has framed the issue as whether the Pennsylvania drunk driving statute, 75 Pa.C.S. § 3731, is "substantially similar" to the drunk driving provisions under which Appellees were convicted in New York and Maryland. Appellant's characterization of the issue infers an improper analysis. The Compact does not require a comparison of different states' drunk driving statutes. Rather, the relevant inquiry is whether each state's drunk driving provisions are "of a substantially similar nature" to Article IV(a)(2) of the Compact.

Pennsylvania, Maryland and New York are party states to the Compact. Article III of the Compact provides in pertinent part that "the licensing authority of a party state shall report each conviction of a person from another party state occurring within its jurisdiction to the licensing authority of the home state of the licensee."¹ Pursuant to Article IV(a)(2) of the Compact, when a party state reports a conviction for "driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor ... to a degree which renders the driver incapable of safely driving a motor vehicle," PennDOT must give the same effect to the out-of-state conviction that the licensee would receive if the conviction had occurred within Pennsylvania.

Subsection (c) provides a method to evaluate offenses reported pursuant to subsection (a)(2). Where the laws of a party state do not provide for offenses which are described in precisely the words contained in subsection (a)(2) (i.e., "to a degree which renders the driver incapable of safely driving a motor vehicle"), Article IV(c) authorizes the party state to construe the offense described in subsection (a)(2) as identifying offenses in the party state which are "of a substantially similar nature" to (a)(2) (emphasis added).²

Thus, the Compact does not call for a direct comparison of Pennsylvania's statute to the out-of-state statute. Rather, the Compact requires a two-pronged test. First, we must evaluate whether there is a Pennsylvania offense which is "of a substantially similar nature" to the provisions of Article IV(a)(2). Second, we must evaluate whether there is a Maryland or New York offense which is "of a substantially similar nature" to Article IV(a)(2). Both prongs must be satisfied before PennDOT can sanction a Pennsylvania citizen for an out-of-state conviction.³

In order to make the comparison between the out-of-state offense and Article IV(a)(2), we need to understand the meaning of the phrase "driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor ... to a degree which renders the driver incapable of safely driving a motor vehicle" in Article IV(a)(2). Pennsylvania's legislature has not defined this phrase. However, similar language is found in Pennsylvania's DUI statute "while provides in pertinent part that it is an offense to drive "while under the influence of alcohol to a degree which renders the person incapable of safe driving...." 75 Pa.C.S. § 3731(a)(1).⁴ Therefore we can look to Pennsylvania case law interpreting the terminology of section 3731(a)(1) for guidance.⁵

In Commonwealth v. Griscavage, 512 Pa. 540, 517 A.2d 1256 (1986), this court addressed the sufficiency of evidence pursuant to a violation of 75 Pa.C.S. § 3731. We explained that the term "under the influence of alcohol" in this statute encompasses "all the well known and easily recognized conditions and degrees of intoxication" as well as "any mental or physical condition which is the result of drinking alcoholic beverages and ... substantially impairs his judgment, or clearness of intellect, or any of the normal faculties essential to the safe operation of an automobile." Id. at 1258 (quoting Commonwealth v. Horn, 395 Pa. 585, 150 A.2d 872, 875 (1959)

). In this context, "substantial impairment" indicates "a diminution or enfeeblement in the ability to exercise judgment, to deliberate or to react prudently to changing circumstances and conditions. Its meaning is not limited to some extreme condition of disability." 517 A.2d at 1258. Thus, while Pennsylvania may not require an extreme condition of disability, it does require "substantial impairment", and that the driver's ability be diminished to an extent that he is incapable of safe driving.

As to the first prong of the test, we find that the provisions of Pennsylvania's DUI statute, specifically section 3731(a)(1) ("incapable of safe driving") are of a substantially similar nature to the provisions of Article IV(a)(2) ("incapable of safely driving"), and therefore PennDOT is entitled to treat violations of Article IV(a)(2) as if they were violations of 75 Pa.C.S. § 3731. Turning to the second prong, we must now determine whether the offenses reported by New York and Maryland are "of a substantially similar nature" to Article IV(a)(2). We will address each statute in turn.

The New York Statute

The New York statutory provision at issue states in pertinent part:

§ 1192. Operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

1. Driving while ability impaired. No person shall operate a motor vehicle while the person's ability to operate such motor vehicle is impaired by the consumption of alcohol.

2. Driving while intoxicated; per se. No person shall operate a motor vehicle while such person has .10 of one per centum or more by weight of alcohol in the person's blood as shown by chemical analysis of such person's blood, breath, urine or saliva, made pursuant to the provisions of section eleven hundred ninety-four of this article.

3. Driving while intoxicated. No person shall operate a motor vehicle while in an intoxicated condition.

N.Y. Veh. & Traf. Law §§ 1192(1)-(3).

In the Petrovick and Frantz appeals, the Commonwealth Court affirmed the trial court's reversal of the suspension based upon its reasoning in Olmstead v. Dept. of Transportation, Bureau of Driver Licensing, 677 A.2d 1285 (Pa.Cmwlth. 1996), aff'd per curiam, 550 Pa. 578, 707 A.2d 1144 (1998). The appellant in Olmstead argued that Pennsylvania had no offense that was essentially similar to New York's DWAI law, N.Y. Veh. & Traf. Law § 1192(1); to the contrary, Pennsylvania's DUI statute, 75 Pa.C.S. § 3731, was substantially akin to a different provision, New York's Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) Law. In order to interpret the provisions of the New York statute, the ...