Opinion ID: 215095
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Obstructing a License Plate

Text: Bibbins was also convicted of violating 36 C.F.R. § 4.2(b), which prohibits [v]iolating a provision of [s]tate law. The district court held that Bibbins violated Nev.Rev.Stat. § 482.275, which provides: [t]he license plates for a motor vehicle . . . must be attached thereto . . . during the current calendar year or registration period. Section 482.275 also requires that [e]very license plate must at all times be securely fashioned to the vehicle. . . in a place and position to be clearly visible, and must be maintained free from foreign materials and in a condition to be clearly legible. Critically, § 482.275 applies only to license plates on motor vehicles. Under Nevada law, a motor vehicle is defined as a vehicle that is self-propelled. Nev.Rev.Stat. § 482.075. It is undisputed that the license plate on Bibbins's towed pickup truck was obstructed by a small garbage bag. The parties dispute whether the pickup truck qualifies as a motor vehicle under Nevada law in light of the fact that the truck was towed at the time Bibbins was cited for obstructing the license plate's visibility. There is no authority from the Nevada courts that addresses the question of whether § 482.275 applies to towed vehicles. In deciding this question of first impression, we must use [our] best judgment to predict how the [Nevada] Supreme Court would decide [the] issue. Helfand v. Gerson, 105 F.3d 530, 537 (9th Cir.1997). In so doing, we may be aided by looking to well-reasoned decisions from other jurisdictions. Takahashi v. Loomis Armored Car Serv., 625 F.2d 314, 316 (9th Cir.1980). Bibbins argues that a towed vehicle, by definition, is not self-propelled. We disagree. We think the most sensible interpretation of the term self-propelled is that the word defines a quality rather than an action. To conclude that self-propelled refers to an action would lead to the absurd result that a vehicle ceases to be a motor vehicle under Nevada law whenever it is parked, stopped, or not powering itself. We are also persuaded by the courts of other states, which have uniformly held that the term self-propelled describes a quality that is not abated when a vehicle is not propelling itself. See, e.g., Asay v. Watkins, 751 P.2d 1135, 1136 (Utah 1988); State v. Tacey, 102 Vt. 439, 150 A. 68, 69 (1930); see also Parnell v. State, 151 Ga. App. 756, 261 S.E.2d 481, 482 (1979); State v. Ridinger, 364 Mo. 684, 266 S.W.2d 626, 631 (1954); Rogers v. State, 147 Tex.Crim. 602, 183 S.W.2d 572, 572 (1944); State v. McGary, 37 Wash.App. 856, 683 P.2d 1125, 1127 (1984). As the Vermont Supreme Court explained, [m]anifestly it was the design, mechanism, and construction of the vehicle, and not its temporary condition, that the Legislature had in mind when framing the definition of a motor vehicle. Tacey, 150 A. at 69. We find this reasoning convincing. Moreover, two treatises with entries on motor vehicles both conclude that a vehicle remains self-propelled when it is towed or inoperable. See 60 C.J.S. Motor Vehicles § 1; 7A Am. Jur.2d Automobiles § 5. To support his contention that his pickup truck was not self-propelled while it was being towed, Bibbins relies on an opinion by the Nevada Attorney General, which states that [a]lthough a dune buggy is capable of self-propulsion, it is not self-propelled while being towed on the highways of Nevada, and as such it is not a motor vehicle as defined by NRS 482.075. 1969 Nev. Op. Atty. Gen. No. 619 (September 18, 1969). Opinions of the Nevada Attorney General are not binding on the Nevada courts. Blackjack Bonding v. City of Las Vegas Mun. Court, 116 Nev. 1213, 1218, 14 P.3d 1275 (Nev.2000). We are not persuaded by the 1969 opinion, which contains scant reasoning to support its conclusion that dune buggies are not motor vehicles while being towed. Because it would be illogical to consider self-propelled an impermanent quality, we affirm Bibbins's conviction for obscuring a license plate, in violation of 36 C.F.R. § 4.2(b).