State v. Spurlock

• Decision Date: 20 January 1981
• Docket Number: 7 Div. 738
• Citation: 393 So.2d 1052
• Parties: STATE of Alabama v. Jack SPURLOCK.
• Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals

Page 1052

393 So.2d 1052

STATE of Alabama v. Jack SPURLOCK.

7 Div. 738.

Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama.

Jan. 20, 1981.

Charles A. Graddick, Atty. Gen., and J. Anthony McLain and James F. Hampton, Sp. Asst. Attys. Gen., for appellant.

James Hedgspeth of Floyd, Keener & Cusimano, Gadsden, for appellee.

BOWEN, Judge.

The defendant, the owner of a junk or salvage yard, was charged in seven separate indictments with the failure to remove the manufacturer's identification number plates from either "junk, salvage or total loss" motor vehicles in his possession in violation of Alabama Code 1975, Section 32-8-87(c). The trial judge granted the defendant's motion to quash the indictments finding that Section 32-8-87(c) was "arbitrary and capricious in nature, an abuse of the police power of the State, and violative of the Defendant's rights of due process of law and the equal protection of the laws as guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States and the Alabama Constitution of 1901, as amended." From this ruling the State appeals. Alabama Code 1975, Section 12-22-91.

Section 32-8-87(c) provides:

"It shall be unlawful for the owner of any junkyard, scrap metal processing plant or salvage yard or his agents or employees to have in their possession any motor vehicle which is junk or salvage or a total loss when the manufacturer's identification number plates, serial plates and motor vehicle license plates have not been removed therefrom in accordance with the provisions of section 32-8-48. Any person who violates this subsection shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state penitentiary for not more than five years or by fine of not more than $5,000.00 or by both such fine and imprisonment."

Section 32-8-48 concerns the "scrapping, dismantling or destroying" of a motor vehicle.

"An owner who scraps, dismantles or destroys a vehicle and a person who purchases a vehicle as scrap or to be dismantled or destroyed shall indicate same on the back of the certificate of title and shall within 72 hours cause the certificate of title, the vehicle identification number plate, the motor vehicle license plate and any other documents or information required by the department to be mailed or delivered to the department for cancellation. A certificate of title of the vehicle shall not again be issued except upon application containing the information the department requires, accompanied by a certificate of inspection in the form and content specified in section 32-8-35."

The trial judge found Section 32-8-87(c) unconstitutional for the following reasons:

"(1) That said subsection authorizes one in the Defendant's position to be convicted of a felony while an owner, under Section 32-8-87(a) ¹, or an owner or insurance company, under Section 32-8-87(b) ², can, at best, be convicted and punished only for a misdemeanor under the provisions of Sections 32-8-13 ³ and 32-8-14 ⁴ for failure to comply with the provisions of Sections 32-8-87(a) and 32-8-87(b).

"(2) That said subsection authorizes one in the Defendant's position to be convicted of a felony without any proof that the vehicle in question was even stolen, while the same status of felony is afforded offenders under the provisions of Section 32-8-82 ⁵, wherein a requirement of knowledge of the vehicle being stolen is made an element of the offense therein charged.

"(3) That said subsection authorizes one in the Defendant's position to be convicted of a felony even if the vehicle in question is not stolen or converted under circumstances which would constitute a crime.

"(4) That said subsection authorizes one in the Defendant's position to be convicted of a felony without an element of scienter being required, the said subsection being found by the Court to be akin to the larceny statutes of this State more particularly, the buying, receiving, or concealing of stolen property by virtue of its being under Article 4 of Chapter 8, which deals with 'Antitheft Laws.' ⁶

"(5) That said subsection authorizes one in the Defendant's position to be convicted of a felony even if such vehicle is present on the Defendant's property in such condition as proscribed by said subsection through the negligence of the Defendant's agents, servants, or employees."

The Uniform Motor Vehicle Certificate of Title and Antitheft Act was approved by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws in 1955. 11 U.L.A. 421 (1974). Alabama adopted the substance of the major provisions of the Uniform Act in 1973 (Acts 1973, No. 765, p. 1147) although Alabama's "uniform act" contains "numerous variations, omissions and additional matter." 11 U.L.A. 84 (Supp.1980).

Section 32-8-87(c) is not a part of the Uniform Act and represents "additional matter" which Alabama has made a part of its "uniform act". This section is unique to Alabama and is not included in the acts of the other nine states which have adopted the Uniform Act. 11 U.L.A. 84 (Supp.1980).

