Felbaum v. Commonwealth, Department of Transportation, Bureau of Driver Licensing

860 A.2d 1168, 2004 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 809
CourtCommonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedNovember 5, 2004
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 860 A.2d 1168 (Felbaum v. Commonwealth, Department of Transportation, Bureau of Driver Licensing) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Felbaum v. Commonwealth, Department of Transportation, Bureau of Driver Licensing, 860 A.2d 1168, 2004 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 809 (Pa. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinions

OPINION BY

Judge SIMPSON.

The Department of Transportation, Bureau of Driver Licensing (PennDOT) appeals an order of the Court of Common Pleas of Westmoreland County (trial court) that granted Paul A. Felbaum’s (Licensee) statutory appeal from a one-year suspension of his operating privilege imposed [1169]*1169pursuant to Section 1532 of the Vehicle Code, 75 Pa.C.S. § 1582(b)(3) and Article IV(a)(2) of the Driver’s License Compact (Compact), 75 Pa.C.S. § 1581. Agreeing with the trial court that the disposition of Licensee’s Illinois driving under the influence (DUI) charge does not constitute a “conviction” for purposes of the Compact, we affirm.

On April 29, 2003, Licensee, a West-moreland County resident, was charged with DUI in the state of Illinois. Licensee pled guilty to the DUI charge in the Circuit Court of the Sixth Judicial Circuit, Champaign County, Illinois (Champaign County Court). The Champaign County Court accepted Licensee’s guilty plea, ordered Licensee serve a 24-month period of court supervision and deferred entry of judgment for 24 months.1 Reproduced Record (R.R.) at 48a.

Thereafter, the state of Illinois reported a DUI conviction for Licensee to Penn-DOT. PennDOT informed Licensee his operating privilege would be suspended for one year based upon the report of conviction from Illinois. Licensee appealed to the trial court.

At a de novo hearing before the trial court, PennDOT offered into evidence a packet of certified documents, including the Illinois “report of conviction.” R.R. at 43a. In response, Licensee testified on his own behalf. Licensee conceded he pled guilty to the Illinois DUI charge, but asserted, because the Champaign County Court placed him on court supervision and deferred entry of judgment, the disposition of his case did not constitute a “conviction” for purposes of the Compact. He offered into evidence the Champaign County Court’s sentencing order, which states, “[Licensee] and the public will be best served if [Licensee] does not receive a criminal record.... ” R.R. at 48a. Ultimately, the trial court determined Licensee was not “convicted” for purposes of the Compact, and granted his appeal. Penn-DOT now appeals to this Court.2

Article II of the Compact defines “conviction” as

[A] conviction of any offense related to the use or operation of a motor vehicle which is prohibited by state law, municipal ordinance or administrative rule or regulation or a forfeiture of bail, bond or other security deposited to secure appearance by a person charged with having committed any such offense and which conviction or forfeiture is required to be reported to the licensing authority.

75 Pa.C.S. § 1581, Article 11(c). Notably, the Article does not define the point in the [1170]*1170judicial process at which a conviction occurs. Lueth v. Dep’t of Transp., Bureau of Driver Licensing, 785 A.2d 138, 137 (Pa.Cmwlth.2001). Further, Article III states:

The licensing authority of a party state shall report each conviction of a person from another party state occurring within its jurisdiction to the licensing authority of the home state of the licensee. Such report shall clearly identify the person convicted, describe the violation specifying the section of the statute, code or ordinance violated, identify the court in which action was taken, indicate whether a plea of guilty or not guilty was entered or the conviction was a result of the forfeiture of bail, bond or other security and shall include any special findings made in connection therewith.

75 Pa.C.S. § 1581, Article III. Article IV(a)(2) of the Compact states that Penn-DOT shall give the same effect to out-of-state conduct as it would if such conduct occurred in Pennsylvania where the out-of-state conduct results in a conviction for DUI.. 75 Pa.C.S. § 1581, Article IV(a)(2).

PennDOT argues Licensee failed to present “clear and convincing” evidence to rebut its prima facie evidence that he was convicted of DUI in Illinois. It further contends the court supervision before judgment disposition of Licensee’s DUI charge under Illinois law, pursuant to which Licensee pled guilty, constitutes a “conviction” for purposes of Article IV(a)(2) of the Compact. We disagree.

In Lueth and Laughlin v. Dep’t of Transp., Bureau of Driver Licensing, 719 A.2d 850 (Pa.Cmwlth.1998) this Court addressed a similar issue: whether a probation before judgment disposition of a DUI charge under Maryland law, which required a finding of guilty, constituted a “conviction” for purposes of Article IV(aX2) of the Compact.

In Laughlin, Robert 'Laughlin, a Pennsylvania licensed driver, pled guilty to a DUI charge in Maryland with the understanding, if he completed a drug and alcohol program, the district court would grant him “probation before judgment.” After Laughlin’s guilty plea, the state of Maryland forwarded PennDOT a report of conviction. PennDOT sent Laughlin a notice of suspension, and, on appeal by Laughlin, the trial court sustained his appeal. Penn-DOT appealed to this Court, asserting, becáuse Laughlin pled guilty, the probation before judgment disposition of his DUI charge constituted a “conviction” for purposes of Article IV of the Compact. This Court disagreed, noting, pursuant to Maryland law, Laughlin’s discharge from probation was “without judgment of conviction and is not a conviction for purposes of any disqualification ... imposed by law because of conviction of crime....” Id. at 852 (citing Md.Code Ann. art. 27, § 641). Consequently, we stated:

Therefore, giving full faith and credit to Maryland’s law ... we hold that [Penn-DOT’s] suspension of Laughlin’s driver’s license was, in these circumstances, an impermissible disqualification from his motor vehicle operating privileges, since his discharge in Maryland cannot be a conviction for such purposes.

Laughlin, 719 A.2d at 852.

Thereafter, in Lueth, Michael Brian Lueth was charged with driving while intoxicated, and was convicted following trial. He applied to Maryland’s “probation prior to judgment” program, pursuant to which the court placed him on 24 months’ probation and stayed entry of judgment pending his completion of the program. Upon receiving notice of Lueth’s conviction from Maryland, PennDOT suspended his operating privilege. Lueth appealed the [1171]*1171suspension, and the trial court dismissed his appeal. On appeal, we reversed, concluding that, based on Laughlin, the probation before judgment disposition did not constitute a “conviction” for purposes of Article IV of the Compact because judgment was not entered. Significantly, we determined, even though Lueth had yet to successfully complete the probation program, his entry into the program did not constitute a conviction.

Here, as in Lueth and Laughlin, Licensee pled guilty, received court supervision, and entry of judgment was deferred pending his successful completion of the court supervision program. The Maryland statute concerning the effect of a successful discharge from probation at issue in Lueth and Laughlin is nearly identical to the Illinois statute regarding discharge from court supervision. The Illinois statute provides:

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

Related

Leuthe v. Commonwealth
933 A.2d 165 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 2007)
Roselle v. Commonwealth, Department of Transportation, Bureau of Driver Licensing
865 A.2d 308 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 2005)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
860 A.2d 1168, 2004 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 809, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/felbaum-v-commonwealth-department-of-transportation-bureau-of-driver-pacommwct-2004.