Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles v. Robinson

93 So. 3d 1090, 2012 WL 2483460, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 10387
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedJune 27, 2012
DocketNo. 2D11-5121
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 93 So. 3d 1090 (Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles v. Robinson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles v. Robinson, 93 So. 3d 1090, 2012 WL 2483460, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 10387 (Fla. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

BLACK, Judge.

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) seeks second-tier certiorari review of the circuit court’s order invalidating the suspension of Robinson’s driver’s license. We deny the petition and certify a question of great public importance to the Florida Supreme Court.

On April 3, 2011, Officer Giordano of the Clearwater Police Department arrested Robinson for driving under the influence (DUI) after stopping his vehicle for speeding. After Robinson refused to submit to a breath-alcohol test, his license was suspended. Robinson requested a formal administrative review hearing within thirty days to challenge the suspension of his license under section 322.2615(6)(a), Florida Statutes (2010).

On April 29, 2011, an evidentiary hearing was conducted before an administrative hearing officer to review the validity of the suspension. Prior to the hearing, Robinson issued a subpoena for Giordano to appear and testify at the hearing. When the arresting officer failed to appear despite the subpoena requiring his attendance, Robinson’s counsel moved to invalidate the suspension. The hearing officer denied the request to invalidate the license suspension due to Giordano’s absence, but offered to continue the hearing so that counsel could enforce the subpoena under section 322.2615(6)(c). Counsel declined the continuance. Thereafter, the hearing officer affirmed the administrative suspension of Robinson’s license.

[1092]*1092Robinson filed a petition for writ of cer-tiorari in the circuit court seeking review of the hearing officer’s decision. Robinson claimed that the hearing officer violated due process by failing to invalidate the suspension of his license after the arresting officer failed to appear at the hearing. The circuit court agreed and held that Giordano’s unexcused absence from the formal review hearing violated Robinson’s due process rights. The court quashed the decision of the administrative hearing officer and reinstated Robinson’s driving privileges. In its second-tier certiorari petition to this court, the DHSMV seeks review of the circuit court’s decision.

In a second-tier certiorari proceeding, this court has a narrow standard of review. We review the opinion to determine whether the circuit court afforded procedural due process and whether it applied the correct law. City of Deerfield Beach v. Vaillant, 419 So.2d 624, 626 (Fla. 1982). “Applying the correct law incorrectly does not warrant certiorari review.” Stranahan House, Inc. v. City of Fort Lauderdale, 967 So.2d 1121, 1125 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007) (citing Ivey v. Allstate Ins. Co., 774 So.2d 679 (Fla.2000)).

Section 322.2615(6) outlines the administrative review procedures for a formal review of a driver’s license suspension. The provision provides, in relevant part:

(a) If the person whose license was suspended requests a formal review, the department must schedule a hearing to be held within 30 days after such request is received by the department and must notify the person of the date, time, and place of the hearing.
(b) Such formal review hearing shall be held before a hearing officer ... [who] shall be authorized to administer oaths, examine witnesses and take testimony, receive relevant evidence, issue subpoenas for the officers and witnesses ... regulate the course and conduct of the hearing, question witnesses, and make a ruling on the suspension....
(c)A party may seek enforcement of a subpoena under paragraph (b) by filing a petition for enforcement in the circuit court of the judicial circuit in which the person failing to comply with the subpoena resides. A failure to comply with an order of the court shall result in a finding of contempt of court. However, a person is not in contempt while a subpoena is being challenged.

§ 322.2615(6)(a), (b), (c).

The DHSMV argues that due process only requires notice and an opportunity to be heard which Robinson received. The DHSMV contends that the circuit court has improperly broadened the due process standard to include a violation of due process when a subpoenaed witness fails to appear despite Robinson’s failure to enforce the subpoena pursuant to section 322.2615(6)(c).

In support of its argument that the invalidation of the suspension was improper, the DHSMV relied below on the holdings in Buckley v. Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles, 18 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 135a (Fla. 4th Cir.Ct. Aug. 17, 2010), and Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles v. Lankford, 956 So.2d 527 (Fla. 1st DCA 2007). In Buckley, a subpoena was issued to secure testimony of an employee from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) regarding the instrument used to measure breath-alcohol content. The FDLE employee refused to appear after he discovered he would not be paid for his time. Id. The suspendee sought to invalidate the suspension of the license after the witness [1093]*1093failed to appear. However, the circuit court found that the suspension was not a due process violation since the witness’ failure to appear was not the result of any action of the hearing officer and the sus-pendee failed to enforce the subpoena under section 322.2615(6)(c). Id.

In Lankford, the suspendee argued that the hearing officer erred in suspending his license because the arresting officer failed to bring video evidence to the hearing as directed by the subpoena duces tecum. 956 So.2d at 527. The circuit court agreed and invalidated the suspension. However, on second-tier certiorari review, the First District found that Lankford did not preserve the issue by raising an objection with the hearing officer. Id. at 527-28. The court quashed the decision of the circuit court finding that it departed from the essential requirements of the law when it invalidated the license suspension. Id. at 528. The court stated, “we find no provision in the pertinent statute and rule that authorizes invalidation of a DUI license suspension because a witness did not provide the hearing officer with a good reason for failing to bring evidence pursuant to a subpoena duces tecum.” Id.

In the proceeding below, the Sixth Circuit rejected the DHSMV’s arguments. The court concluded that Buckley was not binding authority because it was a decision of a sister circuit court, see Pardo v. State, 596 So.2d 665, 666-67 (Fla.1992), and that the language in Lankford addressing the failure of a witness to produce evidence pursuant to a subpoena duces tecum was dicta.

Instead of following these cases, the Sixth Circuit followed its own opinion in Pfleger v. Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles, 18 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 706a (Fla. 6th Cir.Ct. May 20, 2011). In Pfleger, the suspendee was arrested for DUI and subpoenaed the arresting officer to testify at the administrative review hearing. When the officer failed to appear, the hearing officer offered to continue the hearing to permit the enforcement of the subpoena. Id. The suspendee declined the continuance and the hearing officer affirmed the suspension of the license. On certiorari review, the Sixth Circuit held that an “arresting officer’s unexcused, unexplained nonappearance denied the [suspendee] the opportunity to confront and cross-examine the officer at the formal hearing within thirty days, as contemplated by the DHSMV rules.” Id.

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

Related

Nils Futch v. Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
189 So. 3d 131 (Supreme Court of Florida, 2016)
Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles v. Corcoran
133 So. 3d 616 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2014)
Grimes v. Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles
120 So. 3d 31 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2013)
Florida Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles v. Robinson
112 So. 3d 83 (Supreme Court of Florida, 2013)
Echternach v. Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles
119 So. 3d 467 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2013)
Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles v. Ramnarine
104 So. 3d 1144 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2012)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
93 So. 3d 1090, 2012 WL 2483460, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 10387, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/department-of-highway-safety-motor-vehicles-v-robinson-fladistctapp-2012.