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Motor Vehicle Administration v. Bruce Clayton Shrader. Motor Vehicle Administration10/31/1991
These three cases require our construction of Maryland Code (1987, 1991 Cum.Supp.), § 16-205.1 of the Transportation Article, which under certain circumstances authorizes
the suspension of driving privileges when a licensee is detained on suspicion of drunken driving. Specifically, we are called upon to determine whether dismissal of an order of suspension is a proper sanction when the Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) fails to comply with the provisions of § 16-205.1(f)(5)(i) by scheduling a hearing to challenge the suspension more than 30 days after its receipt of a hearing request submitted by the licensee.
I.
On June 17, 1990 at 3:07 a.m., Appellant, Jeffrey Paul Larkin, was stopped by a Maryland State Trooper in Prince George's County for suspected drunken driving. Larkin was advised of his right under § 16-205.1 of the Transportation Article to take or refuse a chemical test to determine the concentration of alcohol in his blood, and of the consequences of his decision. After Larkin refused to submit to the test, the trooper confiscated Larkin's driver's license and issued him an officer's certification and order of suspension, which also served as a temporary driver's license, allowing Larkin to continue to drive for 45 days after its issuance, or until completion of an administrative hearing at which Larkin could demonstrate why his license should not be suspended.
Larkin timely completed a request for a hearing to challenge the suspension of his license and mailed it to the MVA. That request was received by the MVA on June 25, 1990. A hearing was scheduled before an administrative law judge of the OAH for July 27, 1990, 32 days after MVA's receipt of Larkin's hearing request. Larkin's temporary license was scheduled to expire August 1, 1990, five days after his administrative hearing was held.
On July 27, 1990, Larkin appeared for his administrative hearing and filed a motion to dismiss the suspension order on the basis of MVA's failure to schedule a hearing date within 30 days from the date Larkin filed his hearing request, as required by § 16-205.1(f)(5)(i) of the Transportation Article. The administrative law judge denied Larkin's motion and suspended his license to drive for 120 days.
Larkin filed an appeal to the Circuit Court for Prince George's County and the suspension was stayed pending the outcome of the appeal. The circuit court judge affirmed both the denial of the motion to dismiss and the decision of the administrative law judge to suspend Larkin's license.
The case involving Appellee, Bruce Clayton Shrader, followed a similar course. On the night of April 20, 1990 at 10:44 p.m., Shrader was detained by a police officer for suspected drunken driving in Harford County. Shrader was advised of his rights with regard to taking a chemical test and refused to submit to the test. As a result, the trooper seized Shrader's driver's license and served him an order of suspension and a temporary license authorizing him to drive for 45 days after its issuance, or until completion of an administrative hearing to determine whether the suspension was warranted.
Shrader filed a timely request for an administrative hearing which was received by MVA on April 24, 1990. The MVA scheduled the hearing regarding Shrader's refusal to take the test on May 25, 1990, 31 days after MVA had received the request for hearing. At the administrative hearing, Shrader moved to dismiss the order of suspension on the basis that the hearing was not held within 30 days of the date that the re
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