State, Department of Public Safety v. Cronin

250 N.W.2d 690, 1977 S.D. LEXIS 145
CourtSouth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 17, 1977
Docket11954, 11955
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 250 N.W.2d 690 (State, Department of Public Safety v. Cronin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering South Dakota Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State, Department of Public Safety v. Cronin, 250 N.W.2d 690, 1977 S.D. LEXIS 145 (S.D. 1977).

Opinions

MORGAN, Justice.

In each case the defendant was involved with the Sioux Falls Police Department on a charge of DWI. For whatever reason, each refused to submit to the chemical blood analysis after the arresting officer had read him his rights from a standard form card, the contents of which substantially comply with the warning requirements of SDCL 32-23-11. Upon subsequent notification of intent to revoke, each petitioned for hearing before a department hearing officer. The officer’s decision in both cases was adverse as evidenced by his entry of orders of revocation.

At this point in the respective procedures, each of the defendants, by their counsel, filed Notice of Appeal to the Circuit Court of Minnehaha County, which Notice of Appeal specified as follows:

“This appeal is made under section SDCL 1967 21-33-1. This appeal is not an appeal from a trial de novo under section SDCL 32-23-12.”

The Cronin Appeal was filed on April 18, 1975 and the Eastman Appeal on May 29, 1975.

The Attorney General’s Office responded in each case with a motion to dismiss the appeal. The motions were not brought on for hearing until December 2, 1975 and the circuit court subsequently entered its Orders of Dismissal. These appeals result and because the issues are identical they were joined for argument.

The question posed by the briefs is whether the provisions of SDCL 21-33-1 and SDCL 32-23-12 are compatible and appellant has a choice of routes, or whether the provisions are incompatible and appellant is restricted to an appeal with a trial de novo.

The appropriate portions of the statutes in controversy that were in effect at the time the appeal was initiated in circuit court are as follows:

“32-23-12 Court review of revocation— Procedure — Trial de novo. — Any person whose license has been canceled, suspended, or revoked by the department of public safety under the provisions of § 32-23-11 shall have the right to file a petition within thirty days thereafter for a hearing in the matter in the circuit court for the county wherein such person was charged with the violation, and such court is hereby vested with jurisdiction and it shall be its duty to set the matter for trial de novo upon ten days’ written notice to the department, and thereupon to take testimony and examine into the facts of the case and to determine whether the petitioner’s license is subject to cancellation, suspension, or revocation under the provisions of § 32-23-11.”
“21-33-1 Appeals to which chapter applicable-inconsistent special provisions govern. — In all cases where an appeal is allowed by law from a decision, ruling, or action of any state department, commission, bureau, board, or officer, such appeal shall be taken and conducted pursuant to the provisions of this chapter1 * * * The provisions of this chapter shall not apply in any instance where inconsistent provisions are elsewhere in this code specifically made.”

[692]*692Chapter 8 of the Session Laws of 1972, amending Chapter 21-33 SDCL, provided that wherever reference is made in the statutes to SDCL 1 — 26 or SDCL 21 — 33, or both, relating to procedure in appeals from an administrative agency, it shall be construed to include references to both.

The appeal provision of Chapter 1-26 hereinabove referred to is found at § 30 thereof and provides:

“1-26-30 Right to judicial review of contested cases — Preliminary agency actions. —A person who has exhausted all administrative remedies available within the agency and who is aggrieved by a final decision in a contested case is entitled to judicial review under this chapter and under procedures set forth in chapter 21— 33. This section does not limit utilization of or the scope of judicial review available under other means of review, redress, relief, or trial de novo provided by law * * * »

The advent of the administrative appeals in South Dakota appears to have commenced in 1917 when the legislature, in adopting a workmen’s compensation statute, Chapter 376 of the Session Laws of 1917, gave the Industrial Commissioner and the Insurance Commissioner, jointly or severally, administrative hearing authorities, and provided for appeals to the circuit court. The Supreme Court of this state on October 5,1917, adopted the rules and regulations governing the taking and prosecuting of appeals to the circuit court under the provisions of the workmen’s compensation law which rules were effective on October 1, 1917. These rules were somewhat modified and reenacted by the Court by Order dated March 12, 1919, effective July 1,1919, and which reflected some changes due to amendment of the workmen’s compensation law by the 1919 Legislature. The 1939 Supreme Court Rule, codified as SDC Chapter 33.42, expanded the previous appellate procedures from “Appeals from Decisions of the Insurance Commissioner and Industrial Commissioner” to “Appeals from Quasijudi-cial Decisions by State Departments and Officers.” Under the 1967 compilation this chapter was compiled as SDCL 1967 Chapter 21-33 — Appeals from Administrative Agencies.

In the enactment of the Code of 1939 the legislature included section 65.0106 — Rules and regulations of state departments; commissions; boards; officers: method of adoption and promulgation; effective dates; distribution. It also enacted section 55.1203 — Rules and regulations: state officers, departments, and commissions; official filing source; duties. This latter enactment constituted the Secretary of State as the official filing source. Both of these 1939 enactments were repealed by the provisions of Chapter 159 of the 1966 Session Laws, An Act Entitled, An Act concerning procedure of state administrative agencies and review of their determination, and being generally denominated as a comprehensive law relating to rules and enforcement of determinations of state agencies and review thereof. This Act, generically described as an administrative procedures act, was later compiled in the 1967 compilation as SDCL 1967 Chapter 1 — 26 Administrative Procedure and Rules.

The original Implied Consent Law found at Chapter 264 of the Session Laws of 1959 provided for a suspension of license by the commissioner upon notification that a driver had refused to submit to the chemical analysis. The statute further provided that the driver had the right to petition the circuit court for hearing after such revocation and vested the court with the jurisdiction and imposed on it the duty to set the matter for trial de novo. This statute as originally enacted did not provide for an administrative hearing prior to revocation of a license.

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

Related

Strain v. Christians
483 N.W.2d 783 (South Dakota Supreme Court, 1992)
Karlen v. Janklow
339 N.W.2d 322 (South Dakota Supreme Court, 1983)
Parsons v. South Dakota Department of Social Services
314 N.W.2d 863 (South Dakota Supreme Court, 1982)
State, Department of Public Safety v. Eastman
273 N.W.2d 159 (South Dakota Supreme Court, 1978)
In re the Revocation of the Driver's License of De Cory
269 N.W.2d 119 (South Dakota Supreme Court, 1978)
Department of Public Safety v. Weinrich
263 N.W.2d 690 (South Dakota Supreme Court, 1978)
Boggs v. State, Department of Public Safety
261 N.W.2d 412 (South Dakota Supreme Court, 1977)
Peterson v. State
261 N.W.2d 405 (South Dakota Supreme Court, 1977)
Drovdal v. State, Department of Public Safety, Division of Highway Patrol
255 N.W.2d 437 (South Dakota Supreme Court, 1977)
State, Department of Public Safety v. Cronin
250 N.W.2d 690 (South Dakota Supreme Court, 1977)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
250 N.W.2d 690, 1977 S.D. LEXIS 145, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-department-of-public-safety-v-cronin-sd-1977.