Thole v. Commissioner of Public Safety

831 N.W.2d 17, 2013 WL 1788555, 2013 Minn. App. LEXIS 39
CourtCourt of Appeals of Minnesota
DecidedApril 29, 2013
DocketNo. A12-1549
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 831 N.W.2d 17 (Thole v. Commissioner of Public Safety) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Thole v. Commissioner of Public Safety, 831 N.W.2d 17, 2013 WL 1788555, 2013 Minn. App. LEXIS 39 (Mich. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

OPINION

STAUBER, Judge.

Appellant challenges the revocation of his driver’s license, arguing that the absence of court-appointed legal counsel in his implied-consent matter violated his due-process rights. Appellant also contends that because the notice and order of revocation failed to offer court-appointed legal counsel, the statutory deadline in which to file a petition for judicial review never commenced, making appellant’s late petition timely. Because indigent parties in implied-consent proceedings have no right to court-appointed legal counsel, the notice and order of revocation was proper and appellant’s petition for judicial review was untimely. We affirm.

FACTS

On or about December 23, 2011, appellant Thomas Thole was arrested for driving while impaired (“DWI”). After hearing the implied consent advisory, Thole submitted to a urine test, which indicated an alcohol concentration of 0.16. On February 2, 2012, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Driver and Vehicle Ser[19]*19vices (DVS), mailed Thole a notice and order of revocation notifying him that his driving privileges would be revoked due to his driving with an alcohol concentration of 0.16.

Thirty-five days later, on March 8, 2012, Thole served and filed a petition for judicial review of the order. Thole contends that he was indigent at the time he received the notice and order and that his first opportunity to retain legal counsel was on March 8, the day he filed the petition. The commissioner moved to dismiss Thole’s petition for lack of jurisdiction because the petition was untimely served and filed. Thole argued that his due-process rights were violated when he was not provided court-appointed legal counsel or information on court-appointed legal counsel in the notice and order, and that the statute of limitations on Thole’s petition for judicial review was suspended as a result. The district court dismissed the matter, sustaining the revocation.

On appeal, Thole contends that his due-process rights were violated when he was not provided access to court-appointed legal counsel in his implied-eonsent matter. He further contends that the commissioner’s failure to provide him information on legal counsel in the notice and order of revocation suspended the statute of limitations, making his petition timely.

ISSUES

1. Did the district court properly conclude that it lacked jurisdiction to review Thole’s petition for judicial review because it was untimely?

2. Does due process require that courts appoint legal counsel to indigent drivers in implied-eonsent matters?

3. Must the commissioner give drivers information on court-appointed legal counsel in the notice and order of revocation?

4.Did the commissioner’s failure to advise Thole of his right to court-appointed legal counsel in the notice and order of revocation suspend the statute of limitations on petitioning for judicial review?

ANALYSIS

Standards of Review

“Jurisdiction is a question of law that we review de novo.” Underdahl v. Comm’r of Pub. Safety, 735 N.W.2d 706, 710 (Minn.2007) (quotation omitted). We review the district court’s conclusions of law de novo. In re Estate of Barg, 752 N.W.2d 52, 63 (Minn.2008). We review due-process challenges de novo. Zellman ex rel. M.Z. v. Indep. Sch. Dist. No. 2758, 594 N.W.2d 216, 220 (Minn.App.1999), review denied (Minn. July 28, 1999). “Interpretation of a statute presents a question of law, which we review de novo.” Swenson v. Nickaboine, 793 N.W.2d 738, 741 (Minn.2011).

I.

A driver may petition for judicial review of the revocation of his driver’s license within 30 days after receipt of a notice and order of revocation. Minn.Stat. § 169A.53, subd. 2(a) (2012). Service by mail of a notice and order of revocation is deemed effective three days after the notice and order is mailed to the driver’s last known address. Minn.Stat. § 169A.52, subd. 6 (2012). A failure to file a petition for judicial review within the 30-day statutory period deprives the district court of jurisdiction to hear the petition. Qualley v. Comm’r of Pub. Safety, 349 N.W.2d 305, 308 (Minn.App.1984). “[A]s a matter of public policy D.W.I. laws, including the implied consent statute, are ... strictly applied.” Id. at 306. In fact, “the 30-day limitations period will be strictly construed even if a delay in filing is not the driver’s [20]*20fault.” McShane v. Comm’r of Pub. Safety, 377 N.W.2d 479, 482 (Minn.App.1985), review denied (Minn. Jan. 23, 1986).

On February 2, 2012, the DVS notified Thole by mail that his driver’s license would be revoked. Thole does not dispute that service of the notice and order was effective on February 5, 2012. A petition for judicial review of the revocation of a driver’s license must be served and filed within 30 days of receipt of the notice and order of revocation. Minn.Stat. § 169A.53, subd. 2(a). Thole filed his petition on March 8, 2012, outside the timeframe allowed under the statute.

Thole asks this court to extend the 30-day statutory timeline. However, “[a]ppeal periods in statutory proceedings are peculiarly within the legislative domain, and the courts and administrative agencies have no power to extend or modify the periods of limitation prescribed by statute.” Langer v. Comm’r of Revenue, 773 N.W.2d 77, 81 (Minn.2009) (citing Johnson v. Winthrop Labs. Div. of Sterling Drug, Inc., 291 Minn. 145, 151, 190 N.W.2d 77, 81 (1971)). Thole failed to serve and file his petition within the statutorily prescribed time. The district court therefore properly dismissed his petition for lack of jurisdiction.

II,

Thole argues that indigent parties in implied-consent cases should be granted court-appointed legal counsel just like indigent defendants in criminal cases. “Both the United States and the Minnesota Constitutions guarantee that ‘in all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right to ... have the assistance of counsel in his defense.’ ” Cox v. Slama, 355 N.W.2d 401, 402 (Minn.1984) (quoting U.S. Const. amend. VI; Minn. Const, art. I, § 6). “Additionally, both guarantee a right to counsel in cases where lack of counsel could well result in a deprivation of ‘life, liberty, or property without due process of law.’ ” Id. (quoting U.S. Const., amends. V & XIV; Minn. Const, art. I, § 7). Thole argues that he may one day risk loss of liberty if he is again charged with DWI because his implied-consent adjudication may be used to enhance that sentence.

Implied:consent cases are civil proceedings. State v. Dumas,

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Bluebook (online)
831 N.W.2d 17, 2013 WL 1788555, 2013 Minn. App. LEXIS 39, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/thole-v-commissioner-of-public-safety-minnctapp-2013.