Court Opinion

ID: 9750328
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-28 14:50:17.966597+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:26:07.461897
License: Public Domain

BYER, Judge,
dissenting.
Judge Barry’s opinion describes this case as straddling “the fine line between Yi and Peck.” I agree that this is a close case; however, I believe that it is factually distinguishable from Yi and more closely aligned with Peck. I do not share Judge Doyle’s disagreement with Peck; in fact, I believe that Yi was decided incorrectly, while the opinion in Peck was correct. Therefore, on the basis of Peck, and because the trial judge’s decision here was not supported by substantial evidence and is erroneous as a matter of law, I think this case falls on the Peck side of the fine line.
One reason that Judge Barry analogizes this case to Yi is that in both cases the defendants required an interpreter during trial. I cannot agree with that comparison. Unlike *431Yi, who required an interpreter because he had no understanding of English, Gaertner had a fundamental grasp of the English language. Gaertner required an interpreter only because he could not hear the spoken word and so needed a visual transmission of any communication. Yi, on the other hand, was completely unable to understand English, despite the manner in which it was presented to him. Although Gaertner proved he had some command of the written English language when he capably assisted the arresting officer during the booking process without outside aid, Yi required an interpreter from the outset, and never answered any question, written or oral, without his assistance.
The police officer in this case was aware of Gaertner’s hearing impairment and sought the assistance of an interpreter; however, he was unsuccessful in obtaining one. Because the officer recognized Gaertner’s ability to understand the written word, he requested Gaertner to submit to the test in writing, and informed him in writing that his license would be suspended if he refused; nevertheless, Gaertner failed to comply.
Gaertner claimed that he could not comprehend several of the words in the written request; however, this should not excuse his noncompliance. Even if particular words in this written request were difficult for him, Gaertner’s intellectual and educational level, admitted to be at least at a sixth grade level, certainly would have enabled him to communicate any lack of understanding to the officer. Because Gaertner’s education and reading ability enabled him to pass the driver’s test and obtain a license in the first place, this capability is apparent.
After comparing the facts to Yi, Judge Barry attempts to distinguish this case from Peck by pointing out that Peck’s learning disability only manifested itself in the form of impaired intellectual functioning when Peck was under stress, while Gaertner’s hearing impairment was permanent. If this distinction is intended to prove that Gaertner was less capable than Peck of making a knowing and *432conscious refusal, it is beside the point. The evidence in that case clearly indicated that Peck was under stress and his intellectual ability was diminished at the time. Therefore, it is immaterial how he might have reacted under different circumstances when stress was not a factor. Moreover, there is no way to determine how severely impaired Peck had become. It is possible that his disability may have rendered him less conscious of what was going on than Gaertner, particularly because Gaertner’s disability was not the type that was triggered suddenly and unexpectedly, but was one with which he coped on a daily basis.
In fact, if it were argued that Gaertner’s refusal was not knowing or conscious based on the permanence of his disability, I would agree with Judge Doyle’s dissent in Peck that a chronic lack of ability to function as a competent driver should preclude an individual from possessing a driver’s license at all. The police officer was correct in assuming that a licensed driver is capable of understanding a written niessage like the one he presented to Gaertner. Where a police officer is aware of a licensee’s confusion, he is required to take reasonable measures to resolve the problem. However, without any manifestation of the problem evidenced by a request for an interpreter or other indication that Gaertner did not understand what was happening, the police officer had no further obligation to explain. If any confusion existed, it was not created by the police; rather, the police officer tried to assure Gaertner’s understanding by presenting the request in writing.
Finally, although the defendant’s contention in Peck was supported by competent and convincing medical testimony, the court in Peck stressed that there was no proof that the defendant’s learning disability was all that actually prevented his refusal from being knowing and conscious. On the contrary, because Peck’s intoxication might have been a contributing factor, we found that Peck had not met his burden of proof. Similarly in this case, although the interpreter provided convincing testimony that Gaertner might not have had a full understanding of the ramifications of his *433refusal to submit to the test, she did not expressly rule out alcohol as a factor contributing to his confusion. According to Peck, a driver must prove that it was his physical disability and not his voluntary intoxication which played the greater role in rendering him incapable of making a knowing and conscious refusal. Gaertner was unable to meet this burden.
