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State v. Collins6/29/2005
ch person having been placed under arrest and thereafter having been requested by a law enforcement officer to submit to such test and advised of the consequences for refusing to do so, refuses to submit, the test shall not be given, and such person shall be charged with violating this subsection (a) . . . . If the court finds that the driver violated the provisions of this subsection (a), except as otherwise provided in this subdivision (a)(3), the driver shall not be considered as having committed a criminal offense; however, the court shall revoke the license of such driver for a period of:
(A) One (1) year, if the person does not have a prior conviction for a violation of § 55-10-401 . . . in this state or a similar offense in any other jurisdiction.
(B) Two (2) years, if the person does have a prior conviction for an offense set out in subdivision (A).
Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-10-406(a)(3).
"The most basic principle of statutory construction is to ascertain and give effect to the legislative intent without unduly restricting or expanding a statute's coverage beyond its intended scope." Owens v. State, 908 S.W.2d 923, 926 (Tenn. 1995) (citing State v. Sliger, 846 S.W.2d 262, 263 (Tenn.1993)). Where the statute's language is clear and unambiguous, we derive the legislative intent from its plain and ordinary meaning. Wilson, 132 S.W.3d at 341. If, however, "the parties derive different interpretations from the statutory language, an ambiguity exists, and we must look to the entire statutory scheme in seeking to ascertain legislative intent." Owens, 908 S.W.2d at 926 (citing Lyons v. Rasar, 872 S.W.2d 895, 897 (Tenn.1994)). "In ascertaining the intent of the legislature, this Court may look to `the language of the statute, its subject matter, the object and reach of the statute, the wrong or evil which it seeks to remedy or prevent, and the purpose sought to be accomplished in its enactment.'" State v. Gilliland, 22 S.W.3d 266, 275 (Tenn. 2000) (quoting State v. Lewis, 958 S.W.2d 736, 739 (Tenn.1997)). "Statutes `in pari materia' - those relating to the same subject or having a common purpose - are to be construed together." Owens, 908 S.W.2d at 926 (citing Lyons, 872 S.W.2d at 897). With these principles in mind, we turn to the parties' arguments.
Collins argues that failure to apprise him of the two-year suspension provision constitutes a failure to inform him of the consequences of his failure to take the breath test. Therefore, he argues, his failure to take the test should not subject him to suspension of his license, and the State should not be permitted to argue to the jury on the DUI charge that Collins knew he would lose his license if he refused the breath test. The State argues that the Court of Criminal Appeals correctly held that the length of the suspension is immaterial; what matters is that Collins was informed that refusal to take the test would subject him to having his license suspended. Collins further argues that all evidence of his "alleged refusal" to take the breath test should be suppressed at his DUI trial. We decline to address this broad argument. The interlocutory appeal granted by the Court of Criminal Appeals was limited to review of the trial court's determination that the State could not seek suspension of Collins' license and that the State could not argue to the jury on the DUI charge that Collins "knew" he would lose his license if he refused the breath test. Additionally, Collins did not raise to the Court of Criminal Appeals the argument that all evidence relating to the breath test should be suppressed. We therefore confine our review to the questions of whether the State may seek suspension of his license and whether t
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