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Lafferty v. Commonwealth8/17/1999
Submitted: May 28, 1999
The Department of Transportation, Bureau of Driver Licensing (Department) appeals an order of the Court of Common Pleas of Blair County (common pleas court) that sustained the appeal of George D. Lafferty from a one-year suspension of his driving privileges.
By notice dated April 13, 1998, the Department informed Lafferty as follows.
Section 1581 of the Vehicle Code requires the Department to treat certain out of state convictions as though they had occurred in Pennsylvania. Therefore, as a result of the Department receiving notification from FLORIDA of your conviction on 02/11/1998 of an offense which occurred on 12/01/1997, which is equivalent to a violation of Section 3731 of the Pa. Vehicle Code, DRIVING UNDER INFLUENCE, your driving privilege is being SUSPENDED for a period of 1 YEAR(S), as mandated by Section 1532B of the Vehicle Code. (Footnote added).
After a hearing de novo, the common pleas court sustained Lafferty's license suspension appeal on the grounds that Section 3731 of the Code and Fla. Stat. Ann. §316.193, the Florida Driving Under the Influence (DUI) statute pursuant to which Lafferty was convicted, are not "substantially similar" in accordance with the pertinent language of Article IV of the Compact. On appeal here, the Department now raises one question for our review. It asks whether Lafferty's conduct in violating Florida's DUI statute was substantially similar to conduct that would constitute a violation of Pennsylvania's DUI statute under Article IV of the Compact.
Section 3731(a) of the Code provides as follows.
"(a) Offense defined.—A person shall not drive, operate or be in actual physical control of the movement of a vehicle in any of the following circumstances: "(1) While under the influence of alcohol to a degree which renders the person incapable of safe driving. "(2) While under the influence of any controlled substance, as defined in the act of April 14, 1972 (P.L. 233, No. 64), known as The Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act, to a degree which renders the person incapable of safe driving. "(3) While under the combined influence of alcohol and any controlled substance to a degree which renders the person incapable of safe driving. "(4) While the amount of alcohol by weight in the blood of: "(i) an adult is 0.10% or greater; or "(ii) a minor is 0.02% or greater. Fla. Stat. Ann. §316.193 provides in part: "(1) A person is guilty of the offense of driving under the influence and is subject to punishment as provided in subsection (2) if such person is driving or in actual physical control of a vehicle within this state and: "(a) The person is under the influence of alcoholic beverages, any chemical substance set forth in s. 877.111, or any substance controlled under chapter 893, when affected to the extent that the person's normal faculties are impaired; or "(b) The person has a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 or more grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood; or "(c) The person has a breath-alcohol level of 0.08 or more grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath."
Furthermore, Article IV of the Compact [Effect of Conviction] partially sets forth:
"(a) The licensing authority in the home state, for the purposes of suspension, revocation or limitation of the license to operate a motor vehicle, shall give the same effect to the conduct reported, pursuant to Article III of this compact [Reports of Conviction], as it would if such conduct had occurred in the home state in the case of convictions for: "à "(2) driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or a narcotic drug or under the influence of any other drug t
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