Case Name: COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania v. James William CROCKFORD, Appellant
Court: Superior Court of Pennsylvania
Jurisdiction: Pennsylvania
Decision Date: 1995-06-08
Citations: 660 A.2d 1326
Docket Number: 
Parties: COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania v. James William CROCKFORD, Appellant.
Judges: Before ROWLEY, P.J., and CAVANAUGH, WIEAND, McEWEN, CIRILLO, BECK, TAMILIA, FORD ELLIOTT and SAYLOR, JJ.
Reporter: West's Atlantic Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 660
Pages: 1326–1341

Head Matter:
COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania v. James William CROCKFORD, Appellant.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania.
Argued Feb. 22, 1995.
Filed June 8, 1995.
Albert J. Flora, Jr., Wilkes-Barre, for appellant.
Peter Paul Olszewski, Jr., Dist. Atty., Wilkes-Barre, for Com., appellee.
Harold H. Cramer, Philadelphia, for PA Dept, of Transp., amicus curiae.
Before ROWLEY, P.J., and CAVANAUGH, WIEAND, McEWEN, CIRILLO, BECK, TAMILIA, FORD ELLIOTT and SAYLOR, JJ.

Opinion:
FORD ELLIOTT, Judge:
Appellant comes before us challenging the judgment of sentence imposed upon him following his conviction pursuant to 75 Pa. C.S.A. § 1543(b), pertaining to driving while operating privileges are suspended or revoked. Finding no error below, we affirm.
The factual setting from which this case devolves is simply recounted. The Commonwealth presented a single witness at trial. State Trooper Robert Halecky testified that on March 1, 1993, while on patrol in a marked police car, he observed appellant operating a vehicle with an expired inspection sticker. Prompted to effect a traffic stop of appellant, Trooper Halecky asked appellant to produce a driver's license and an owner's card, but appellant was unable to comply with the license request since he was not carrying one. Upon discerning appellant's name, address, and date of birth, Trooper Halecky returned to his ear and ran a records check on appellant. The records check revealed that appellant's license had been suspended. When Trooper Halecky questioned appellant as to why he was under suspension, appellant was unable to state a possible reason.
Trooper Halecky went on to testify that subsequent receipt of appellant's certified driving record from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) revealed that appellant's driver's license had been suspended for driving under the influence. The record further indicated that the license suspension was effective for one year from October 28,1992, and that official notice thereof was mailed to appellant on that same date.
Following Trooper Halecky's testimony, the Commonwealth offered appellant's certified driving record into evidence and rested. Appellant thereupon demurred on the basis that the Commonwealth had failed to meet its burden of proof insofar as demonstrating that appellant had actual notice of his license suspension. The trial court refused to grant a demurrer and the defense proceeded with its ease, likewise presenting a sole witness, in the person of appellant.
In the course of his testimony, appellant admitted that he had two prior convictions for driving under the influence. He had been told that his license would be suspended and that he would be notified by the state. Appellant was asked by the court to produce his license at trial and was told that the court would find him not guilty if he could. Notes of testimony, 2/2/94 at 23. Appellant explained that he did not bring his license because he was not instructed to do so, and he did not think to bring it on his own because it was no longer valid. Appellant was convicted of driving while under suspension, and now appeals.
Although couched by appellant as two arguments, he effectively raises a single issue on appeal. Appellant avers that the Commonwealth must show that appellant had actual notice of his suspension, and that it failed to meet this burden. We agree that the Commonwealth bears the burden of proving notice beyond a reasonable doubt, but find that the Commonwealth's evidence at trial, left unrebutted, sufficiently proved such notice. Therefore, we affirm.
Preliminarily, we begin by reiterating our standard of review:
In examining a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, it is well established that an appellate court must determine whether the evidence was sufficient to enable the jury to find every element of the crime charged beyond a reasonable doubt, viewing all the evidence and reasonable inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the verdict winner.
