State v. Dube

• Decision Date: 31 December 1979
• Citation: 409 A.2d 1102
• Parties: STATE of Maine v. John A. DUBE.
• Court: Maine Supreme Court

Page 1102

409 A.2d 1102

STATE of Maine v. John A. DUBE.

Supreme Judicial Court of Maine.

Dec. 31, 1979.

Horace S. Libby, Cushing W. Pagon, William E. Furber (orally), Public Utilities Commission, Augusta, John McElwee, Dist. Atty., Houlton, William J. Smith, Asst. Dist. Atty., Van Buren, for plaintiff.

Eaton, Peabody, Bradford & Veague by Daniel G. McKay, Bangor (orally), for defendant.

Before McKUSICK, C. J., and GODFREY, POMEROY, WERNICK, ARCHIBALD, NICHOLS and GLASSMAN, JJ.

GODFREY, Justice.

Chapter 52, section 18(a) of the Rules and Regulations of the Maine Public Utilities Commission (referred to herein as "Rule 18(a)") provides as follows:

"No motor carrier under the jurisdiction of the Commission shall drive nor shall any such carrier require or permit any person to drive any motor vehicle operated under the provisions of Title 35, M.R.S.A. Sections 1551 to 1563, inclusive, unless the person so driving shall have attained the age of 21 years and shall have obtained an operator's or chauffeur's license . . . ."

Subsection (1) of 35 M.R.S.A. § 1563 makes violation of any rule or regulation of the Commission punishable by fine or imprisonment, and subsection (3) of that section makes the employee-driver himself liable to the penalties provided in subsection (1) if the motor vehicle is operated in violation of the statute or of any rule, regulation or order issued by the Commission pursuant thereto.

John A. Dube appeals from two convictions for violating Rule 18(a) by driving on two occasions a tractor trailer subject to the Commission's jurisdiction when he was only nineteen years old. His appeal challenges both the Commission's authority to impose the age requirement and the constitutionality of the requirement under the due process and equal protection clauses. He also argues that the rule was impliedly amended by section 8 of chapter 598 of the Public Laws of 1971, amending 1 M.R.S.A. § 73 (1979) by lowering the age of majority from 21 to 18 "for all purposes." We deny the appeals.

Procedure

These were criminal proceedings, governed by the Maine District Court Criminal Rules. The penalty for violating a Commission regulation of motor carriers for hire consists of "a fine of not less that $10 nor more than $500, or by imprisonment for not more than 11 months, or by both." 35 M.R.S.A. § 1563(1). Such sanctions constitute a Class E criminal penalty, as defined in 17-A M.R.S.A. § 4-A(3)(E). The procedure in the case is therefore governed by the applicable rules of criminal procedure.

Dube's appeal presents a threshold question, namely, whether he properly waived the right to a jury trial in Superior Court pursuant to Rule 23(a), M.R.Crim.P. Rule 23(a) requires a written waiver of a jury trial by the defendant, to be approved by the court. ¹ In State v. Smith, Me., 365 A.2d 1036 (1976), we ruled that if there is no seasonable written waiver of a jury trial, the trial is a nullity, convictions must be vacated and a new trial ordered. Here, the record discloses no written waiver signed by the defendant. In the record, however, is a letter signed by Dube's attorney to the clerk of the Superior Court, Aroostook County, stating that Dube had agreed to submit the case on an "Agreed Statement of Facts."

In State v. Allen, Me., 377 A.2d 472, 475-76 (1977), we held that, for purposes of the trial of a Class D or Class E crime, the requirement of a written waiver of jury trial can be satisfied if the writing was executed by the defendant's attorney of record. Here, the wording of the letter, signed by Dube's attorney and hence legally attributable to Dube, sufficiently expresses the defendant's willingness to proceed without a jury. By application of our decision in Allen, we conclude that Rule 23(a) has been satisfied.

Authority of the Public Utilities Commission

The first issue on the merits is whether the Public Utilities Commission had the authority to promulgate its Rule 18(a). Appellant argues that the statute on carriers, title 35 of the Revised Statutes, does not contain a sufficiently clear grant of authority to the Commission to prescribe an age limitation, enforcible by criminal sanctions, on drivers of carriers within the Commission's jurisdiction. In support of that argument, he contends that 29 M.R.S.A. § 530 (Supp.1979-80) constitutes a "specific finding" by the Legislature that any holder of a Class 1 operator's license is qualified to drive a tractor trailer and that nothing in the statutes authorizes the Public Utilities Commission to issue a rule that has the effect of contradicting that finding.

