Askildson v. Commissioner of Public Safety

403 N.W.2d 674, 1987 Minn. App. LEXIS 4227
CourtCourt of Appeals of Minnesota
DecidedApril 7, 1987
DocketC9-86-1872
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 403 N.W.2d 674 (Askildson v. Commissioner of Public Safety) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Askildson v. Commissioner of Public Safety, 403 N.W.2d 674, 1987 Minn. App. LEXIS 4227 (Mich. Ct. App. 1987).

Opinion

OPINION

LESLIE, Judge.

Appellant’s driving privileges were reinstated after revocation, conditioned upon his total abstinence from alcohol. Appellant was later found intoxicated in a restaurant, and the incident was reported to the Commissioner. His driving privileges were again revoked, and he petitioned to the trial court for reinstatement. The trial court denied all relief and dismissed the petition, and appellant brings an appeal from the order. We affirm.

FACTS

Appellant Rick Marven Askildson’s driving privileges were revoked at various times under the DWI and implied consent *676 statutes as a result of violations occurring on August 30,1975, April 24,1976, January 6, 1984, and June 24, 1984. In addition, on July 26, 1984, all driving privileges were also canceled and indefinitely denied as “inimical to public safety” pursuant to Minn.Stat. §§ 171.14 and 171.04(8), until such time as appellant submitted satisfactory evidence of successful rehabilitation.

Appellant submitted proof of rehabilitation and his driving privileges were reinstated effective December 18, 1985. As a part of his reinstatement, he signed a form agreeing to total abstinence as a condition for receipt of driving privileges and stating that any use of alcohol coming to the attention of the Commissioner would subject him to immediate cancellation and denial of driving privileges. He was issued a “B Card” with his driver’s license which indicated that any use of alcohol or controlled substances invalidated the license.

On April 18, 1986, at 11:53 p.m., a police officer responded to a complaint of an intoxicated person at a restaurant. The officer found appellant “extremely intoxicated” and “passed out” inside one of the restaurant’s booths. The officer took appellant to a detoxification center and sent a report of the incident to the Commissioner of Public Safety. The Commissioner, acting on that report, summarily cancelled and denied appellant’s driving privileges effective May 2, 1986.

Appellant petitioned the trial court for reinstatement of his driving privileges. He did not challenge the fact that he was using alcohol, but claimed the Commissioner exceeded his authority in requiring abstention and in cancelling driving privileges when the reported use of alcohol was not directly related to driving a motor vehicle. Appellant also claimed there had been no findings that his use of alcohol made him “inimical to public safety,” or that rehabilitation is required. The trial court dismissed appellant’s petition for reinstatement, and denied the relief requested. The appellant brings an appeal from the trial court order.

ISSUES

1. Did the Commissioner exceed his authority and act in an arbitrary and capricious manner when he required appellant to abstain from the use of alcohol as a condition of reinstatement of driving privileges?

2. Was the Commissioner’s cancellation and denial of appellant’s driving privileges supported by adequate findings?

ANALYSIS

1. The Commissioner cancelled appellant’s driving privileges pursuant to Minn. Stat. §§ 171.04(8) and 171.14. Minn.Stat. § 171.04(8) (1986) states that the department shall not issue a driver’s license “when the commissioner has good cause to believe that the operation of a motor vehicle on the highways by [a] person would be inimical to public safety or welfare.” Minn.Stat. § 171.14 allows the commissioner to “cancel the driver’s license of any person who, at the time of the cancellation, would not have been entitled to receive a license under the provisions of section 171.-04.”

Appellant petitioned for judicial review pursuant to Minn.Stat § 171.19 (1984), seeking reinstatement of his driving privileges. In such proceedings, the petitioner has the burden of proving he is entitled to reinstatement. McIntee v. State, Department of Public Safety, 279 N.W.2d 817, 821 (Minn.1979). The decision to cancel or deny driving privileges rests with the Commissioner of Public Safety. Minn.Stat. § 171.25 (1986). There is a presumption as to the regularity and correctness of these administrative acts. Antl v. State, Department of Public Safety, 353 N.W.2d 240, 242 (Minn.Ct.App.1984). In general, we will not reverse the decision of an administrative agency unless the decision is fraudulent, arbitrary, unreasonable, or not within the agency’s jurisdiction and power. Id. These principles apply to review of driver’s license proceedings. Id.

Appellant contests the Commissioner’s authority to require total abstinence as a continuing condition for retaining a driver’s license, and his authority to cancel and *677 deny driving privileges for non-driving related use of alcohol. Appellant claims this is an attempt to control his private life. He asserts that without specific legislative authority, the Commissioner had no power to regulate non-driving use of alcohol; that the Commissioner’s action here was arbitrary and capricious.

The legislature may delegate power to an administrative agency if the statute provides a reasonably clear policy to guide the administrative officers, so the law takes effect by its own terms, rather than according to the whim or caprice of the administrative officers. Anderson v. Commissioner of Highways, 267 Minn. 308, 311, 126 N.W.2d 778, 780 (1964). In Anderson, the driver, whose license was suspended for being a habitual violator of the traffic laws under Minn.Stat. § 171.-18(4), challenged the sufficiency of the standard expressed by the term “habitual violator.” The court determined that the term must be viewed in light of the purpose for which the statute was enacted and noted:

It should be realistically conceded that in carrying out the objects of the statute the commissioner is required to make judgments based upon many and varied factors involving a great amount of detail.

Id. at 313, 126 N.W.2d at 781. The court upheld the Commissioner’s interpretation of the rule and held that where it is impracticable to promulgate a definite comprehensive rule, as where application of a rule turns upon questions of qualifications of personal fitness, or where an act “relates to the administration of a police regulation which is necessary to protect the general health, welfare, and safety of the public” it is unnecessary to have a specific prescribed standard expressly stated in the legislation. Id. at 312, 126 N.W.2d at 781.

Thus, in the present case the Commissioner had the discretion to decide what conduct would render a driver “inimical to public safety.” Administrative regulations promulgated by the Commissioner provide that he shall cancel and deny the driver’s license of a person when there is sufficient cause to believe that he has consumed alcohol after completing rehabilitation. 8 Minn.R. 7503.1300, subpt. 3; 7503.1700, subpt. 6 (Supp. No. 2 1986).

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Bluebook (online)
403 N.W.2d 674, 1987 Minn. App. LEXIS 4227, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/askildson-v-commissioner-of-public-safety-minnctapp-1987.