Commonwealth v. Zimmick, 539 Pa. 548, 554, 653 A.2d 1217, 1220 (1995). It would also be beneficial at this point to set out the particular statute at issue:
§ 1543. Driving while operating privilege is suspended or revoked
(b) Certain offenses. — Any person who drives a motor vehicle on any highway or trafficway of this Commonwealth at a time when their operating privilege is suspended or revoked as a condition of acceptance of Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition for a violation of section 3731 (relating to driving under influence of alcohol or controlled substance) or because of a violation of section 1547(b)(1) (relating to suspension for refusal) or 3731 shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a summary offense and shall be sentenced to pay a fine of $1,000 and to undergo imprisonment for a period of not less than 90 days.
75 Pa.C.S.A. § 1543(b).
The seminal case in this area is Commonwealth v. Kane, 460 Pa. 582, 333 A.2d 925 (1975), which held that it is necessary for the Commonwealth to prove that the accused had actual notice of suspension in order to convict of driving while under suspension. Kane interpreted the former 75 P.S. § 624, our prior statute governing driving under suspension. Under § 624, driving while under suspension was a misdemeanor subject to the general culpability requirements of 18 Pa. C.S.A. § 301, 302, and proof of mens rea. 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 1543(b), however, is defined by the Legislature as a summary offense. As such, it is exempted from general culpability requirements pursuant to 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 305. Still, our supreme court has plainly held that proof of actual notice of suspension remains a necessary element of 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 1543. See Commonwealth v. McDonough, 533 Pa. 283, 621 A.2d 569 (1993). See also Commonwealth v. Horney, 365 Pa.Super. 152, 529 A.2d 18 (1987); Commonwealth v. Burkett, 300 Pa.Super. 72, 445 A.2d 1304 (1982). Notice is, therefore, a judicially created element, designed to protect a defendant's due process rights.
In addition to requiring actual notice, Kane also ruled that proof that notice was mailed was not sufficient alone to prove the vital element of actual notice. As the Kane court stated:
[T]he issue now being discussed is not whether evidence of mailing is admissible evidence, but whether admissible evidence of mailing, standing alone, is sufficient evidence to establish one of the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. . [EJven though an inferred fact is more likely than not to follow from a proven fact, in a criminal case, the inference 'must also satisfy the criminal "reasonable doubt" standard if proof of the crime charged or an essential element thereof depends upon its use.'
. Although the records stated that a notice had been mailed, there was no other proof that appellant had actual notice of his suspension. There was no evidence . that appellant's operator's license was returned to the Bureau . There was no evidence that the appellant resided at the address shown on the notice at the time the notice was mailed. Moreover, we note that the appellant's address typed on the notice of suspension was different from the appellant's address typed in two other places in the certified records.
Id. at 584-86, 333 A.2d at 926, quoting Leary v. United States, 395 U.S. 6, 36 n. 64, 89 S.Ct. 1532, 1548 n. 64, 23 L.Ed.2d 57, 81, n. 64 (1969) (emphasis in original). The concern of the Kane court was, quite simply, that letters get lost in the mail; evidence of mailing alone might suffice to show a strong likelihood of actual notice, but it could not constitute proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
In the twenty years since Kane was decided, numerous rulings of both the supreme court and this court have refined its basic message. While these eases have set out no hard and fast rule as to the kinds of proof required to establish actual notice of suspension, they do indicate that evidence of mailing of notice coupled with some other, additional evidence of knowledge will suffice to establish actual notice beyond a reasonable doubt. The question has always been, how much evidence is sufficient.
In Commonwealth v. Burkett, supra, for example, this court held that evidence that notice was mailed, combined with evidence that defendant returned his license to the Bureau of Traffic Safety, and that, when stopped by police, defendant switched seats with a passenger, was sufficient to establish actual notice beyond a reasonable doubt.
