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Harrington v. Commonwealth12/22/2000
This direct appeal requires consideration of whether a 1998 amendment to Section 1584 of the Vehicle Code, implementing the existing scheme of reciprocal license suspension under the interstate Driver's License Compact in circumstances in which a reporting state has failed to fully satisfy the Compact's technical reporting requirements, impinges upon a licensee's entitlement to receive adequate notice pursuant to the due process clauses of the United States and Pennsylvania constitutions.
On August 9, 1998, Appellee, Lawrence J. Harrington, III ("Harrington") was arrested in New Jersey and charged with the offense of driving under the influence of liquor or drugs, N.J.S. §39:4-50(a). Harrington entered a plea of not guilty and was tried and convicted in the Stone Harbor Borough Municipal Court in Cape May County on January 27, 1999. Since New Jersey is a party to the Driver's License Compact of 1961, see N.J.S. §39:5D-1-14, which implements a scheme of reciprocal license suspensions based upon certain out-of-state convictions, the New Jersey Division of Motor Vehicles reported Harrington's conviction to Appellant, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Bureau of Driver Licensing (the "Bureau"), via electronic transmission. The report identified Harrington by name, Pennsylvania driver's license number, date of birth, sex and eye color; described the offense that Harrington committed in New Jersey as "operate under influence liq/drugs"; stated that the offense was a violation of Section 39:4- 50(a) of the New Jersey Statutes; identified the dates of the offense and conviction; and specifically identified the court in which the conviction took place via a three-character alphanumeric code. The New Jersey report did not, however, fully meet the technical reporting requirements of the Compact, as it failed to describe Harrington's plea or whether the conviction resulted from a forfeiture of security.
Nevertheless, pursuant to Article IV of the Compact, see supra note 1, the Bureau treated Harrington's conviction as if he had been convicted of driving under the influence in Pennsylvania pursuant to Section 3731(a) of the Vehicle Code, 75 Pa.C.S. §3731(a), which implicates a mandatory one-year suspension of driving privileges. See 75 Pa.C.S. §1532(b). Thus, the Bureau provided Harrington with written notice of the suspension, providing, inter alia, as follows:
Section 1581 of the Vehicle Code requires the Department to treat certain out of state convictions as though they had occurred in Pennsylvania. Therefore, as a result of the Department receiving notification from NEW JERSEY of your conviction on 01/27/1999 of an offense which occurred on 08/09/1998, which is equivalent to a violation of Section 3731 of the Pa. Vehicle Code, DRIVING UNDER INFLUENCE, your driving privilege is being SUSPENDED for a period of 1 YEAR(S), as mandated by Section 1532B of the Vehicle Code.
The effective date of the suspension is 04/02/1999, 12:01 a.m. Harrington filed a statutory appeal of this administrative action in the court of common pleas, see 75 Pa.C.S. §1550(a), contending, inter alia, that the Bureau's notice of suspension was constitutionally deficient. On May 6, 1999, the common pleas court conducted a de novo hearing, at which the Bureau offered documents into evidence, including a certified copy of the New Jersey report of Harrington's conviction, which were admitted without objection. Harrington testified in his own defense, acknowledging his arrest, his entry of a plea of not guilty, and the ensuing conviction by the trial court. Harrington also indicated that he did not forfeit any type of bail, bond or security.
Nevertheless, citing
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