Luzzi v. Commonwealth, State Horse Racing Commission

548 A.2d 659, 120 Pa. Commw. 215, 1988 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 792
CourtCommonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedOctober 5, 1988
DocketAppeal No. 1126 C.D. 1987
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 548 A.2d 659 (Luzzi v. Commonwealth, State Horse Racing Commission) 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
Luzzi v. Commonwealth, State Horse Racing Commission, 548 A.2d 659, 120 Pa. Commw. 215, 1988 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 792 (Pa. Ct. App. 1988).

Opinion

Opinion by

Judge Palladino,

John B. Luzzi, Jr. (Petitioner) appeals from two orders of the State Horse Racing Commission (Commission) issued on April 21, 1987.1 One order affirmed Petitioners ejection by the Philadelphia Park Race Track (Race Track) from its grounds. The second order affirmed the decision of the Board of Stewards (Stewards) to suspend Petitioners apprentice jockey license but permitted relicensure to be sought upon satisfacto[218]*218ry completion of a rehabilitation program approved by the Commission. We affirm both orders.

Petitioner was licensed as an apprentice jockey by the Commission. On October 31, 1986, he was searched, while on the Race Track grounds, by personnel from the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau (TRPB), who were acting on order of the Stewards. During the search, Petitioner removed two straws from his right rear pocket which were placed in a ziplock plastic bag and sent to the Pennsylvania State Horse Testing Laboratory (Lab). On November 2, 1986, at the request of the Stewards, Petitioner submitted to a physical exam by the Race Tracks physician, Dr. McKill, who determined that Petitioner, at that time, was not under the influence of drugs and fit to ride. Petitioner also provided a urine sample on that date which was placed into a sealed container in Petitioners presence and then sent to the Lab.

Lab tests performed on the material in the straws showed that material to be cocaine. Tests performed on the urine disclosed the presence of benzoylecgonine, the primary metabolite of cocaine, which indicates past usage of cocaine.

As a result of the test showing cocaine in the straws, Petitioner was ejected by the Race Track from its grounds on November 8, 1986. His ejection was pursuant to section 215(c) of the Act of December 17, 1981 (Act), P.L. 435, as amended, 4 P.S. §325.215(c). Section 215(c) states, in pertinent part:

A licensed corporation may . . . eject from the enclosure of the race track operated by the corporation, any person licensed by the [Commission], employed at this occupation at the race track, whose presence there is deemed detrimental to the best interests of horse racing, citing the reasons for that determination.

[219]*219The reason given for Petitioners ejection was possession of cocaine.

Petitioner filed with the Commission a demand for a hearing on his ejection within 48 hours as required by 58 Pa. Code §165.231(c).2 Petitioner was not permitted to ride at the Race Track after November 8 as a result of his ejection.

The Stewards, upon receipt of the results of the tests from the Lab, notified Petitioner that a hearing would be held December 11, 1986 to determine if his jockey license should be suspended.3 On December 15, 1986, the Stewards issued a decision in which they suspended Petitioners license for violating 58 Pa. Code §§163.8(1) (under the influence of liquor or drugs while on racetrack grounds), 163.8(2) (possession of illegal drugs), 163.58 (experience, character, or general fitness inconsistent with public interest or best interests of racing), [220]*220163.4714 and section 213(f)(2) of the Act5 as a result of his possession and use of cocaine. Petitioner appealed this decision to the Commission.

De novo hearings on the ejectment and suspension were held by the Commission on Januáry 13, 1987. The record made in the ejectment hearing, which dealt primarily with the discovery of the straws and their contents, Was incorporated, by stipulation, into the record made in the suspension hearing. Commission regulations require the Commission to issue a written order within 30 days of a hearing. 58 Pa. Code §165.184(a). During the hearing, the hearing examiner requested [221]*221Petitioners leave to extend this period. Petitioner refused. On February 10, 1987, the Commission issued an order stating that it would not be issuing an adjudication until later because it had yet to receive the notes of testimony. The Commission issued an adjudication in both matters on April 21, 1987. The ejection was affirmed. The suspension of Petitioners license was affirmed with a modification that he would be eligible for relicensure upon successful completion of a rehabilitation program approved by the Commission.

On appeal to this court,6 Petitioner raises the following issues: (1) was the suspension “prior to a hearing, argument and a determination by the reviewing entity” a violation of the Pennsylvania and U.S. Constitutions’ guarantees of due process; (2) were the Act and the regulations issued pursuant to it violated by the delay in holding a Commission hearing and issuing an adjudication on the ejection and on the suspension; (3) was the search which disclosed the straws an illegal search and seizure, violative of the Pennsylvania and U.S. Constitutions, because it was done without a warrant; (4) does the use of the Lab, established to do tests on horses, to perform the tests on Petitioners urine and the material in the straws invalidate the test results; (5) was the “chain of custody” of the straws established; (6) was the evidence sufficient to sustain the suspension. Because Petitioner has raised and preserved these issues before the Stewards, the Board and this court, we will address each issue separately.

[222]*222I. Due Process

Petitioner contends he was denied due process because he was deprived of a property right, his jockey license, without a hearing before the Commission. This contention is without merit.

The essential elements of due process required in the context of administrative action when a property right is involved7 are “notice of government action and an opportunity to be heard to challenge that action.” Barasch v. Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, 119 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 81, 101, 546 A.2d 1296, 1305 (1988). Petitioner, prior to having his jockey license suspended, was given notice and an opportunity to challenge the suspension in a hearing before the Stewards.8 Petitioner does not dispute that the Stewards have the power to suspend nor that he had a hearing before them at which he was represented by counsel who cross-examined the witnesses against him. Due process does not require more.

II. Timeliness

Petitioner asserts that the Act and the regulations issued pursuant to it were violated because the Com[223]*223mission did not hold hearings on his ejectment and suspension nor issue its adjudications on the ejection and suspension within the time limits established by the Act and the regulations. Examination of those sections of the Act and the regulations cited by Petitioner shows that they were not violated.

A. Ejection

An individual who has been ejected from the facilities of a race track has a right to a hearing if he demands one within 48 hours of receiving notice of his ejection. 58 Pa. Code §165.231(c). If such a demand is made, “the hearing shall be scheduled within 48 hours of the time of receipt of the demand or as soon thereafter as possible” Id.

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Luzzi v. PA. ST. HORSE RACING COMM.
548 A.2d 659 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 1988)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
548 A.2d 659, 120 Pa. Commw. 215, 1988 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 792, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/luzzi-v-commonwealth-state-horse-racing-commission-pacommwct-1988.