Bath v. Colorado Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Division

758 P.2d 1381, 12 Brief Times Rptr. 1032, 1988 Colo. LEXIS 135, 1988 WL 68493
Supreme Court of Colorado·Decided July 5, 1988·No. 86SA197·Published·Cited by 21 cases

Opinion

KIRSHBAUM, Justice.

The Motor Vehicle Division of the Colorado Department of Revenue (the Department) appeals a portion of an order of the El Paso County District Court declaring facially unconstitutional section 42-2-122.-l(6)(a), 17 C.R.S. (1984), which prohibits the Department from issuing probationary licenses to drivers who have had their licenses administratively revoked under section *1383 42-2-122.1(l)(a)(I), 17 C.R.S. (1984). 1 We reverse.

I

On January 12, 1985, Officer P. Newell of the Colorado Springs Police Department received a radio call to respond to the site of a one-car accident at a Colorado Springs address to assist a fellow officer. Upon his arrival, Officer Newell was advised by another officer that the driver of the vehicle, Sharon P. Bath (Bath), had been driving carelessly. When Officer Newell questioned Bath, he detected a strong odor of alcoholic beverage and noticed that she slurred her speech and that her eyes were bloodshot and watery. Bath failed to satisfactorily complete three roadside maneuvers and stated “you and I both know I’m drunk” and “I really did something wrong by drinking so much.” Officer Newell then arrested Bath and obtained her consent to the administration of a chemical analysis of her blood. 2

Officer Newell drove Bath to a Colorado Springs hospital, where blood was drawn within one hour after the accident. The resulting analysis reflected a ratio of 0.240 grams of alcohol per hundred milliliters of blood. Based on these results, a notice of revocation was mailed to Bath by the Department on February 5, 1985.

On April 3, 1985, a Department hearing officer conducted a revocation hearing to determine whether Bath had driven a motor vehicle in violation of section 42-2-122.-1, 17 C.R.S. (1984). 3 At the close of the *1384 hearing the hearing officer found that Bath’s blood alcohol content was 0.15 or more grams of alcohol per hundred milliliters of blood when she was operating her automobile on January 12 and, accordingly, revoked her driver’s license for a period of one year. Bath then requested that she be issued a probationary license. The hearing officer denied the request, observing that section 42-2-122.1(6)(a), 17 C.R.S. (1984), prohibits the issuance of a probationary license to a driver whose license has been revoked pursuant to section 42-2-122.-l(l)(a)(I), 17 C.R.S. (1984).

Bath appealed this decision to the district court. She asserted, inter alia, that the portion of section 42-2-122.1(6)(a) prohibiting the issuance of a probationary license to drivers whose licenses are revoked pursuant to section 42-2-122.1(l)(a)(I) on its face violates guarantees of equal protection of the law under the fourteenth amendment of the United States Constitution and article II, section 25 of the Colorado Constitution. Bath pointed out that *1385 while she may not obtain a probationary license, a person convicted of driving in violation of section 42-4-1202(1.5), 17 C.R. S. (1984), and, therefore, subject to the provisions of section 42-2-123(13)(a), 17 C.R.S. (1984), requiring the Department to suspend a driver’s license in certain circumstances, may obtain a probationary license. 4 The district court concluded, inter alia, that the challenged portion of section 42-2-122.1(6)(a) violated equal protection standards, but that the offending language could be severed from the remainder of the statute. The district court affirmed the revocation order and remanded the case to the Department for determination of whether Bath was entitled to receive a probationary license.

II

The Department asserts that the district court erred in concluding that the provision in section 42-2-122.1(6)(a), 17 C.R.S. (1984), prohibiting the issuance of a probationary driver’s license to drivers whose licenses are revoked under section 42-2-122.-l(l)(a)(I), 17 C.R.S. (1984), denies drivers such as Bath equal protection of law. We agree.

The equal protection guarantees of the United States and Colorado constitutions require like treatment of persons who are similarly situated. 5 Clark v. Jeter, — U.S. -, 108 S.Ct. 1910, 100 L.Ed.2d 465 (1988); New York City Transp. Auth. v. Beazer, 440 U.S. 568, 99 S.Ct. 1355, 59 L.Ed.2d 587 (1979); Tassian v. People, 731 P.2d 672 (Colo.1987); Board of County Comm’rs v. Flickinger, 687 P.2d 975 (Colo.1984); People v. Marcy, 628 P.2d 69 (Colo.1981). In analyzing legislation challenged on equal protection grounds, a court must examine the purpose and effects of the statute and the nature of the right allegedly affected. Because equal protection of the law is denied only when a law has a “special impact on less than all the persons subject to its jurisdiction,” Board of County Comm’rs v. Flickinger, 687 P.2d at 982 (quoting New York City Transit Auth. v. Beazer, 440 U.S. 568, 587-88, 99 S.Ct. 1355, 1366-67, 59 L.Ed.2d 587 (1979)), a threshold determination of whether persons allegedly subject to disparate treatment by governmental act are in fact similarly situated must be made in every equal protection case, see In re C.B., 740 P.2d 11 (Colo.1987); Board of County Comm’rs v. Flickinger, 687 P.2d at 982. If no such classification exists, the equal protection challenge must fail. See, e.g., In re C.B., 740 P.2d at 17-18; Board of County Comm’rs v. Flickinger, 687 P.2d at 982; Heninger v. Charnes, 200 Colo. 194, 613 P.2d 884 (1980).

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Bath v. Colorado Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Division, 758 P.2d 1381, 12 Brief Times Rptr. 1032, 1988 Colo. LEXIS 135, 1988 WL 68493 (Colo. 1988).

758 P.2d 1381 (Bath v. Colorado Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Division) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Qwest Corp. v. Colorado Division of Property Taxation
2013 CO 39 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 2013)
People v. Black
915 P.2d 1257 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1996)
Norsby v. Jensen
916 P.2d 555 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 1995)
People in Interest of CG
885 P.2d 355 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 1994)
Miller v. Collier
878 P.2d 141 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 1994)
Ross v. Denver Department of Health & Hospitals
883 P.2d 516 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 1994)
Ross v. DENVER DEPT. OF HEALTH & HOSP.
883 P.2d 516 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 1994)
People v. Young
859 P.2d 814 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1993)
DiMarco v. Department of Revenue of the State, Motor Vehicle Division
857 P.2d 1349 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 1993)
Western Metal Lath v. Acoustical & Construction Supply, Inc.
851 P.2d 875 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1993)
Magness v. State ex rel. Department of Highways
844 P.2d 1304 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 1992)
Electron Corp. v. Industrial Claim Appeals Office
833 P.2d 821 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 1992)
Harris v. the Ark
810 P.2d 226 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1991)
Faucett v. Hamill
815 P.2d 989 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 1991)
Colonial Penn Insurance Co. v. Colorado Insurance Guaranty Ass'n
799 P.2d 448 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 1990)
Charnes v. Boom
766 P.2d 665 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1988)
Hancock v. State, Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Division
758 P.2d 1372 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1988)
Parrish v. Lamm
758 P.2d 1356 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1988)