U.S. v. Taylor, Criminal Action No. 05-1078 PWG.

• Decision Date: 31 July 2006
• Docket Number: Criminal Action No. 05-1078 PWG.
• Citation: 441 F.Supp.2d 747
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America v. Laurence TAYLOR.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Maryland

441 F.Supp.2d 747

UNITED STATES of America v. Laurence TAYLOR.

Criminal Action No. 05-1078 PWG.

United States District Court, D. Maryland.

July 31, 2006.

Laurence Taylor, Bel Air, MD, pro se.

Michael Clifford Hickey, Jr., Hickey and Windsor PA, Edgewood, MD, for Defendant.

Paul A. Marone, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, for Plaintiff.

MEMORANDUM

GRIMM, Chief United States Magistrate Judge.

Defendant, Laurence J. Taylor, has moved to dismiss a criminal complaint charging him with a violation of MD.CODE ANN., TRANSP. § 16-303(c) for driving a motor vehicle with a suspended license. Mr. Taylor was cited on January 23, 2005, when a routine identification check at the Maryland gate of Aberdeen Proving Ground ("APG"), a federal military installation, revealed that his license to drive was both suspended and revoked. Section 16-303, which is assimilated under 18 U.S.C. §§ 7 and 13, applies to individuals driving on a "highway" or any property specified in MD CODE ANN., TRANSP. § 21-101.1. Defendant, citing recent Fourth Circuit decisions, contends that the roads on APG are not highways within the statutory definition, and consequently, that he cannot be charged under § 16-303. On May 9, 2006, I issued an order denying Defendant's motion without prejudice to it being renewed at trial.

The case was tried before me, without a jury, with Defendant's consent on June 22, 2006. At trial the government produced evidence supporting its argument that the charge could be sustained, and the defendant also presented evidence. Following the evidentiary hearing I again denied the Defendant's motion for the reasons that follow,¹ and found him guilty of the § 16-303 violation. He was then offered, and accepted, probation before judgement under MD.CODE ANN., CRIM. PROC. § 6-220(b).

FACTS

The following facts were proved during the trial, or judicially noticed by the court pursuant to Fed.R.Evid. 201. Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), established by the U.S. Army in 1917 as a facility for the design and testing of ordnance material, occupies over 72,500 acres in Harford County, Maryland. The property is composed primarily of two peninsulas separated by the Bush River, the Aberdeen area to the north, and Edgewood area to the south. Approximately 4,000 to 5,000 military personnel are assigned to APG. The base also employs another 7,000 civilians, 4,000 civilian contractors and 500 civilian employees of non-affiliated facilities such as restaurants, shops and recreational facilities. All civilian employees and 25 to 30 percent of military personnel live outside APG and commute onto the facility daily. Over 2,000 military members live on APG. Additionally, more than 18,000 military retirees and retiree family members routinely visit APG to shop at the Post Exchange ("PX") or commissary, use the recreational facilities, or receive services. Children of service members living on the installation attend local schools outside APG and are picked up and returned to the installation daily by county school buses. During fiscal year 2003, APG's payroll totaled $653.3 million, with $520 million paid to employees living in Harford County. The post is the largest employer in Harford County and one of the largest in the State of Maryland.

Drive down the main streets of the Aberdeen Area of APG and you will see a gas station with convenience store, a medical, dental and veterinary facility, a church, a museum, a shopping center with a laundry facility, bowling alley, Burger King restaurant, tire store, movie theater, commissary (the military equivalent of a supermarket), a police and fire station, which is serviced by civilian police and firefighters, a post office, library, and gymnasium—in short, you will see "main street USA." APG also has 2 golf courses, swimming pools, picnic areas with outdoor equipment rentals, recreation facilities, 2 credit unions, and a Bank of America. All of these recreational and commercial facilities are open to the public, and most stay open based on their ability to conduct business without any funding support from the Army. The installation also offers a large hunting program and launch ramps for access to waterways, both of which are available to the public. Finally, APG maintains an Ordnance Museum that receives 100,000 yearly visitors, and the base hosts a number of special events open to the public throughout the year, including the Army Soldier Show, and commemorative events for Black History month and the Holocaust. The base periodically hosts musical concerts that are open to the public, including a recent event attended by over 11,000 people, most of whom had no association with APG and entered solely to view the concert.