In Commonwealth v. Martin, 346 Pa.Super. 129, 499 A.2d 344 (1985), this court was uncertain whether the additional evidence established actual notice, and therefore remanded for an evidentiary hearing. In Martin, the defendant's certified driving record was admitted into evidence. This record showed the original mailing and also displayed a cryptic notation that an affidavit had thereafter been received. We remanded to determine if this affidavit evinced actual notice.
In Commonwealth v. Gray, 356 Pa.Super. 299, 514 A.2d 621 (1986), allocatur denied, 514 Pa. 638, 523 A.2d 345 (1987), we found actual notice where there was evidence that notice was mailed, together with proof that the defendant had surrendered his license on a previous suspension for which notice was mailed to the same address, as well as evidence that the defendant was not carrying his license when he was stopped.
In Commonwealth v. Horney, supra, actual notice was found where there was evidence that notice was mailed, together with defendant's admission that he received an earlier letter at the same address notifying him that he had to take a special exam to keep his driver's license, and evidence that he failed to complete the exam.
More recently, in Commonwealth v. Dietz, supra, actual notice was predicated upon mailing of notice combined with several additional factors. Defendant fled the scene of an accident on foot. When first questioned by investigators, he stated that his wife had been driving the vehicle. Defendant later admitted that he had been driving. The court found that the defendant's flight and deception indicated that he knew he was not allowed to drive. The court was also swayed by the defendant's history of convictions for driving while under suspension, and found it incredible that defendant could possibly believe that he was permitted to drive.
If this compilation of cases stands for any proposition, it is that the the type of actual notice contemplated and required in license suspension cases can be express or implied actual notice. As delineated in Black's Law Dictionary:
Actual notice has been defined as notice expressly and actually given, and brought home to the party directly. The term 'actual notice,' however, is generally given a wider meaning as embracing two classes, express and implied; the former includes all knowledge of a degree above that which depends upon collateral inference, or which imposes upon the party the further duty of inquiry; the latter imputes knowledge to the party because he is shown to be conscious of having the means of knowledge. In this sense actual notice is such notice as is positively proved to have been given to a party directly and personally, or such as he is presumed to have received personally because the evidence within his knowledge was sufficient to put him upon inquiry.
Id. at 1061-1062 (6th ed. 1990).
Notice is a question of fact, and anything that proves knowledge or is legal evidence showing that knowledge exists can be sufficient. As a practical matter, in most cases it is virtually impossible for the Commonwealth to prove positively that the defendant received express actual notice of suspension; only the defendant would have such knowledge. The Commonwealth, relying only upon the facts and circumstances of a case, can, at best, impute such knowledge to the defendant. To hold otherwise would make the provisions of § 1543 virtually unenforceable and unworkable.
Hence, in response to appellant's inquiry as to whether the Commonwealth is required to prove actual notice of suspension to sustain a conviction under 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 1543(b), the courts of this Commonwealth have repeatedly answered in the affirmative. The Commonwealth is required to establish actual notice which may take the form of a collection of facts and circumstances that allow the fact finder to infer that a defendant has knowledge of suspension. We now turn to the nature of the facts and circumstances that will satisfy the Commonwealth's burden of establishing a prima facie case of notice.
As set forth in Commonwealth v. Zimmick, our supreme court's most recent pronouncement on the issue:
Factors that a finder of fact may consider in determining circumstantially or directly whether a defendant had actual notice of his or her suspension include, but are not limited to, evidence that the defendant was verbally or in writing apprised of the license suspension during the trial or a plea, statements by the accused indicating knowledge that he or she was driving during the period in which his or her license had been suspended, evidence that Penn-DOT sent by mail the notice of the suspension to appellant's current address, evidence that PennDOT's notice of suspension was not returned as undeliverable, attempts by the accused to avoid detection or a citation, and any other conduct demonstrating circumstantially or directly appellant's knowledge of the suspension or awareness of guilt. See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Dietz, 423 Pa.Super. 866, 370-71, 621 A.2d 160, [sic] appeal denied, 535 Pa. 634, 631 A.2d 1007 (1993) (driver's flight from crash site and misleading conduct demonstrated that driver knew he was not permitted to drive; driver's failure to produce a driver's license is presumptive knowledge of suspension).
