Texas Department of Public Safety v. Nielsen

102 S.W.3d 313, 2003 Tex. App. LEXIS 2427, 2003 WL 1387878
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 20, 2003
Docket09-02-314 CV
StatusPublished
Cited by33 cases

This text of 102 S.W.3d 313 (Texas Department of Public Safety v. Nielsen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Texas Department of Public Safety v. Nielsen, 102 S.W.3d 313, 2003 Tex. App. LEXIS 2427, 2003 WL 1387878 (Tex. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinions

OPINION

DON BURGESS, Justice.

An Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) authorized the Texas Department of Public Safety (“DPS”) to suspend Ronald Lloyd Nielsen’s driving privileges for 180 days. Nielsen appealed to the trial court, which reversed the administrative decision. DPS appeals. Nielsen did not file an appellate brief.

A deputy stopped Nielsen for speeding and driving in a center turn lane while passing other vehicles. The officer smelled alcohol in Nielsen’s vehicle. After Nielsen admitted he had been drinking and refused to take field sobriety tests, the officer arrested Nielsen and took him to the Montgomery County jail where he refused to provide a breathalizer sample.

Nielsen received a notice of suspension of his driver’s license for refusing to provide a breath specimen following his DWI arrest. Nielsen requested a suspension hearing. After the hearing, the ALJ authorized DPS to suspend Nielsen’s driver’s license on March 25, 2002. Subsequently, the state’s attorney filed a motion to dismiss criminal charges against Nielsen because the offense of driving while intoxicated could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. The case against Nielsen was dismissed on April 17, 2002.

Nielsen appealed the administrative decision to the county court at law. There, Nielsen argued lack of reasonable suspicion and lack of probable cause as well as arguing that the dismissal was the equivalent of an acquittal on his criminal charges. Admitted into evidence was the suspension hearing transcript and the state’s motion to dismiss. The trial court ruled in Nielsen’s favor.

We review administrative license suspension decisions under the substantial evidence standard, and may not substitute our judgment for that of the agency. Mireles v. Tex. Dep’t of Pub. Safety, 9 S.W.3d 128, 131 (Tex.1999); see Tex. Transp. Code Ann. §§ 724.047, 524.002 (Vernon 1999); see also Tex. Dep’t of Pub. Safety v. Thompson, 14 S.W.3d 853, 855 (Tex.App.Beaumont 2000, no pet.); Tex. Gov’t Code Ann. § 2001.174 (Vernon 2000). “The issue for the reviewing court is not whether the agency’s decision was correct, but only whether the record demonstrates some reasonable basis for the agency’s action.” Míreles, 9 S.W.3d at 131. “Courts must affirm administrative findings in contested cases if there is more than a scintilla of evidence to support them. In fact, an administrative decision may be sustained even if the evidence preponderates against it.” Id. (citations omitted).

In its first issue, DPS contends the trial court erred in holding the suspension should be dismissed based on the assistant district attorney’s decision not to prosecute Nielsen for driving while intoxicated. DPS asserts the Texas Transportation Code provides that only an acquittal will result in rescission of an administrative suspension and that DPS’s administrative rules and case law specifically exclude a decision not to prosecute from the definition of an acquittal. We agree that the district attorney’s decision not to prosecute will not support the trial court’s decision.

While the trial court’s order does not state a reason for overruling the administrative decision, and no findings of fact were requested, the record is clear that the trial court considered dismissal of the criminal charges to be an important factor in its decision. Before ruling, the court stated that the dismissal “equals an acquittal,” and “[therefore, this person’s [316]*316license should not be suspended for any administrative reason whatsoever.”

Under section 724.048 of the Transportation Code, the disposition of a criminal charge arising from the same arrest as an administrative license suspension has no bearing on the suspension unless the defendant is acquitted of the criminal charge. See Tex. Transp. Code Ann. § 724.048(b), (c) (Vernon 1999). The Transportation Code also requires DPS to adopt rules to administer the suspension statutes. See Tex. Transp. Code Ann. § 724.003 (Vernon 1999). The adopted rules specifically provide that a pre-trial order of dismissal where jeopardy has not attached shall not be regarded as an acquittal. 37 Tex. Admin. Code § 17.13(c)(1) (2002).

Texas case law construes “acquittal” and “attachment of jeopardy.” An acquittal is an “official factfinding” “that the accused is not guilty of the criminal offense with which he is charged.” Ex parte George, 913 S.W.2d 523, 527 (Tex.Crim.App.1995). For a dismissal or abandonment of a criminal accusation to be the equivalent of an acquittal, jeopardy must have attached. Lewis v. State, 889 S.W.2d 403, 406 (Tex.App.-Austin 1994, pet. ref d). Jeopardy attaches when both sides have announced ready and the defendant has pled to the charging instrument. State v. Torres, 805 S.W.2d 418, 421 (Tex.Crim.App.1991).

Here, we have no record of a jury being chosen or plea taken in the criminal matter. Accordingly, the prosecutor’s dismissal of the criminal charges against Nielsen was not tantamount to an acquittal, and the trial court’s decision in this license suspension case cannot be affirmed on that ground. See Texas Dept. of Public Safety v. Norrell, 968 S.W.2d 16, 19-20 (Tex.App.-Corpus Christi 1998, no pet.); see Texas Dept. Public Safety v. Stacy, 954 S.W.2d 80 (Tex.App.-San Antonio 1997, no writ).

However, we must review other grounds possibly supporting the trial court’s decision in Nielsen’s favor. Here, the trial court did not issue written findings of fact and conclusions of law, and we may not consider its oral comments as a substitute for such findings and conclusions. In re Doe 10, 78 S.W.3d 338, 345 n. 2 (Tex.2002) (citing In the Interest of W.E.R., 669 S.W.2d 716, 716 (Tex.1984)). In the absence of findings of fact and conclusions of law, we imply that the trial court found all facts necessary to support its judgment as long as they also are supported by the evidence. BMC Software Belgium, N.V. v. Marchand, 83 S.W.3d 789, 795 (Tex.2002). However, those implied findings may be challenged on appeal for legal and factual sufficiency where the appellate record includes the reporter’s and clerk’s records. Id.

The Amarillo Court of Appeals recently considered a similar license suspension case, Tex. Dep’t of Pub. Safety v. Wilmoth, 83 S.W.3d 929 (Tex.App.-Amarillo 2002, no pet.). In Wilmoth,

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Bluebook (online)
102 S.W.3d 313, 2003 Tex. App. LEXIS 2427, 2003 WL 1387878, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/texas-department-of-public-safety-v-nielsen-texapp-2003.