Court Opinion

ID: 9706687
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 01:49:30.577198+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:22:24.391399
License: Public Domain

Riley, J.
(dissenting). The majority finds that a *622snowmobile is a "vehicle” under MCL 257.625; MSA 9.2325, which prohibits driving under the influence of liquor or controlled substances, and that the penalty provisions under § 625 apply to the facts of this case. The provision governing driving under the influence of liquor is part of the Motor Vehicle Code, MCL 257.1 et seq.; MSA 9.1801 et seq.
Section 625 of the Motor Vehicle Code states that "[a] person . . . who is under the influence of intoxicating liquor or a controlled substance . . . shall not operate a vehicle upon a highway . . . .” (Emphasis added.) To fall within this section, a snowmobile has to fit within the definition of a "vehicle.” However, the definitional section of the snowmobile act, MCL 257.1501(e); MSA 9.3200(l)(e), states:
"Snowmobile” means any motor driven vehicle designed for travel primarily on snow or ice of a type which utilizes sled type runners or skis, or an endless belt tread or any combination of these or other similar means of contact with the surface upon which it is operated; but is not a vehicle which must be registered under Act No. 300 of the Public Acts of 1949, as amended, being sections 257.1 to 257.923 of the Michigan Compiled Laws. [Emphasis added.]
The definition of "snowmobile” set out above states that a snowmobile is not a vehicle which has to be registered under the Motor Vehicle Code, MCL 257.1 to 257.923; MSA 9.1801 to 9.2623. Encompassed within the span of legislation set out in § 1(e) of the snowmobile act is § 625 of the Motor Vehicle Code, the provision pertaining to driving while intoxicated. Thus, the definitional section of the snowmobile act raises serious questions concerning the application of § 625 of the Motor Vehicle Code to snowmobile operators.
*623While § 1(e) casts doubt on the application of the Vehicle Code’s driving while intoxicated provision to the operation of snowmobiles, the fact that the Legislature specifically provided penalties for driving under the influence in the snowmobile act is persuasive evidence that § 625 does not apply.
As stated in 2A Sands, Sutherland Statutory Construction (4th ed), § 51.05, p 499:
Where one statute deals with a subject in general terms, and another deals with a part of the same subject in a more detailed way, the two should be harmonized if possible; but if there is any conflict, the latter will prevail ....
Both the Motor Vehicle Code and the snowmobile act have provisions which address intoxicated driving. Under the snowmobile act, MCL 257.1515; MSA 9.3200(15) states:
(1) A person shall not operate a snowmobile under any of the following circumstances:
(b) While under the influence of intoxicating liquor; a controlled substance as defined in section 7104 of Act No. 368 of the Public Acts of 1978, as amended, being section 333.7104 of the Michigan Compiled Laws; or a combination of intoxicating liquor and a controlled substance.
Section 15(l)(b) of the snowmobile act is more specific than § 625 of the Motor Vehicle Code because § 15(l)(b) is concerned solely with snowmobiles. Moreover, if the majority is correct that a snowmobile is a "vehicle” under § 625, the provisions conflict because § 15(l)(b) does not limit the penalty to any particular area where a snowmobile might drive. By a blanket ban on intoxicated driving regardless of location, § 15(l)(b) would apply to a snowmobile driving upon a high*624way, or anywhere else.1 Therefore, assuming a snowmobile is a "vehicle” under § 625, the provisions conflict and the more specific provision under the snowmobile act controls.
It is also instructive to look to the purposes of the acts. The preamble to the snowmobile act provides:
An act to register and regulate snowmobiles; to provide for education and training programs; to provide for trails, areas, and facilities; to create a recreational snowmobile trail improvement fund; to provide for expenditure of appropriations; and to prescribe penalties. [Emphasis added.]
In relevant part, the preamble to the Motor Vehicle Code states:
An act to provide for the registration, titling, sale, transfer, and regulation of vehicles operated upon the public highways of this state or any other place open to the general public and distressed vehicles; ... to provide penalties and sanctions for a violation of this act ....
While the Motor Vehicle Code broadly encompasses the regulation of vehicles on public highways, the snowmobile act is limited specifically to the regulation of snowmobiles. Because both proscribe penalties for intoxication, the more specific enactment controls over the more general one.
Furthermore, there are other legislative enactments which indicate that the Legislature intended § 15(l)(b) of the snowmobile act and § 625 of the Vehicle Code to operate exclusively of each *625other. In § 15 of the criminal procedure act,2 the Legislature states rules regarding warrantless arrests:
(1) A peace officer, without a warrant, may arrest a person in the following situations:
(h) When the peace officer has reasonable cause to believe that the person was, at the time of an accident, the driver of a vehicle involved in the accident and was operating the vehicle upon a public highway or other place open to the general public, including an area designated for the parking of vehicles, in the state while in violation of section 625(1) or (2) of the Michigan vehicle code, Act No. 300 of the Public Acts of 1949, being section 257.625 of the Michigan Compiled Laws, or of a local ordinance substantially corresponding to section 625(1) or (2) of Act No. 300 of the Public Acts of 1949.
(i) When the peace officer has reasonable cause to believe that the person was, at the time of an accident, the driver of a snowmobile as defined by Act No. 74 of the Public Acts of 1968, as amended, being sections 257.1501 to 257.1518 of the Michigan Compiled Laws, involved in the accident and was driving the snowmobile while under the influence of an intoxicating liquor; a controlled substance as defined in section 7104 of the public health code, Act No. 368 of the Public Acts of 1978, as amended, being section 333.7104 of the Michigan Compiled Laws; or a combination of intoxicating liquor and a controlled substance.
The fact that the Legislature contemplated both intoxicated driving provisions in the same statute offers support to the idea that the provisions of the *626snowmobile act are to operate independent of § 625 of the Motor Vehicle Code.
Section 8511 of the Revised Judicature Act3 states in part:
A district court magistrate shall have the following jurisdiction and duties:
(a) To arraign and sentence upon pleas of guilty or nolo contendere for violations of the following acts or parts of acts, or a local ordinance substantially corresponding to these acts or parts of acts, when authorized by the chief judge of the district court and if the maximum permissible punishment does not exceed 90 days in jail or a fine, or both:
(i) Michigan vehicle code, Act No. 300 of the Public Acts of 1949, as amended, being sections 257.1 to 257.923 of the Michigan Compiled Laws, except for violations of sections 625 and 625b of Act No. 300 of the Public Acts of 1949, being sections 257.625 and 257.625b of the Michigan Compiled Laws. However, the magistrate may have the jurisdiction to arraign defendants and set bond with regard to violations of sections 625 and 625b of Act No. 300 of the Public Acts of 1949.
(vii) Act No. 74 of the Public Acts of 1968, as amended, being sections 257.1501 to 257.1518 of the Michigan Compiled Laws. [Emphasis added.]
It is discernible from this provision that the Legislature distinguished § 625 of the Motor Vehicle Code and § 15 of the snowmobile act on the basis of district court jurisdiction. If anything, this provision adds support to the notion that the Legislature intended § 15 to be separate and distinct from § 625.
I would reverse the decision of the Court of Appeals.
Cavanagh, C.J., and Levin, J., concurred with Riley, J.

 Nor can it be argued that the Legislature did not contemplate that snowmobiles would not operate on highways, and that therefore § 15(l)(b) does not apply to intoxicated drivers on the highway. The Legislature contemplated snowmobiles on highways in § 12.

 MCL 764.15; MSA 28.874.

 MCL 600.8511; MSA 27A.8511.