Zimmick, supra at 555-56, 653 A.2d at 1221.
Instantly, and contrary to appellant's argument that the Commonwealth only produced evidence of a PennDOT suspension mailing, we decide that the Commonwealth presented evidence as to three crucial facts: 1) appellant's license had been suspended for a DUI offense; 2) notice of appellant's suspension had been mailed by PennDOT on October 28, 1992; and 3) appellant failed to produce a current driver's license when he was stopped on March 1, 1993. Today, we hold that these factors, in conjunction, are sufficient to meet the Commonwealth's burden to prove notice of suspension.
Both appellant and the Commonwealth have seized upon this court's decision in Commonwealth v. Dietz, supra, to make their various arguments on appeal. In Dietz, a panel of this court held that in order for a defendant to invoke the defense of lack of actual notice, it must be established at trial that a current driver's license was produced at the time of the offense, or within 15 days thereafter, pursuant to the mandates of 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 1511 (which requires drivers to carry their licenses while operating their vehicles and to produce them upon demand). Dietz posited that when driving privileges are suspended, the driver is required to surrender his license under 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 1540. If a driver claims no actual notice of suspension, he should be able to produce a current license; the underlying assumption is that if the driver cannot produce such current license, it is either because he surrendered it or because he knows it is not valid. Dietz concluded that a defendant's failure to possess a current license is presumptive knowledge of suspension. We observe that the supreme court denied allocatur in Dietz, and most recently cited it with approval for this very proposition in Zimmick, supra at 556, 653 A.2d at 1221.
The Commonwealth in the instant case has argued that the language utilized by the Dietz court places an affirmative duty on a defendant to produce a current driver's license before availing himself of the "no notice" defense. Appellant counters that this approach abrogates the Commonwealth's burden of proof to a "mere assertion that it mailed a notice to a defendant," and seeks an application of § 1511(b) which the State Legislature did not envision. While we agree with the basic rationale of Dietz, we find that both the Commonwealth's and appellant's interpretations of Dietz require further review. We look first, however, to the underlying policy of the Commonwealth to ensure safe driving on Pennsylvania's roadways, and the statutes promulgated to effect it.
As has often been stated, most recently by our supreme court in Commonwealth v. Zimmick, supra, and Commonwealth v. Yarger, 538 Pa. 329, 648 A.2d 529 (1994), operating a motor vehicle in this Commonwealth is a privilege and not a right; as such it is subject to reasonable regulations. Zimmick, supra at 559-60, 653 A.2d at 1222-23; Yarger, supra at 336, 648 A.2d at 531-532. Such regulations are set forth in 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 1501 and § 1511 which state in pertinent part:
§ 1501. Drivers required to be licensed
(a) General rule. — No person, except those expressly exempted, shall drive any motor vehicle upon a highway or public property in this Commonwealth unless the person has a driver's license valid under the provisions of this chapter.
§ 1511. Carrying and exhibiting driver's license on demand
(a) General rule. — Every licensee shall possess a driver's license issued to the licensee at all times when driving a motor vehicle and shall exhibit the license upon demand by a police officer, and when requested by the police officer the licensee shall write the licensee's name in the presence of the officer in order to provide identity.
The purpose of these sections is to provide assurance that those who operate vehicles on our highways are properly licensed to do so, after having met certain minimum qualifications. Licensing requirements thus give the Commonwealth a means of protecting the safety of its citizens. Having established the framework in which to consider the parties' arguments, we next address appellant's quarrel with Dietz, supra.