Two state highways, Maryland Route 22 and Maryland Route 755 enter APG. While both the Aberdeen and Edgewood Areas have multiple entry gates, a least one entrance in each area is open to visitors twenty-four hours per day, year-round. A 2003 traffic study showed that the installation received 18,800 entries a day on average. APG is an open post, though all visitors must display some type of identification to gain entry. Any visitor with a federal ID card may proceed through the gate, while non-military personnel without federal ID must display a valid state driver's license and offer a legitimate reason for entering the premises. They then are directed to a guard post to obtain a day pass, which requires a driver's license and vehicle registration. Passengers also must display a valid picture ID card. Informal studies in both 2005 and 2006 showed that just over 2,000 day passes were issued to non-commercial, nonmilitary visitors in a one week period. Legitimate reasons for entry include the use of any of the recreation or retail facilities, as well as hunting or use of the boat ramps. Anyone that fails to provide such a valid reason may be excluded by the civilian police officers manning the base's entry points. Commercial drivers also are given access to the post subject to a set of inspection and check procedures.

The entry policy at APG, as with all U.S. military facilities world wide, is subject to a threat condition level and may be modified at the discretion of the base commander at any time, including a complete closure. The current status of 100 percent I.D. check was put in place at APG following September 11, 2001, however, for certain special events, such as the recent Army concert, members of the public are allowed to drive onto to the installation without presenting any identification. Finally, the roads of APG have posted speed limits, are controlled by traffic control and other devices, and are regularly patrolled by a civilian police force that enforces the Maryland Motor Vehicle Law, including the "rules of the road" found at Title 21 of the Maryland Transportation Article. Even to the casual observer, the areas of APG relevant to this case look very much like every other town of similar size in Maryland.

DISCUSSION

The Assimilative Crimes Act ("ACA"), 18 U.S.C. § 13, extends state law to federal enclaves located within that jurisdiction. The goals of Congress were threefold: (1) to provide gap-filling criminal code for federal enclaves, (2) to provide uniformity between the federal enclave and the state where the federal enclave is located, and (3) to ensure residents within the federal enclave have the same protections as the residents of State outside the federal enclave. United States v. Kenneth Smith, 965 F.Supp. 756, 758 (E.D.Va.1997).

Aberdeen Proving Ground is a federal enclave as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 13 and is thus subject to Maryland criminal statutes incorporated by the ACA. This includes § 16-303 of the Maryland Transportation Article which states:

(c) Suspended licenses generally.—A person may not drive a motor vehicle on any highway or on any property specified in § 21-101.1 of this article while the person's license or privilege to drive is suspended in this State. (emphasis added)

A highway is defined in Maryland Transportation Article § 11-127 as "the entire width of boundary lines of any way or thoroughfare of which any part is used by the public for vehicular traffic." Alternately, Section 21-101.1(b)(1) extends the offenses listed in § 16-303 to "any private property that is used by the public in general."

The issue then is whether the roads on APG are "highways" or "private property that is used by the public in general." The defendant, pointing to the base commander's absolute right to deny or restrict access to the installation, contends that APG roads are not highways within the statutory definition. The government counters by pointing to the extensive civilian use of base facilities, arguing that the roads are "highways" by virtue of the expansive public access. Notwithstanding the status of APG roads as "highways," there remains the alternate possibility that they are "private property that is used by the public in general." Though a number of cases have addressed the definition of a highway, there is less guidance on the meaning of the second clause presented in § 21-101.1(b).

Cases examining whether roads on federal enclaves are "highways" under Virginia law, which is substantially similar to Maryland's, have focused on the extent of public use of those roads. United States v. Smith, 395 F.3d 516 (4th Cir.2005); United States v. Adams, 426 F.3d 730 (4th Cir.2005); United States v. Spencer, 422 F.Supp.2d 589 (E.D.Va.2005); United States v. Scott, No. 05-5100, 2006 WL 1867344 (4th Cir. July 6, 2006) (unpublished). In Smith, a lost motorist under the influence of alcohol approached a CIA gate seeking directions and an ensuing check of the defendant's licensing status revealed that it was suspended, resulting in a citation. Id. at 517-18. In concluding that the road was not a highway and reversing the conviction under the ACA, the Fourth Circuit focused on the presence of signs permitting only...