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State of Alaska12/15/2000
[No. 5346 - December 15, 2000]
I. INTRODUCTION
The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) revoked Patrick Niedermeyer's driver's license after Niedermeyer was arrested for underage consumption of alcohol. Because DMV's administrative revocation was punitive, and because DMV acted without the safeguards that attend a criminal prosecution, Niedermeyer's right to due process was violated and his suspension must be overturned.
II. FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS
On July 4, 1995, Patrick Niedermeyer was arrested at a cabin for underage consumption of alcohol. There was never any allegation that Niedermeyer had previously driven after consuming alcohol or intended to drive on the evening of his arrest. Following the arrest, Niedermeyer's arresting officer read him the "Under 21 Notice of Revocation," in accordance with former AS 28.15.183. That notice said:
YOUR DRIVER'S LICENSE OR PRIVILEGE TO DRIVE IN THIS STATE IS REVOKED. THIS IS YOUR OFFICIAL NOTICE OF REVOCATION. THIS REVOCATION WILL TAKE EFFECT 7 DAYS AFTER THE DATE SHOWN ABOVE, UNLESS YOU REQUEST AN ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW OF THE REVOCATION. INFORMATION ON THE REVERSE SIDE OF THIS FORM TELLS YOU HOW TO APPLY FOR THIS REVIEW.[ ]
Niedermeyer requested administrative review of his license revocation. After conducting telephonic hearings, DMV affirmed the revocation.
Niedermeyer appealed to the superior court. Judge Eric T. Sanders reversed the revocation, finding former AS 28.15.183 unconstitutional for the reasons stated in Quinn v. State, Department of Public Safety, a similar case decided by another superior court judge. The state appealed the superior courts' rulings in both the Quinn and Niedermeyer cases. We initially stayed the appeal in this case pending our decision in Quinn, but reactivated this appeal after summarily affirming Quinn by an evenly divided vote. On appeal, the state claims that the superior court erred in declaring Alaska's former AS 28.15.183 unconstitutional.
III. DISCUSSION
A. Standard of Review
The constitutionality of former AS 28.15.183 is a legal question to which this court applies its independent judgment.
B. Mootness
The state did not prosecute Niedermeyer for unlawful possession or consumption of alcohol. Because recent amendments to AS 28.15.183 now require DMV to reissue a minor's revoked license if the state fails to prosecute the underlying criminal offense or if a prosecution ends in dismissal or acquittal, the only live controversy in this case is the award of prevailing-party attorney's fees. We must nevertheless address the merits of the parties' constitutional arguments, for we have previously held that we "will review an otherwise moot issue to determine who the prevailing party is if such a determination is necessary for purposes of awarding attorney's fees."
C. Substantive Due Process
The superior court, incorporating Quinn's reasoning, found that former AS 28.15.183 violates substantive due process because its age-based restriction is not rationally related to a valid legislative purpose. Niedermeyer urges us to uphold this ruling. He insists that there is no close or obvious connection between underage possession or consumption of alcohol and dangerous driving. But substantive due process demands no direct connection of this kind; the substantive due process requirement allows a law to pass muster as long as it bears any rational relation to a legitimate legislative goal:
Substantive due process is denied when a legislative enactment has no reasonable relationship to a legitimate governmental purpose. It is no
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