Appellant argues that allowing the Commonwealth to rely upon appellant's failure to produce a license as presumptive knowledge of suspension shifts the burden to a defendant to prove an element of the offense of which he is charged. Within the context of a license suspension case, we agree with the underlying logic of Dietz. It seems entirely likely that where notice of suspension has been mailed, and the subject driver is unable to produce a current license, it is either because he is unable to do so since the license has been surrendered, or he is unwilling to do so because he believes that tendering a suspended license is a futile gesture. The Commonwealth is entitled to such inferences to show actual notice and to satisfy its burden of establishing its prima facie case. Appellant is then entitled to rebut such a prima facie case by relying on any evidence which may show lack of actual notice of suspension, such as that at the time of his stop by police, appellant was in possession of, or able to produce, a current driver's license.
Appellant claims that such a presumption removes from the Commonwealth the burden of proving notice beyond a reasonable doubt, as required by In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358, 90 S.Ct. 1068, 25 L.Ed.2d 368 (1970), and Mullaney v. Wilbur, 421 U.S. 684, 95 S.Ct. 1881, 44 L.Ed.2d 508 (1975). After a thorough review of the case law and the parties' briefs, however, we must disagree. The basis for our disagreement requires a review of the difference between burden of proof and burden of production.
Perhaps the most cogent statement of this distinction, although not directly applicable to the instant case, is found in Commonwealth v. Sojourner, 268 Pa.Super. 488, 408 A.2d 1108 (1979) (Sojourner II). In Sojourner II, the issue before the court was whether the Commonwealth was required to prove that a defendant was not authorized to possess a controlled substance beyond a reasonable doubt when nonauthorization is an element of the offense charged. Id. at 493, 495, 408 A.2d at 1111, 1112. After a carefully reasoned analysis, the court held that the Commonwealth was so required. Id. at 497, 408 A.2d at 1113. Recognizing the inherent impossibility in requiring that the Commonwealth prove nonauthorization, however, the majority held that the Commonwealth was entitled to a rebuttable presumption of nonli-censure; the Commonwealth could shift to the defendant the burden of production, but not the burden of persuasion, on the issue of authorization. If the defendant were able to introduce evidence of authorization sufficient to raise a reasonable doubt as to non-authorization, the Commonwealth would then have to disprove authorization beyond a reasonable doubt. Id. at 501, 408 A.2d at 1114-1115.
In articulating its holding, the majority relied upon Patterson v. New York, 432 U.S. 197, 97 S.Ct. 2319, 53 L.Ed.2d 281 (1977), to describe the procedural device of shifting burdens. While we recognize that Patterson was an affirmative defense case, its language is instructive for our purposes. The Sojourner II majority noted that in Patterson, Mr. Justice Powell in dissent and Mr. Justice White writing for the majority, "both approved the Model Penal Code's provisions for allocating to the defendant the burden of producing some evidence concerning 'elements' of a particular offense." Sojourner II, supra, at 498, 408 A.2d at 1113. As Mr. Justice Powell stated in Patterson:
'Furthermore, as we indicated in Mullaney [v. Wilbur, 421 U.S. 684, 95 S.Ct. 1881, 44 L.Ed.2d 508 (1975) ], even as to those factors upon which the prosecution must bear the burden of persuasion, the State retains an important procedural device to avoid jury confusion and prevent the prosecution from being unduly hampered. The State normally may shift to the defendant the burden of production, that is, the burden of going forward with sufficient evidence "to justify [a reasonable] doubt upon the issue." . If the defendant's evidence does not cross this threshold, the issue— [whether it be] malice, extreme emotional disturbance, self-defense, or whatever— will not be submitted to the jury.'
