Rushworth v. Registrar of Motor Vehicles

• Decision Date: 27 July 1992
• Citation: 596 N.E.2d 340,413 Mass. 265
• Court: United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court
• Parties: William RUSHWORTH & others 1 v. REGISTRAR OF MOTOR VEHICLES.

Page 340

596 N.E.2d 340

413 Mass. 265

William RUSHWORTH & others ¹ v. REGISTRAR OF MOTOR VEHICLES.

Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Suffolk.

Argued May 5, 1992.

Decided July 27, 1992.

John Reinstein, Boston (Sarah Jennings Hunt, Cambridge, with him), for plaintiffs.

Pierce O. Cray, Asst. Atty. Gen., for defendant.

Before LIACOS, C.J., and WILKINS, ABRAMS, NOLAN, LYNCH, O'CONNOR and GREANEY, JJ.

GREANEY, Justice.

At issue is the validity of G.L. c. 90, § 22(f ), ² which requires the Registrar of Motor Vehicles automatically to suspend the driver's license or right to operate of a person convicted of violating G.L. c. 94C (1990 ed.), the Controlled Substances Act. The plaintiffs, three adult men whose licenses have been suspended pursuant to the statute, brought an action in the Superior Court against the Registrar seeking declaratory and injunctive relief. A statement of agreed facts and exhibits were filed, and a judge in the Superior Court reported the case for determination to the Appeals Court pursuant to G.L. c. 231, § 111, third par. (1990 ed.), and Mass.R.Civ.P. 64, 365 Mass. 831 (1974). We granted the plaintiffs' application for direct appellate review. The plaintiffs challenge the statute on due process, equal protection, and double jeopardy grounds. We reject their challenges and direct the entry of a declaratory judgment upholding the statute against the challenges made.

The following is the background of the case. As noted, G.L. c. 90, § 22(f ), requires that the Registrar suspend, for a period not to exceed five years, the driver's license or right to operate of a person convicted of violating any provision of G.L. c. 94C. Section 22(f ) itself is silent as to the minimum period of suspension and the criteria that the Registrar is to employ in determining its length. To add consistency to license suspensions that are imposed, the Registrar has established guidelines that contain a "Suspension Schedule." Generally, under the schedule, persons convicted of a simple possession offense under G.L. c. 94C receive one-year suspensions; those convicted of possession with intent to distribute a class D or E substance incur two-year suspensions; those convicted of possession with intent to distribute a class A, B, or C substance have their licenses suspended for three years (four years if it is their second offense); and those convicted of drug trafficking have their licenses suspended for five years. The guidelines promulgated by the Registrar also provide for an "Early Reinstatement Process," which allows a person who has completed one-half of the suspension to request the early reinstatement of driving privileges. ³

The plaintiff William Rushworth was arrested after marihuana was found on the passenger seat of his parked car. Rushworth admitted to sufficient facts and was found guilty in a District Court to possession of a class D substance (G.L. c. 94C, § 34), and was fined $500. The Registrar, acting pursuant to § 22(f ) and his suspension schedule, notified Rushworth that his license would be suspended for one year, and that on completion of one-half of his suspension period, he would be eligible to apply for early reinstatement. Rushworth appealed from his suspension to the board of appeals on motor vehicle liability policies and bonds (board). His appeal was denied.

The plaintiff William Sullivan's truck was searched at a Department of Transportation checkpoint. The police found marihuana and one pill for which Sullivan had no prescription. Sullivan was convicted in a District Court of possession of marihuana (G.L. c. 94C, § 34), and possession of an unscheduled prescription drug (same). He was fined and placed on probation for six months. Pursuant to § 22(f ), and the suspension schedule, the Registrar suspended Sullivan's driver's license for one year. Sullivan did not appeal from his suspension to the board.

The plaintiff James Peterson was arrested after a search of his home pursuant to a warrant led to the seizure of marihuana. Peterson entered an admission of sufficient facts in a District Court to a charge of possession with intent to distribute a class D substance (G.L. c. 94C, § 32C). Peterson was sentenced to a two-year term in a house of correction, thirty days to be served and the balance to be suspended. He was also fined and assessed costs. The Registrar, acting pursuant to § 22(f ), and the suspension schedule, suspended Peterson's license for two years. Peterson did not appeal from his suspension to the board. ⁴ Each of the plaintiffs claims to have suffered substantial hardship as a result of the suspension imposed on him. Two are truck drivers, and the third lives thirty miles from his job without access to public transportation.

