Opinion ID: 2595331
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Issue 2: Does a conviction for DUI as defined under the city ordinance qualify as conviction under K.S.A. 8-1567?

Text: Hackett's conviction under the city ordinance raises the question whether it also qualifies as a conviction under the Kansas DUI statute, K.S.A. 8-1567. Our interpretation of the statute is a question of law. Engles, 270 Kan. at 532-33. K.S.A. 8-1567(l) provides: For the purpose of determining whether a conviction is a first, second, third, fourth or subsequent conviction in sentencing under this section: (1) `Conviction' includes being convicted of a violation of this section or entering into a diversion agreement in lieu of further criminal proceedings on a complaint alleging a violation of this section; (2) `conviction' includes being convicted of a violation of a law of another state or an ordinance of any city, or resolution of any county, which prohibits the acts that this section prohibits or entering into a diversion agreement in lieu of further criminal proceedings in a case alleging a violation of such law, ordinance or resolution. (Emphasis added.) In a similar fashion, K.S.A. 8-1567(m) provides:  Upon conviction of a person of a violation of this section or a violation of a city ordinance or county resolution prohibiting the acts prohibited by this section, the division, upon receiving a report of conviction, shall suspend, restrict or suspend and restrict the person's driving privileges as provided by K.S.A. 8-1014, and amendments thereto. (Emphasis added.) These statutes disclose that the legislature intended to limit the consequences of a DUI conviction to those acts proscribed by state law. Operating a bicycle while under the influence, though a violation of the city code, is not a DUI under K.S.A. 8-1567. Such a conviction therefore does not count for state sentencing purposes concerning the instant offense or subsequent offenses.