Sojourner II, supra at 498-499, 408 A.2d at 1113-1114, quoting Patterson, supra at 230-31, 97 S.Ct. at 2337-2338 (Powell, J. dissenting). In his concurrence in Sojourner II, Judge Spaeth agreed that the language quoted supra from Mr. Justice Powell's dissent succinctly stated the correct analysis vis-a-vis the shifting burden of production; however, Judge Spaeth felt compelled to clarify that analysis further. To do so, he relied upon the following language from the Model Penal Code:
No single principle can be conscripted to explain when these shifts of burden to defendants are defensible, even if the burden goes no further than to call for the production of some evidence. Neither the logical point that the prosecution would be called upon to prove a negative, nor the grammatical point that the defense rests on an exception or proviso divorced from the definition of the crime is potently persuasive, although both points have been invoked_ What is involved seems rather a more subtle balance which acknowledges that a defendant ought not be required to defend until some solid substance is presented to support the accusation but, beyond this, perceives a point where need for narrowing the issues, coupled with the relative accessibility of evidence to the defendant, warrants calling upon him to present his defensive claim. No doubt this point is reached more quickly if, given the facts the prosecution must establish, the normal probabilities are against the defense, but this is hardly an essential factor.
Sojourner II, supra, at 509, 408 A.2d at 1119 (Spaeth, J. concurring), quoting Model Penal Code, Comments, § 1.13 at 110-111 (Tent. Draft # 4, 1955).
While we recognize that there may be valid distinctions between the instant case and both Sojourner II and Patterson, nevertheless we believe that the use of a shifting burden of production analysis has application in the instant case and has met the test of Constitutional challenge. While the Commonwealth retains the burden of proving notice beyond a reasonable doubt, a rebuttable presumption of notice is raised where, as here, the Commonwealth introduces evidence of the three factors delineated supra at 10. Appellant may then introduce any evidence he can of lack of notice, evidence to which he has unique access. If he is successful in raising a reasonable doubt that he received notice, the burden of production would then shift back to the Commonwealth to introduce evidence sufficient to overcome that doubt.
As our supreme court effectively determined in Commonwealth v. Yarger, supra, allowing the Commonwealth to establish a prima facie case without having first to disprove all of a defendant's possible arguments in rebuttal does not shift the burden of proof (persuasion) to a defendant. Rather, it merely requires that the defense rebut the Commonwealth's case by coming forward with its own evidence (burden of production). A review of the supreme court's holding in Yarger is instructive.
In Yarger, the supreme court revisited its decisions in Commonwealth v. Modaffare, 529 Pa. 101, 601 A.2d 1233 (1992), and Commonwealth v. Jarman, 529 Pa. 92, 601 A.2d 1229 (1992), cases that dealt with the introduction of relation-back expert testimony to determine blood alcohol level "while driving" for purposes of 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 3731(a)(4) (driving while blood alcohol content is 0.10% or greater). The Yarger court held that there is no requirement that the Commonwealth present such testimony to make out its prima facie case; rather, it is sufficient that the Commonwealth merely establish "that the driver's blood alcohol content reflects an amount above 0.10%." Id. at 334-335, 648 A.2d at 531. Once the Commonwealth has made out its prima facie case under § 3731(a)(4), the defendant is then permitted to introduce relation-back expert testimony to rebut the Commonwealth's pri-ma facie evidence that the driver was actually driving while his blood alcohol level was 0.10% or greater. If the defendant elects to do so, the Commonwealth may then present its own evidence in the form of expert testimony to refute defendant's testimony. Id. It is then up to the trier of fact to weigh the evidence and determine the outcome. This analysis closely parallels the Sojourner II analysis, and our own analysis in the instant case. As a result, we find no merit to appellant's claim that the trial court impermissibly allowed the Commonwealth to shift the burden of proof to appellant on the issue of actual notice. Rather, we find that the Commonwealth met its burden of proving notice beyond a reasonable doubt.