The extent of the Commission's authority must be determined in the light of the fact that 35 M.R.S.A. § 1563 imposes a criminal penalty for violation of Commission rules and regulations issued pursuant to the authority of chapter 93 or 95 of title 35. It is constitutionally permissible for the legislature to provide a criminal sanction for violation of rules or regulations that it has duly empowered an administrative agency to promulgate. United States v. Grimaud, 220 U.S. 506, 517-18, 31 S.Ct. 480, 55 L.Ed. 563 (1910); United States v. Piatti, 416 F.Supp. 1202 (1976); State v. Allen, 77 N.M. 433, 423 P.2d 867 (1967); State v. Lambert, 68 Wis.2d 523, 229 N.W.2d 622 (1975). See 1 Am.Jur.2d Administrative Law § 127 (1962 & Supp.1979); Annot. 79 L.Ed. 474, 491 (1934). The agency must be given clear standards to prevent the exercise of authority beyond the scope intended by the legislature and to assure that the citizen is protected against arbitrary or discriminatory action by public officials. Schechter Corp. v. United States, 295 U.S. 495, 55 S.Ct. 837, 79 L.Ed. 1570 (1935); Panama Refining Co. v. Ryan, 293 U.S. 388, 55 S.Ct. 241, 79 L.Ed. 446 (1935); State v. Boynton, Me., 379 A.2d 994 (1977).

The Commission's rule-making authority for administering chapters 93 and 95 of title 35 is conferred by section 1558, the relevant part of which provides:

"The commission shall have authority to make such rules and regulations as it deems necessary or advisable to insure proper administration and enforcement of this chapter and chapter 95 and to promote the safety of the operation of common carriers, contract carriers and interstate carriers over the highways."

The only particular aspect of safety that section 1558 refers to is the length of duty of drivers, with respect to which the section requires the Commission to conform its rules and regulations to the standards of the Interstate Commerce Commission for vehicles in interstate commerce. The section makes no explicit reference to the age of drivers or to any other particular aspects of safety of operation.

The general statement of policy announced in the opening section of chapter 93, namely, 35 M.R.S.A. § 1551 (1978), manifests a clear legislative purpose of improving public safety on the highways by regulating the operation of commercial carriers under the Commission's jurisdiction:

"The business of operating motor trucks for hire on the highways of this State affects the interests of the public. The rapid increase in the number of trucks so operated, and the fact that they are not effectively regulated, have increased the dangers and hazards on public highways, and make more effective regulation necessary to the end that highways may be rendered safer for the use of the general public . . . and that the various transportation agencies of the State may be adjusted and correlated so that public highways may serve the best interest of the general public."

Other provisions manifesting a similar purpose appear in section 1552, relating to common carriers, and section 1555, relating to contract carriers, all of which are embraced within the authority granted by section 1558 to enforce the provisions of chapter 93.

The Commission has a clear mandate to administer chapters 93 and 95 in such a way as to promote the safety of operation of commercial carriers subject to its jurisdiction. In carrying out that mandate the Commission may take into consideration another legislative purpose, perhaps less plainly expressed in chapter 93, of promoting efficient performance of service on the part of carriers under the Commission's jurisdiction. The provisions governing certification of common carriers require the Commission, in determining whether to grant a certificate, to consider "the ability of the applicant efficiently to perform the service for which authority is requested," 35 M.R.S.A. § 1552 (1978), and the Commission may not grant a permit for operation of a contract carrier "unless it appears that the applicant is fit, willing and able properly to perform the service of a contract carrier by motor vehicle," 35 M.R.S.A. § 1555(3) (Supp.1979-80).

The legislative mandate to the Commission is thus to administer chapters 93 and 95 so as to promote public safety on the highways while assuring, by means of selective licensure, the efficient transportation of merchandise entrusted to commercial carriers under the Commission's jurisdiction. That mandate sets forth a sufficiently clear standard to determine whether the Commission has remained within the bounds of its authority in issuing Rule 18(a). To fulfill its responsibility under the mandate, the Commission may properly impose a requirement for the operation of such carriers that is reasonably related to the safety of the public and the efficient performance of service.

The grant of authority to the Commission in section 1558, considered in the context of the entire statute, clearly supports the Commission's requirement of a minimum age for drivers of common, contract and interstate carriers, as reasonably related to public safety on the highways and efficient performance of service by the carriers. The operator of a commercial carrier may be subject to greater pressures for haste and for driving under hazardous conditions than the ordinary motorist. In the event of a breakdown or other...