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Chase v. Neth5/27/2005
procedural due process required by the 14th Amendment. Id.
[14,15] Once it is determined that due process applies, the question remains what process is due. Id. Though the required procedures may vary according to the interests at stake in a particular context, the fundamental requirement of due process is the opportunity to be heard at a meaningful time and in a meaningful manner. Id. Thus, before a state may deprive a motorist of his or her driver's license, that state must provide a forum for the determination of the question and a meaningful hearing appropriate to the nature of the case. Id. In proceedings before an administrative agency or tribunal, procedural due process requires notice, identification of the accuser, factual basis for the accusation, reasonable time and opportunity to present evidence concerning the accusation, and a hearing before an impartial board. Id.
In Mathews v. Eldridge, 424 U.S. 319, 96 S.Ct. 893, 47 L.Ed. 2d 18 (1976), the U.S. Supreme Court set forth three factors to be considered in resolving an inquiry into the specific dictates of due process: first, the private interest that will be affected by the official action; second, the risk of an erroneous deprivation of such interest through the procedures used and the probable value, if any, of additional or substitute procedural safeguards; and finally, the government's interest, including the function involved and the fiscal and administrative burdens that the additional or substitute procedural requirement would entail.
The private interest at issue in this case is the driver's interest in continued possession of a motor vehicle operator's license. A driver's interest in his or her driving privileges is significant in today's society, as the loss of a driver's license may entail economic hardship and personal inconvenience. Hass v. Neth, 265 Neb. 321, 657 N.W.2d 11 (2003); Marshall v. Wimes, supra. The second factor to be considered under the Mathews analysis is the risk of an erroneous determination and the value, if any, of alternative procedures. In Hass, this involved the risk of the revocation of a driver's license despite the existence of a potentially valid Fourth Amendment challenge to the driver's arrest. Hass v. Neth, supra. Here, the nature of risk is substantially different because the Fourth Amendment exclusionary rule does not apply and there is no statutory correlation between an ALR and a criminal prosecution for refusal to submit. In this context, we must consider the risk that a license could be administratively revoked despite the existence of a potentially valid statutory defense. Because the current statutory scheme gives the motorist a reasonable time and opportunity to present evidence regarding the accusations and any potential statutory defense, we conclude that this risk is slight, if it exists at all. The third and final factor to be considered in a Mathews analysis is the government's interest, including the function involved and the fiscal and administrative burdens that the additional or substitute procedural requirement would entail. Hass v. Neth, supra. Here, one governmental interest is the same as that articulated in Hass: a "substantial governmental interest in protecting public health and safety by removing drunken drivers from the highways." 265 Neb. at 329, 657 N.W.2d at 21. In addition, the government has an interest in enforcement of its implied consent law so as to facilitate the gathering of evidence necessary to identify those motorists who are under the influence and thus pose a risk to public health and safety. See State v. Howell, 254 Neb. 247, 575 N.W.2d 861 (1998). Considering each of these factors, we conclude that the administrative hearing and judicial
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