Having addressed appellant's argument, we turn next to the Commonwealth's argument that, under Dietz, supra, appellant should not be allowed to introduce evidence of lack of notice unless he has produced a current driver's license. As the Commonwealth avers, the Dietz court held that in order for a person to invoke the "no notice" defense, it is a necessary condition that the defendant establish at trial that a current driver's license was produced at the time of the offense or within 15 days thereafter as provided by § 1511(b). While we agree with the Commonwealth's interpretation of the holding in Dietz on this issue, we disagree with Dietz's holding. As a result, we today decide that appellant is not precluded from raising a lack of notice defense based on a failure to produce a valid driver's license at the time of the stop or within fifteen days thereafter. Rather, a defendant is still entitled to come forward with any evidence of lack of actual notice in an effort to rebut the Commonwealth's prima facie case.
Instantly, although the Commonwealth relied upon this language in Dietz as precluding appellant from raising a lack of notice defense, we find that appellant was not so precluded in the court below. The trial court heard all the evidence and appellant's testimony before relying upon appellant's failure to produce a valid driver's license as evidence of actual notice of suspension. As appellant was unable to rebut the Commonwealth's prima facie case, we find the evidence sufficient to sustain the conviction.
For the foregoing reasons, judgment of sentence is affirmed, and jurisdiction is relinquished.
WIEAND, J., files a concurring statement which was joined by TAMILIA, J.
CIRILLO, J., files a concurring and dissenting opinion which was joined by SAYLOR, J.
. Appellant was arrested on March 29, 1991 and January 26, 1992, for driving under the influence. However, because he entered guilty pleas to both violations on the same day, he was treated as a first offender on each. See notes of testimony, 2/2/94 at 20-21.
. We pause to note two other related lines of cases that have devolved from Commonwealth v. Kane. In Commonwealth v. Gamble, 376 Pa.Super. 590, 546 A.2d 681 (1988), this court ruled that although evidence of mailing (to a prior, stale address) was presented and appellant was under the belief that his license was suspended, judgment was nevertheless properly arrested. Appellant believed that his license was suspended for failure to respond to citations. In fact, it was suspended for driving under the influence. Appellant claimed he was unaware of the nature of his suspension. This court held that appellant not only had to have actual notice of his suspension, but actual notice of the true nature of the suspension. The court refused to subject appellant to the more severe penalties of 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 1543(b).
Recently, in Commonwealth v. Dean M. Taylor, 437 Pa.Super. 102, 649 A.2d 453 (1994), this court echoed the holding in Gamble. Dean M. Taylor refused to apply the precept announced in Commonwealth v. Dietz, 423 Pa.Super. 366, 621 A.2d 160 (1993), allocatur denied, Dietz v. Commonwealth, 535 Pa. 634, 631 A.2d 1007 (1993), to the effect that the Commonwealth can prove actual notice by demonstrating mailing combined with the fact that the driver failed to produce a license when stopped. The Dean M. Taylor court reasoned that while failure to possess a license might indicate knowledge of suspension, it does not indicate knowledge that the suspension is for a driving under the influence offense. Nevertheless, the court found actual notice based on evidence of mailing combined with the fact that appellant was advised that he would undergo a six-month suspension when he entered an ARD program. This is not an issue in the instant case.
. We note that the Commonwealth is required to prove more than constructive notice:
Constructive notice is information or knowledge of a fact imputed by law to a person (although he may not actually have it), because he could have discovered the fact by proper diligence, and his situation was such as to cast upon him the duty of inquiring into it.
Black's Law Dictionary, supra at 1062. Constructive notice is a presumption of law, while actual notice requires proof of facts and circumstances showing knowledge actually received.
. On appeal, appellant does not argue that the notice was sent to an incorrect address. See note 9, infra.
. We note that these factors are sufficient, but not necessary, for the Commonwealth to establish its prima facie case. The Commonwealth is certainly free to introduce any other evidence available to establish actual notice. Furthermore, in the event that a defendant is able to produce a current license when stopped or thereafter, or some other evidence of lack of notice, the Commonwealth must rely on other available evidence to meet its burden.
