State v. Skurdal
| Citation | 235 Mont. 291,767 P.2d 304 |
| Decision Date | 30 December 1988 |
| Docket Number | No. 88-362,88-362 |
| Parties | STATE of Montana, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Rodney O. SKURDAL, Defendant and Appellant. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of Montana |
Mike Greely, Atty. Gen., Kathy Seeley, Asst. Atty. Gen., Helena, James Yellowtail, County Atty., Hardin, for plaintiff and respondent.
Rodney O. Skurdal was convicted in the Thirteenth Judicial District, Big Horn County, of operating a motor vehicle without a valid driver's license and exceeding the posted nighttime speed limit.
Skurdal refuses to procure and carry a driver's license on various constitutional grounds. He raises twenty-eight issues on appeal. We have reduced those to one basic question: Were any of Skurdal's constitutional rights violated?
We hold that none of Skurdal's constitutional rights were violated and that it is a proper exercise of the State's police power to require a valid driver's license before one may operate a motor vehicle on the public highways in Montana.
Judgment affirmed.
It should be noted here that the State was not required to file a response brief, because Skurdal's appellate handwritten brief was not properly filed with this Court. Skurdal appears pro se in forma pauperis. We have accepted Skurdal's appeal, despite its irregularities, because it contains frequently raised arguments which need to be finally settled.
We have subdivided Skurdal's voluminous brief and have organized his various arguments in the following manner.
Skurdal asserts that it is unconstitutional for the State to require him to procure a driver's license before operating a motor vehicle on the public highways. According to Skurdal, it violates his constitutional right to freedom of travel and right to use his private property (his car) without governmental interference. Lastly, he asserts that the state legislature is unconstitutionally encroaching on his absolute constitutional rights and that the judiciary is blindly accepting these laws and further encroaching on his rights. We disagree.
Skurdal's appeal is without merit. This Court has already ruled on that issue. "We have previously recognized the power of the State to regulate licensing of drivers in the interests of public safety." Sedlacek v. Ahrens (1974), 165 Mont. 479, 483, 530 P.2d 424, 426. Licensing is the best means to determine that drivers meet a minimal standard of competence. It is a justifiable, reasonable and desireable exercise of the police power of the State.
That police power was recognized by the United States Supreme Court as early as 1837 when it stated that "state and local governments possess an inherent power to enact reasonable legislation for the health, safety, welfare or morals of the public." Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge Co. (1837), 11 Peters 496, 9 L.Ed. 773. That the states currently possess that police power is unquestioned. Polk v. Oklahoma Alcoholic Beverage Control Board (Okla.1966), 420 P.2d 520. Montana recognizes that such police power exists even when the regulations are an infringement of individual rights. State v. Rathbone (1940), 110 Mont. 225, 241, 100 P.2d 86, 92. Skurdal is aware that this issue was raised and rejected by this Court in 1986 when he, himself, was here before. City of Billings v. Skurdal (Mont.1986), 730 P.2d 371, 43 St.Rep. 2036, cert. denied, 481 U.S. 1020, 107 S.Ct. 1902, 95 L.Ed.2d 508, reh. denied, --- U.S. ----, 107 S.Ct. 2492, 96 L.Ed.2d 384 (Skurdal I ). We will not entertain his argument on this issue again and will deem any further pursuit of this issue frivolous.
However, because his legal research is incomplete and his analysis flawed, we feel the need to fully discuss his claims to reach a final resolution of these arguments. Many of our sister states as well recently have decided similar cases with near identical arguments. This is obviously a growing school of thought which has been misguided.
