Motor Vehicle Administration v. Seenath

136 A.3d 885, 448 Md. 145, 2016 WL 2956554, 2016 Md. LEXIS 291
CourtCourt of Appeals of Maryland
DecidedMay 23, 2016
Docket82/15
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 136 A.3d 885 (Motor Vehicle Administration v. Seenath) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Maryland primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Motor Vehicle Administration v. Seenath, 136 A.3d 885, 448 Md. 145, 2016 WL 2956554, 2016 Md. LEXIS 291 (Md. 2016).

Opinions

WATTS, J.

This case requires us to determine the amount of notice that the Motor Vehicle Administration (“the MVA”), Petitioner, is required to provide the holder of a commercial driver’s license in the “Advice of Rights” form, previously labeled “DR-15,”1 [149]*149as to the commercial driver’s license holder’s eligibility for a restrictive license after having failed an alcohol concentration test. The purpose of the Advice of Rights form is to assist law enforcement officers with making the advisements that are required by Md.Code Ann., Transp. (1977, 2012 RepLVol., 2015 Supp.) (“TR”) § 16-205.1,2 “commonly known as the ‘implied consent, administrative per se law,’ which provides a basis for the automatic suspension of the licenses of drivers who refuse to submit to testing for alcohol and drugs.” Motor Vehicle Admin. v. Gonce, 446 Md. 100, 102, 130 A.3d 436, 437-38 (2016) (citation omitted).3

[150]*150In this case, Sundar Seenath (“Seenath”), Respondent, a holder of a commercial driver’s license, contends that the Advice of Rights form violates due process under the United States Constitution and the Maryland Declaration of Rights because the form does not advise that a holder of a commercial driver’s license who drives a non-commercial motor vehicle and fails an alcohol concentration test — by taking an alcohol concentration test that indicates an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or higher4 — is ineligible for a “restrictive license,” which allows a driver to drive only for certain purposes, for example, in the course of employment.

In a petition for a writ of certiorari, the MVA raised the following issue: “Does the standard Advice of Rights form (DR-15) provide the necessary information to a driver who holds a commercial driver’s license of the consequences of submitting to a test of blood alcohol content if the driver’s results are 0.08 or more?” We answer this question “yes,” and hold that the Advice of Rights form is not misleading as to the eligibility for a restrictive license of a holder of a commercial driver’s license and that the Advice of Rights form comports with due process.

[151]*151BACKGROUND

Facts

On February 18, 2015, Officer Romack5 of the Montgomery County Police Department issued to Seenath an “Officer’s Certification and Order of Suspension” that contained the following facts, which we summarize. At 10:55 p.m. on February 18, 2015, Officer Norizn6 saw that Seenath was driving a 2004 Ford pickup — ie., a non-commercial motor vehicle— south on Maryland Route 355 near the intersection with Redland Boulevard. Seenath was stopped for changing lanes in an unsafe manner while the Ford pickup was close to another vehicle. At least one of the officers noticed that Seenath had bloodshot eyes and a strong odor of alcohol. One of the officers administered the three-part Standardized Field Sobriety Test.7

[152]*152Although the Officer’s Certification and Order of Suspension does not make clear the results of the three-part Standardized Field Sobriety Test,8 an administrative law judge found that the evidence of Seenath’s intoxication included his “poor performance on” the three-part Standardized Field Sobriety Test. According to the Officer’s Certification and Order of Suspension, Seenath took a preliminary breath test, which indicated an alcohol concentration of 0.161.

Officer Romack arrested Seenath and provided him with an Advice of Rights form. The Advice of Rights form, which was labeled “DR-15,” had been produced in November 2012, and stated in pertinent part:

You have been stopped or detained[,] and reasonable grounds exist to believe that you have been driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle under circumstances requiring that you be asked to submit to a test under [TR] § 16 — 205[.]1[ ]. In this situation, the law deems that you have consented to take a test to measure the alcohol concentration or drug or controlled dangerous substance content in your system. You may refuse to submit to the test(s), unless you were in a motor vehicle accident resulting in the death of[,] or life-threatening injury to[,] another person[.]
Suspension of Your Maryland Driver’s License or Driving Privilege:
If you refuse to submit to the test, or submit to the test and the result indicates an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more at the time of testing, your Maryland driver’s license will be confiscated, you will be issued an Order of Suspension^] and, if eligible, a temporary license [that will be] valid for 45 [153]*153days[.] The following periods of suspension shall be imposed against your license or privilege to drive in Maryland[.]
If your test result is an alcohol concentration of at least 0.08 but less than 0.15: The suspension will be 45 days for a first offense and 90 days for a second or subsequent offense.
If your test result is an alcohol concentration of 0.15 or more: The suspension will be 90 days for a first offense and 180 days for a second or subsequent offense.
If you refuse to submit to a test: The suspension will be 120 days for a first offense and one (1) year for a second or subsequent offense. An additional criminal penalty of not more than $500 or imprisonment for not more than 2 months[,] or both, may be imposed under [TR] § 27-101(x) [ ] if you are convicted of a drunk or drugged driving offense under [TR] § 21-902, and the judge or jury finds beyond a reasonable doubt that you knowingly refused to take a test arising out of the same circumstances[.] If you hold a commercial driver’s license [ ] and were driving a non-commercial motor vehicle when you were stopped, and refuse to submit to a test, your [commercial driver’s license] or privilege will be disqualified for one (1) year for a first offense[,] or for life if your [commercial driver’s license] or privilege has been previously disqualified for at least one (1) year under [TR] § 16-812(a) or (b) [ ], a federal law, or any other [S]tate’s law[.] If you were driving a commercial motor vehicle and refuse the test, your [commercial driver’s license] or privilege will be disqualified as set forth below[.] Modification of the Suspension or Issuance of a Restrictive License:
If your test result is an alcohol concentration of 0.08 but less than 0.15: The suspension may be modified or a restrictive license issued at a hearing in certain circumstances[.]
If you refuse a test, or take a test with a result of 0.15 or more: You will be ineligible for modification of the [154]*154suspension or issuance of a restrictive license, unless you participate in the Ignition Interlock System Program under [TR] § 16-404.1 [ ].

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
136 A.3d 885, 448 Md. 145, 2016 WL 2956554, 2016 Md. LEXIS 291, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/motor-vehicle-administration-v-seenath-md-2016.