Opinion ID: 1411771
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Impact of Choma v. West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles

Text: On November 28, 2001, while the stays in the Appellees' cases remained pending, this Court issued its opinion in Choma. Syllabus point three of Choma announced that the DMV Commissioner must consider the results of related criminal proceedings when determining whether to revoke an individual's driver's license. Specifically, syllabus point three provided as follows: In administrative proceedings under W.Va.Code, 17C-5A-1 et seq., the commissioner of motor vehicles must consider and give substantial weight to the results of related criminal proceedings involving the same person who is the subject of the administrative proceeding before the commissioner, when evidence of such results is presented in the administrative proceeding. This Court specified that the consideration requirements announced in Choma would be prospective only. 210 W.Va. at 260 n. 4, 557 S.E.2d at 314 n. 4. On September 18, 2002, the DMV filed a motion in the lower court to vacate the stays of license revocations for the Appellees. In substantially similar orders entered June 13, 2003, the lower court reversed the DMV license revocations for both Appellees on the grounds that Mr. Adkins had received a dismissal of the criminal charges stemming from his DUI arrest, Mr. Arbaugh had received a verdict of acquittal of the criminal charges stemming from his DUI arrest, and this Court had issued the Choma decision requiring consideration of those related criminal proceedings. The lower court also remanded the matters to the commissioner for further proceedings in conformity with the principles announced in Choma. Appealing that decision to this Court, the DMV contends that the lower court erred in applying the requirements of Choma to cases pending on appeal when Choma was decided and that the open-ended stays of the commissioner's original revocation orders were in violation of statutory stay limitations. The DMV maintains that at the time of the 1995 and 1997 license revocations, Choma had not been decided; consequently, the DMV argues that criminal dismissal was not germane to the issue of administrative license revocation when the commissioner first encountered these cases. The DMV further argues that even if Choma applies, it holds only that the commissioner must consider the outcome of criminal charges when presented and made a part of the record. The lower court did not review any records of criminal cases or administrative proceedings. Thus, the DMV assigns the following errors: (1) the lower court erred in considering matters outside the scope of the administrative record and placing the burden of prosecuting the appeal on the DMV; and (2) the lower court erred in applying Choma retroactively.