1. Due process. The plaintiffs first argue that § 22(f ) violates their substantive due process rights. Under the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, a statute will satisfy due process if it "bears a reasonable relation to a permissible legislative objective." Pinnick v. Cleary, 360 Mass. 1, 14, 271 N.E.2d 592 (1971). Under Part II, C. 1, § 1, Art. 4, of the Massachusetts Constitution and arts. 1, 10, and 12 of the Declaration of Rights, a statute will satisfy due process if it "bears a real and substantial relation to the public health, safety, morals, or some other phase of the general welfare." Sperry & Hutchinson Co. v. Director of the Div. on the Necessaries of Life, 307 Mass. 408, 418, 30 N.E.2d 269 (1940).

The plaintiffs argue that the State due process provisions afford a "stricter" standard of due process review than the Fourteenth Amendment, and that § 22(f ) cannot pass that stricter test. Alternatively, the plaintiffs contend that even under the Fourteenth Amendment, § 22(f ) must be found to violate due process protections. ⁵ We do not agree.

This court has noted that, in examining a statute against due process challenges like those made here, "we have occasionally been less willing than the Federal courts to ascribe to the Legislature speculative and implausible ends, or to find rational the nexus said to exist between a plausible end and the chosen statutory means" (emphasis supplied). Blue Hills Cemetery, Inc. v. Board of Registration in Embalming & Funeral Directing, 379 Mass. 368, 373 n. 8, 398 N.E.2d 471 (1979). On occasion, in areas not involving protected or fundamental rights, we have struck down statutes solely for violation of State due process standards. See, e.g., Coffee-Rich, Inc. v. Commissioner of Pub. Health, 348 Mass. 414, 421, 204 N.E.2d 281 (1965) (statute totally prohibited the sale within the Commonwealth of a wholesome food product); Sperry & Hutchinson Co. v. Director of the Div. on the Necessaries of Life, supra, 307 Mass. at 418, 30 N.E.2d 269 (statute bore no relation to public health, safety, or morals). These two decisions involved statutes having little or no perceptible relation to the discernible public good. However, in cases in which such a relationship is apparent, we generally have stated that "[a]ny difference between the two constitutional standards [governing due process] ... is narrow," Blue Hills Cemetery, Inc. v. Board of Registration in Embalming & Funeral Directing, supra 379 Mass. at 373 n. 8, 398 N.E.2d 471, and "that the due process provisions of the Massachusetts Constitution ... afford protection comparable to that supplied by the Fourteenth Amendment." Boston v. Keene Corp., 406 Mass. 301, 308 n. 8, 547 N.E.2d 328 (1989). See Zeller v. Cantu, 395 Mass. 76, 83-84, 478 N.E.2d 930 (1985); Commonwealth v. Franklin Fruit Co., 388 Mass. 228, 235, 446 N.E.2d 63 (1983); Klein v. Catalano 386 Mass. 701, 707 n. 6, 437 N.E.2d 514 (1982).

Section 22(f ) is not like the statutes considered in the Coffee-Rich and Sperry & Hutchinson Co. cases, and we think our due process inquiry should more properly be focussed on whether § 22(f ) bears a reasonable relation to a permissible legislative objective. In making that inquiry, we keep in mind that § 22(f ) is entitled to a presumption of validity, Marshal House, Inc. v. Rent Control Bd. of Brookline, 358 Mass. 686, 694-695, 266 N.E.2d 876 (1971), and the plaintiffs have the burden of demonstrating that the statute lacks a rational basis. Commonwealth v. Franklin Fruit Co., supra. Klein v. Catalano, supra 386 Mass. at 706-707, 437 N.E.2d 514.

The plaintiffs argue that the suspensions mandated by G.L. c. 90, § 22(f ), violate due process because the statute does not further the purposes of G.L. c. 90, the comprehensive law regulating motor vehicles. They claim that the suspension of a driver's license, after a conviction under G.L. c. 94C, is irrational, particularly where the c. 94C violation is unconnected in any way with the safe operation of a motor vehicle.

The validity of § 22(f ), however, is not pinned to the plaintiffs' view of what the statute should seek to accomplish. Rather, as has been stated above, the examination concerns whether § 22(f ) serves a legitimate purpose in a rational way. Shell Oil Co. v. Revere, 383 Mass. 682, 686, 421 N.E.2d 1181 (1981). The choice of purpose and means is for the Legislature to make. Section 22(f ) clearly satisfies this standard. The Legislature could have concluded that the unlawful sale and use of drugs constitutes a serious problem in the Commonwealth, and that license suspensions for those who are convicted of violations of G.L. c. 94C could serve as a deterrent to illegal drug distribution and use, and as a means of rehabilitation. Further, the Legislature could have considered that license suspensions will in some cases further the goals of G.L. c. 90, § 24(1)(a )(1), by keeping impaired drivers off the roads. These goals are proper legislative objectives. ⁶ Commonwealth v. McQuoid, 369 Mass. 925, 927, 344 N.E.2d 179 (1976). Marshal House, Inc. v. Rent Control Bd. of Brookline, supra 358 Mass. at 695, 266 N.E.2d 876.

2. Equal...