Despite acknowledging that this is a close case, Judge Barry’s opinion concludes that our scope of review mandates affirming the trial court in this case. I disagree. Although findings of fact will not be reversed on appeal when they are supported by adequate evidence, this principle is confined to genuine findings of fact; we are not bound by deductions and conclusions which the trial court makes on the basis of findings of basic fact. “[WJhen a finding of fact is simply a deduction from other facts reported by the tribunal under review, and the ultimate fact in question is purely the result of reasoning, we are competent to judge of its correctness and will draw our own conclusions from the facts as reported.” Stambaugh v. Stambaugh, 458 Pa. 147, 152, 329 A.2d 483, 486 (1974) (quoting Dorrance’s Estate, 309 Pa. 151, 156, 163 A. 303, 304 (1932)). Appellate courts need not accept the deductions made by the trial court from the basic facts found by the trial court, nor must we reach the same conclusions. See 16 Standard Pennsylvania Practice 2d § 91:153 (1983) (collecting cases). I am not questioning here the trial court’s credibility determination or fact finding ability, but whether, after a review of the whole record, the licensee has met his burden of proof.
Furthermore, the scope of our review allows us to reverse a trial court’s decision in a case such as this where there has been an error of law or manifest abuse of discretion. Gresh v. Commonwealth, Department of Transportation, 76 Pa.Commonwealth Ct. 483, 486 n. 2, 464 A.2d 619, 621 n. 2 (1983). I would find an error of law or manifest abuse of discretion here for two reasons. First, as discussed above, Gaertner failed to prove that alcohol consumption did not *434play a role in his supposed inability to make a knowing and conscious refusal. Second, I would hold that the obtaining of a driver’s license gives rise to a presumption that the driver has the ability to understand written expression to the extent required as a qualification to obtain an operator’s license.
Every person who obtains a driver’s license in this Commonwealth is required to demonstrate at least some proficiency at understanding rudimentary written expression in English.1 The Department of Transportation’s regulations provide that every applicant for a driver’s license must take and pass a road sign examination:
Every applicant for a driver’s license and every driver the Department has reason to believe does not have the ability to read and understand official traffic control devices shall submit to a road sign examination. The examination shall include identification of all standard road signs. Any examinee who fails to identify two or more signs shall fail the examination.
67 Pa.Code § 75.4.
The Department’s regulations also require every applicant for an operator’s license to pass an oral, visual or written examination concerning the laws governing the use and operation of motor vehicles in Pennsylvania.
Every applicant for a driver’s license and every driver the Department has reason to believe does not have reasonable and proper understanding of the laws governing the use and operation of motor vehicles on Pennsylvania highways shall submit to a law examination. The law examination shall consist of an oral, written or visual test of ten questions. In the case of an application for a license, the questions will relate as nearly as practicable to the class of vehicles for which the applicant desire to be licensed. Questions will be taken from the most *435recent edition of the Pennsylvania Manual for Drivers or related publications for specific classes of vehicles, or both. Eight correct answers shall be a passing grade.
67 Pa.Code § 75.5.
These requirements create a presumption that Gaertner, as a licensed driver, had a sufficient working knowledge of English to comprehend the simple written request and warning which the police officer gave to him in this case.2 Therefore, I believe the trial court erred as a matter of law or abused its discretion in permitting Gaertner to impeach his own qualifications as a licensed driver.
Another condition of obtaining a driver’s license is that the licensee consent to submit to chemical testing where, as here, there was reasonable cause to believe the licensee was driving under the influence. 75 Pa.C.S. § 1547. In my opinion, Gaertner did not present any basis upon which he could be relieved of the consequences of failing to submit to the chemical testing to which he consented as a condition of his driver’s license.
A physical impairment is not a license to drive drunk or to avoid the duties imposed by law on those who choose to drive in the Commonwealth. Our courts should not allow a licensed driver to avoid the legal duties attendant to the license by concocting defenses which would establish that the driver obtained his license in violation of the legal requirements.
Therefore, I respectfully dissent, and I would reverse the decision of the trial court and reinsotate the suspension.

. I appreciate that Yi, as a licensed driver, also was required to display some measure of understanding of the English language. Therefore, this dissent should not be interpreted as an endorsement of Yi. On the contrary, unlike Judge Doyle, I believe that Yi was decided incorrectly, and that Peck is a correct decision.

. I would not apply this presumption in a case which arises other than under the Vehicle Code.