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Stanton v. Moore12/22/1998
ovember 10, 1994, it was permissible for the hearing officer to reasonably infer that the report and notice form issued to Axtman was received on November 10, 1994, and not November 10, 1993). "It is the province of the fact-finder to receive evidence and draw reasonable inferences from that evidence." Id. (citations omitted). Utilizing common sense and experience, a hearing officer may draw inferences from the evidence presented. Nelson v. Director, North Dakota Dep't of Transp., 1997 ND 81, 11, 562 N.W.2d 562 (citation omitted); Pavek v. Moore, Director, North Dakota Dep't of Transp., 1997 ND 77, 10, 562 N.W.2d 574.
[ ] Accordingly, in an administrative hearing under N.D.C.C. § 39-20-05(2), the hearing officer may draw reasonable inferences from the evidence presented in order to ascertain whether the arresting officer had reasonable grounds to believe the person had been driving a vehicle in violation of section 39-08-01. Under the plain language of N.D.C.C. § 39-20-05(2), there is no jurisdictional requirement the hearing officer must determine the person arrested was the "actual driver," without relying on reasonable inferences from the evidence presented. Such an interpretation would make the phrase "reasonable grounds to believe" meaningless.
[ ] This court held in State v. Rieger, 281 N.W.2d 252, 255 (N.D. 1979), a criminal defendant may be convicted of reckless driving based on inferences from circumstantial evidence alone. Although the arresting officer admitted he never saw Rieger actually driving and Rieger denied being the driver, we concluded the circumstantial evidence was sufficient for the trier of fact to ascertain Reiger was driving. Id. at 253, 255. If a positive identification of the "actual driver" is unnecessary to support a criminal conviction for reckless driving where the standard is beyond a reasonable doubt, a reasonable inference based upon circumstantial evidence that the person was the driver is sufficient to suspend a person's driving privileges under N.D.C.C. § 39-20-05(2) when the standard is a preponderance of the evidence.
[ ] In this case, the hearing officer drew inferences from the evidence presented based on her common sense and experience. A positive identification that Stanton was the "actual driver" was not required by N.D.C.C. § 39-20-05(2). The hearing officer, therefore, ascertained the arresting officer "had reasonable grounds to believe [Stanton] was the driver of the vehicle at the time of the accident based upon [Stanton's] response and the surrounding circumstances."
[ ] The hearing officer's findings of fact are supported by a preponderance of the evidence, the Conclusions of law are sustained by the findings of fact, and the decision to suspend Stanton's license is in accordance with the law. We therefore affirm the judgment of the district court.
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