 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Commonwealth of Kentucky v. Howard6/18/1998
OPINION OF THE COURT BY JUSTICE WINTERSHEIMER REVERSING CASE NO. 97-SC-764 and AFFIRMING CASE NO. 98-SC-06
These two consolidated cases were argued before the Court on the same day and involve the same issue. The Court, therefore, will resolve both cases in this single opinion.
Case No. 97-SC-764-TG
Howard's appeal comes before this Court on a motion to transfer from the Kentucky Court of Appeals. The Daviess Circuit Court affirmed a decision of the Daviess District Court which struck down the juvenile DUI statute, KRS 189A.010(1)(e), as a violation of the equal protection guarantees of both the federal and state constitutions. The Court of Appeals granted discretionary review but refused to transfer. On a motion for transfer, this Court granted transfer.
The issue before this Court is whether KRS 189A.010(1)(e) is constitutional.
On November 29, 1996, Howard was 18 years of age and was tested by a state trooper with an intoxilyzer and showed a 0.032 blood alcohol level. Consequently, he was charged with a violation of the statute. KRS 189A.010(1)(e) states:
A person shall not operate or be in physical control of a motor vehicle anywhere in this state . . . while the alcohol concentration in his blood or breath is 0.02 or more based on the definition of the alcohol concentration in KRS 189A.005 if the person is under the age of twenty-one.
In district court, Howard challenged the constitutionality of the statute on the basis that it created a suspect class for those adults above 18 years of age, of which he was a member, and therefore violated his right to equal protection under the law. Both the district Judge and the circuit Judge were convinced that the statute did create a suspect class based solely on age without any other rational basis and therefore could not uphold the statute even if the interests, zero tolerance for underage drinkers it sought to protect, was indeed noble. The decision was based primarily on Praete v. Commonwealth, Ky.App., 722 S.W.2d 602 (1987) and Commonwealth v. Raines, Ky., 847 S.W.2d 724 (1993).
KRS 189A.010(1)(e) does not violate the equal protection clause of the United States Constitution or Sections 1, 2 and 3 of the Kentucky Constitution that reflect the equal protection provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Commonwealth v. Smith, Ky., 875 S.W.2d 873 (1994). In addition, Section 59 of the Kentucky Constitution provides equal protection guarantees in the form of a prohibition of special legislation which is also not violated.
KRS 189A.010(1)(e) is sometimes known as the "Juvenile DUI Statute" or the "Zero Tolerance Law." It was enacted in 1996 and makes it a crime for anyone under the age of twenty-one to drive with a blood alcohol content of 0.02 percent or higher. The Zero Tolerance Statute is one of several provisions which was enacted in 1996 by the General Assembly. In addition, the General Assembly provided a graduated driver's licensing system in which a novice driver begins driving with a learner's permit at age sixteen and progresses to driving with certain restrictions. Full licensing, without restriction, is obtained at age eighteen. See KRS 186.440 et seq. Approximately 43 states, as well as the District of Columbia, have zero tolerance laws for drivers under the age of twenty-one. See National Center for Statistics and Analysis, National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, Traffic Safety Facts-Young Drivers (1996). The necessity for establishing a zero tolerance statute and the graduated driver's licensing program comes at least in part from the Alcohol Impaired Driving Countermeasures Act, 23 U.S.C.A
Page 1 2 3 4 5 Kentucky DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|