Court Opinion

ID: 9734593
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 17:38:46.150583+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:26:49.297659
License: Public Domain

KELLEY, Judge,
concurring and dissenting.
I agree with the majority’s conclusion that Correll has failed to demonstrate that the equal protection clauses of the United States and Pennsylvania Constitutions preclude the imposition of a license suspension in this case. As the majority correctly notes, Cor-rell bases this claim on unsubstantiated allegations of disparate treatment of individuals charged with DUI offenses in Chester County, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
However, I disagree with the majority’s conclusions that driving should not be regarded as a qualified property right and that the United States and Pennsylvania Constitutions do not preclude the imposition of a license suspension in this case. Hence, this concurring and dissenting opinion.
In rejecting Correll’s claim that the ability to operate a motor vehicle should be recognized as a qualified property right, the majority relies on the proposition that driving in Pennsylvania is recognized as a privilege and not a right. See, e.g., Plowman v. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Driver Licensing, 535 Pa. 314, 635 A.2d 124 (1993); Maurer v. Boardman, 336 Pa. 17, 7 A.2d 466 (1939), aff'd sub nom., Maurer v. Hamilton, 309 U.S. 598, 60 S.Ct. 726, 84 L.Ed. 969 (1940). However, the continued adherence to this outdated and hackneyed principle ignores the realities of the modern world and defies common sense. See Krall v. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Driver Licensing, 682 A.2d 63 (Pa.Cmwlth.1996) (Dissenting Opinion by Kelley, J.).
In the average day, each American travels nearly 39 miles per day. P. Hu and J. Young, Draft Summary of Travel Trends - 1995 Nationwide Personal Travel Survey, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (January 8, 1999), p. 24. In addition, on average an individual 5 years or older takes more than 4 trips per day. Id., p. 20. Nearly 50% of these trips were for family and personal business, while less than 25% of these trips were to travel to and from work. Id. Of the miles traveled in a day, 92.1% were traveled in a private vehicle, 2.1% were traveled in public transit, and 5.7% were traveled by other means such as by bicycle or by walking. Id., p. 21.
Based on the foregoing, it is clear that the use of an automobile is fundamentally necessary to function in today’s society, whether it involves a trip to the store to purchase life’s necessities or a commute to work. By adhering to the timeworn proposition that licensed driving is a privilege and not a qualified right, the majority ignores the obvious. Once and for all, this court should finally accept the realities of life as we approach the new millennium and recognize that the ability to operate a motor vehicle is a qualified property right. As a result, it is also necessary for this court to reexamine the analyses used to dispose of Correll’s claims relating to the Due Process and Double Jeopardy Clauses of the United States and Pennsylvania Constitutions. Accordingly, I must respectfully dissent from that portion of the majority opinion disposing of these claims.