. Appellant argues that to avail itself of § 151 l's production requirement, the Commonwealth must establish that the officer informed appellant of subsection (b) of § 1511 which provides that "No person shall be convicted of this section or section 1501(a) if the person produces at the office of the issuing authority or the arresting officer within 15 days a driver's license valid in this Commonwealth at the time of the arrest." 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 1511(b). We find no such obligation on the part of the officer and place no such requirement on the Commonwealth. As noted by appellant, he has not been charged with a violation of § 1511, and § 1511 is only relied upon to the extent that it presents a reasonable exercise of regulatory authority by the Commonwealth.
. See n. 4, supra.
. "Elements" as used by the Model Penal Code included some so-called affirmative defenses such as justification (self-defense), excuse, and some exculpating mistakes. "Elements" were distinguished from "material elements" which were defined as those that do not "relate exclusively to . (ii) the existence of a justification or excuse for such [forbidden] conduct." Model Penal Code, Definitions, § 1.14 at 118 (Tent. Draft #4, 1955). See also discussion of the evidentiary burden on a defendant, supra at 110.
. Sojourner II was an en banc decision of this court from which no appeal was taken. Since Sojourner II was decided after Commonwealth v. McNeil, 461 Pa. 709, 337 A.2d 840 (1975), and since Sojourner II's holding has remained undisturbed since 1979, we find that it is still good law. See, for example, Commonwealth v. Woods, 432 Pa.Super. 428, 638 A.2d 1013 (1994) (noting that McNeil was decided before Patterson v. New York, supra, and distinguishing McNeil from Sojourner II); and Commonwealth v. South, 408 Pa.Super. 486, 597 A.2d 137 (1991) (noting that the Sojourner II analysis has been incorporated into Pennsylvania Suggested Standard Jury Instruction (Criminal) § 13.13(a)(16)(A) (1980), relating to the defendant's burden of production of authorization evidence before the Commonwealth must produce evidence of nonauthorization, and relying for its own analysis of the defendant's burden of production on Sojourner II).
. The need for relation-back testimony was, in most cases, abrogated by statute subsequent to the supreme court's decision in Yarger. See 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 3731(a)(5) and (a)(5)(a.1).
. We recognize that a defendant can be effectively estopped from raising the lack of notice argument where notice of suspension is mailed to an old address because the driver has failed to notify the Commonwealth of an address change, as required under 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 1515. The driver cannot rely on this violation to insulate himself from the more serious charge of driving under suspension by claiming no notice. This was the holding announced by this court in Commonwealth v. Heckman, 404 Pa.Super. 335, 590 A.2d 1261 (1991), and reaffirmed more recently in Commonwealth v. Minor, 436 Pa.Super. 35, 647 A.2d 229 (1994). Compare Commonwealth v. Donald R. Taylor, 390 Pa.Super. 571, 568 A.2d 1320 (1990). We should note that this line of cases does not have the full support of our supreme court. Although the court affirmed the estoppel concept in Commonwealth v. McDonough, 533 Pa. 283, 621 A.2d 569 (1993), it was evenly divided on the decision. Lately, the court has revisited this issue in Commonwealth v. Zimmick, supra, and the majority appears to approve, although in Zimmick, the defendant presented a full defense, after which the trial court found that "the evidence and the reasonable inferences therefrom, sufficiently demonstrated that appellant had actual notice of his suspension." Id. at 552, 653 A.2d at 1219-20. However, the majority drew several concurrences. Writing separately, Mr. Justice Zappala agreed with that part of the majority's opinion that found sufficient evidence of actual notice of suspension, but re-asserted his opinion that failure to notify the Commonwealth of an address change should not result in a waiver of the "no notice" defense.
. We note that proof of actual notice could be made much simpler, and thereby preclude the necessity to engage in the kind of "tempest in a teapot" created in the instant case, if trial judges were simply to require defendants to surrender their licenses at the time of sentencing in DUI convictions requiring license suspension. We urge that such a practice be adopted where it is feasible to do so.