One must begin with the basic premise that constitutional rights are not always absolute; rather, there are just constitutional safeguards which must first be This is what Skurdal calls the encroachment of his absolute rights and the judiciary's blind acceptance. However, this is the law in this country. Agreeing with the law is not a prerequisite to following it.
met before a government may infringe on an individual's rights. For example, the private property interests Skurdal asserts are not absolute, but the Constitution guarantees that due process will be had before an infringement occurs. Even such fundamental rights as those guaranteed by the First Amendment are not immune from governmental regulation. Seward Chapel, Inc. v. City of Seward (Alaska 1982), 655 P.2d 1293. Most noteworthy is the fact that a city may always impose reasonable restrictions[235 Mont. 295] on the time, place and manner in which such First Amendment rights are exercised
The right to freedom of travel, not only is not even implicated in this case, it has not been infringed. At no time were there any constraints by the State of Montana on this right of Skurdal. He has at all times remained free from state regulation and constraint, able to leave this state and travel as he pleases. He was free to get on a plane and fly to New York, free to take a bus back to Wyoming; he existed free of any state interference of this right to travel.
This notion of right to travel remains wholly separate from the right or privilege to operate a motor vehicle on the public highways in Montana. As was stated recently by the Utah Supreme Court, City of Salina v. Wisden (Utah 1987), 737 P.2d 981, 983.
Many states have recently debated under similar circumstances whether it is a privilege or a right to drive on state highways. Predictably, Skurdal argues that it is an absolute right. We disagree.
The ability to drive a motor vehicle on a public highway is not a fundamental right; it is a revocable privilege that is granted upon compliance with statutory licensing procedures. City of Salina, 737 P.2d at 983; State v. Svendrowski (Mo.App.1985), 692 S.W.2d 348, 349; Texas Dept. of Public Safety v. Schaejbe (Tex.1985), 687 S.W.2d 727, 728; State v. Coyle (1984), 14 Ohio App.3d 185, 470 N.E.2d 457, 458, 14 O.B.R. 203; Mackler v. Alexis (1982), 130 Cal.App.3d 44, 181 Cal.Rptr. 613, 622-623; State ex rel. Hjelle v. A Motor Vehicle, Etc. (N.D.1980), 299 N.W.2d 557, 562; Smith v. Cox (Utah 1980), 609 P.2d 1332, 1333.
Whether it is termed a right or a privilege, one's ability to travel on public highways is always subject to reasonable regulation by the state in the valid exercise of its police power. Gordon v. State (1985), 108 Idaho 178, 697 P.2d 1192, 1193, appeal dismissed, 474 U.S. 803, 106 S.Ct. 35, 88 L.Ed.2d 29 (1985), reh. denied, 474 U.S. 1097, 106 S.Ct. 874, 88 L.Ed.2d 912 (1986).
Our motor vehicle codes were promulgated to increase the safety and efficiency of our public roadways. It enhances rather than infringes upon the citizen's right to travel. City of Salina, 737 P.2d at 983. The privilege properly may be revoked for noncompliance, sections 61-5-105, -201, and -205, MCA, and such would not be an infringement of the revokee's right to travel.
Skurdal claims that his right to liberty as guaranteed by the Constitution was violated when the Montana Highway Patrol stopped his vehicle and detained him personally. We disagree.
Skurdal was stopped by Officer Joseph Coughlin after the officer visually observed Skurdal's vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed and confirmed that with his radar equipment. After being unable to produce The officer had probable cause to stop the Skurdal vehicle. Probable cause that Skurdal had committed an offense consisted of the officer's visual observation, confirmed by the radar reading. See also section 61-8-703, MCA, arrest without a warrant in radar cases. Thus, Skurdal was properly stopped. Such a lawful and proper stop can in no way be construed as a violation of Skurdal's constitutional rights.
a valid driver's license and unable to post the necessary bond, Skurdal was arrested.
We reject Skurdal's argument that he is a "free man" exempt from the laws because he has "no contracts" with either the state or federal governments. Skurdal is a "person" as defined by section 61-1-307, MCA, and bound by the statutes in Montana which he violated. Consent to laws is not a prerequisite to their enforceability against individuals. City of Salina, 737 P.2d at 983. No persons in Montana may exempt themselves from any law simply by declaring they do not consent to it applying to them. We must all abide by the valid laws, even the ones with which we do not agree, or justice will be served against us for the violation. Accepting Skurdal's assertion of exempt status is an invitation to anarchy. We decline that invitation.
We reject Skurdal's claim that because he owes nothing on his car (private property) and is not engaged in...
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