Musick v. Kansas Department of Revenue

825 P.2d 531, 16 Kan. App. 2d 462, 1992 Kan. App. LEXIS 30
Court of Appeals of Kansas·Decided February 7, 1992·No. No. 66,048·Published·Cited by 4 cases

Opinion

Briscoe, C.J.:

The Department of Revenue appeals, from the district court’s finding that Craig Musick’s prior uncounseled conviction of driving while under the influence could not be used as a basis for extending the period of his driver’s license suspension under K.S.A. 1989 Supp. 8-1014.

Musick was arrested for DUI on June 23, 1985, ánd entered into a diversion agreement on July 16, 1985. He was not represented by counsel when he entered into the diversion agreement. In determining whether the Depártment, will suspend or restrict an individual’s driving privileges for test .refusal, test failure, or alcohol or drug-related convictions, a diversion agreement entered into in lieu of further criminal proceedings on a DUI complaint is treated as a conviction. K.S.A. 1989 Supp. 8-1013(b)(2)(A).

On January 13, 1990, Musick was arrested for DUI and agreed to take a breath test. The test indicated his blood alcohol content was in excess of .10. In applying K.S.A. 1989 Supp. 8-1013 and 8-1014 to Musick’s driving record, the Department treated his prior diversion as a first occurrence and his test failure as a second occurrence, and suspended Musick’s license for one year, with the suspension to begin February 21, 1990.

After administrative review, Musick’s one-year suspension was upheld. Musick then sought judicial review with the district court. After a hearing on the matter, on September 4, 1990, the court held the prior uncounseled diversion could not be used to enhance Musick’s period of suspension, found the test failure was a first occurrence under 8-1014, and ordered that Musick’s period of suspension should be reduced accordingly. Musick’s license had been suspended from February 21, 1990, to September 4, 1990, a period of 195 days. As his license had already been suspended in excess of the 30-day suspension applicable to first [464] occurrences, the court ordered immediate reinstatement of his driving privileges. The Department timely appealed.

On February 6, 1991, Musick pleaded nolo contendere in Topeka Municipal Court to the January 13, 1990, DUI charge. As a result of that conviction and pursuant to 8-1014(c)(l), Musick’s driving privileges were restricted from March 5, 1991, to August 11, 1991, a period of 159 days.

By this appeal, the Department seeks reinstatement of its order pursuant to 8-1014(b)(2), which suspended Musick’s license for one year. If the Department’s order is reinstated, Musick’s driver’s license will be suspended for an additional 170 days. Musick contends this appeal is moot because his license has been suspended or restricted for a period which exceeds the year’s suspension the Department seeks to impose. Musick combines the period his license was suspended with the period his license was restricted and argues this period exceeds one year.

Musick’s argument is both mathematically and legally incorrect. Musick combines the 195 days of suspension imposed pursuant to 8-1014(b)(2) (served from February 21, 1990, to September 4, 1990) with the 159 days of driving with a restricted license imposed pursuant to 8-1014(c)(l) (served from March 5, 1991, to August 11, 1991) to argue his license has been suspended or restricted for a one-year period. Both the suspension and the restriction resulted from the same DUI incident which occurred on January 13, 1990. Even if it were proper to combine the periods of suspension and restriction for this purpose, the combined periods do not add up to a year. Further, we interpret 8-1014(d) as treating suspensions differently from restrictions.

K.S.A. 1989 Supp. 8-1014(d) provides that combined periods of suspension cannot exceed the longest single period of suspension provided by 8-1014(a), (b), or (c), a period of one year. K.S.A. 1989 Supp. 8-1014(d) also makes separate provision for sanctions of suspension and restriction:

“If a person’s driving privileges are subject to suspension pursuant to this section for a test refusal, test failure or alcohol or drug-related conviction arising from the same arrest, the period of such suspension shall not exceed the longest applicable period authorized by subsection (a), (b) or (c), and such suspension periods shall not be added together or otherwise imposed consecutively. In addition, in determining the period of such suspension as [465] authorized by subsection (a), (b) or (c), such person shall receive credit for any period of time for which such person’s driving privileges were suspended while awaiting any hearing or final order authorized by this act.
“If a person’s driving privileges are subject to restriction pursuant to this section for a test failure or alcohol or drug-related conviction arising from the same arrest, the restriction periods shall not be added together or otherwise imposed consecutively. In addition, in determining the period of restriction, the person shall receive credit for 150 days of any period of suspension imposed for a test refusal arising from the same arrest.” (Emphasis added.)

In determining the period of restriction, 8-1014(d) does provide 150 days of credit against the statutory restriction period if a period of suspension has been imposed for a test refusal arising from the same arrest. However, the statute makes no provision for combining periods of restriction with suspension or for substituting one for the other when computing whether the period of suspension has been satisfied. Further, the statute does not forbid imposing a period of suspension for test failure and a period of restriction for conviction as a result of the same DUI. As courts must apply the natural and ordinary meaning of words when construing a statute (Hill v. Hill, 13 Kan. App. 2d 107, 108, 763 P.2d 640 [1988]), we conclude the issue presented by the Department is not moot because there remains a question of whether the Department may impose the balance of the year s suspension.

Musick also claims the Department acquiesced in the judgment by not relying upon the prior uncounseled conviction to enhance the period of restriction imposed as a result of his nolo contendere plea on February 6, 1991.

If a party acquiesces in a judgment, the right to have the judgment reviewed on appeal is terminated. To acquiesce sufficiently to terminate one’s right to appeal, one must voluntarily comply with the judgment in either assuming the burden or accepting the benefit of the judgment. Younger v. Mitchell, 245 Kan. 204, 206-07, 777 P.2d 789 (1989).

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

Musick v. Kansas Department of Revenue, 825 P.2d 531, 16 Kan. App. 2d 462, 1992 Kan. App. LEXIS 30 (kanctapp 1992).

825 P.2d 531 (Musick v. Kansas Department of Revenue) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

State v. Hamann
422 P.3d 193 (Oregon Supreme Court, 2018)
Patterson v. State
938 So. 2d 625 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2006)
State v. Likins
903 P.2d 764 (Court of Appeals of Kansas, 1995)
Attorney General Opinion No.
Kansas Attorney General Reports, 1994