Florida had a similar statute. Fla.Stat.Ann., Section 319.30(3) (West 1975). However, the similarity of the Alabama and Florida statutes was destroyed when the language of the Florida statute was changed in 1978. Fla. Laws 1978, c. 78-412, Section 3; Fla.Stat.Ann., Section 319.30(3) (West 1979). A search reveals no judicial determination of the constitutionality of the particular provisions of the Florida statute. Also, the constitutionality of Alabama Code 1975, Section 32-8-87(c) is a question of first impression.

The presumption exists that statutes are constitutional. This Court will not hold them unconstitutional unless convinced beyond a reasonable doubt of their unconstitutionality. Alabama Dairy Commission v. Food Giant, Inc., 357 So.2d 139 (Ala.1978) . The party challenging the constitutionality of a statute has the burden of establishing its invalidity. Jefferson County Board of Health v. City of Bessemer, 293 Ala. 237, 301 So.2d 551 (1974).

I

The constitutional issue implicit in grounds (1) and (2) of the trial judge's findings is whether Section 32-8-87(c) operates to deny the defendant equal protection of the laws. In substance, the trial judge found that Section 32-8-87(c) unlawfully discriminated against the defendant because (1) it made junkyard owners liable for a felony while owners and insurance companies were only liable for a misdemeanor and because (2) it did not require knowledge on the part of the junkyard owners of the fact that the vehicle is stolen while owners and insurance companies must have such knowledge.

"The essence of the theory of equal protection of the laws is that all similarly situated are treated alike." City of Birmingham v. Stacy Williams Co., Inc., 356 So.2d 608, 611 (Ala.1978). See also City of Hueytown v. Jiffy Chek Co., 342 So.2d 761 (Ala.1977); Hubbard v. State, 382 So.2d 577 (Ala.Cr.App.1979), affirmed, Ex parte Hubbard, 382 So.2d 597 (Ala.1980). Equal protection of the laws does not compel uniformity in the face of difference. Hadnott v. City of Pratville, 309 F.Supp. 967 (N.D.Ala.1970). The Equal Protection Clause does not mean that a state may not draw lines that treat one class of individuals differently from the others. The test is whether the difference in treatment is an invidious discrimination. Lehnhausen v. Lake Shore Auto Parts Co., 410 U.S. 356, 93 S.Ct. 1001, 35 L.Ed.2d 351 (1973). Classification of subjects in a statute is not arbitrary and invalid if based on some difference which bears a reasonable and just relation to the attempted classification. Board of Com'rs of City of Mobile v. Orr, 181 Ala. 308, 61 So. 920 (1913).

Since this case involves neither a "suspect class" nor a "fundamental right", the "rational basis test" is the proper test to apply to either a substantive due process challenge or an equal protection challenge. Gideon v. Alabama State Ethics Commission, 279 So.2d 570, 574 (Ala.1980).

"Under the rational basis test the Court asks: (a) Whether the classification furthers a proper governmental purpose and (b) whether the classification is rationally related to that purpose." Gideon, 379 So.2d at 574.

Without extended discussion and analysis, we have no difficulty in answering both questions affirmatively.

Junk dealers have been recognized as a separate and distinct class for various purposes. 58 Am.Jur.2d Occupations, Trades and Professions, Section 4 (1971). A primary objective of Alabama's Uniform Certificate of Title and Antitheft Act, of which Section 32-8-87(c) is a part, is to frustrate the possession and disposition of stolen motor vehicles and parts within the State. In the past, Alabama has been referred to as a "dumping ground" for stolen motor vehicles and a haven for automobile theft organizations and operations. Such was due in part to the laxity of our motor vehicle registration laws. By enacting the Uniform Act previously discussed, the legislature made a positive attempt to strengthen such laws and decrease the trafficking of stolen motor vehicles within the state. Section 32-8-87(c) was added to address a problem not covered by the Uniform Act, that being the regulation of those businesses having the capability to easily conceal stolen motor vehicles and sell or dismantle them and their parts with a minimum of risk and detection. Section 32-8-87(c) was enacted to protect the public from such evils and to prevent junkyards, scrap metal processing plants, and salvage yards throughout the state from becoming conduits of automobile theft "rings" and "strip shops" of stolen motor vehicles.

That junk and salvage yards offer a special attraction to the thief is a matter of common knowledge.

"The fact that thieves resort to secondhand dealers, and particularly to junk dealers, to dispose of stolen goods, and that unscrupulous and oftentimes criminal persons are engaged in the business is common knowledge." 58 Am.Jur.2d Occupations, etc., at Section 15.

Rosenthal v. New York, ...