Court Opinion

ID: 9578170
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 21:42:22.951814+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:25:00.604941
License: Public Domain

BRETT, Presiding Judge,
dissenting:
I would respectfully dissent. The issue is whether the fact that the appellant did not receive notice of his suspension operated to deny him the process due any defendant who is subjected to criminal penalties for his behavior. Service of notice of a license revocation or suspension by registered or certified mail is statutorily permitted. 47 O.S.1971, § 6-209. However, it is not the validity of the suspension absent actual notice that is at issue, but rather that degree of notice which is required to impose criminal punishment.
The Supreme Court has indicated that due process must be “appropriate to the nature of the case,” in holding that procedural due process does apply to the suspension of one’s driver’s license. Bell v. Burson, 402 U.S. 535, 91 S.Ct. 1586, 29 L.Ed.2d 90 (1970). A case on point with the matter now before us is City of Albuquerque v. Juarez, 93 N.M. 188, 598 P.2d 650 (1979). In the facts of that opinion, as is true in the case at hand, that defendant had not received notice of the suspension of his license nor did he know about it; the certified mail giving notice had been returned; the suspension was the result of an accumulation of “points”; and the defendant was convicted of driving on a suspended license.
In holding that the conviction was unconstitutional, the New Mexico court found that the inference of receipt of notice sent by certified or registered mail had been rebutted by the unclaimed envelope; and that the State had failed, in light of this fact, to prove that the defendant had either wilfully or voluntarily avoided notice of his suspension.
The State cites State v. Verdirome, 36 Conn.Sup. 586, 421 A.2d 563 (1980), where a conviction for driving while under suspension was upheld. The crucial points which distinguish that case, however, are that, first, the defendant failed to file an accident report, which is some indication of wilful avoidance on his part; and, second, the evidence did not reveal that the envelope had been returned to the Department of Motor Vehicles; therefore, the inference of receipt of mailed notice had not been rebutted.
The State also argues that lack of notice is irrelevant because the offense of Operating a Motor Vehicle While Under Suspension is not a crime requiring specific intent; therefore, the defendant’s knowledge or lack of knowledge with regard to the wrongfulness of his act is irrelevant. I am unpersuaded that the fact that the State was not required to prove specific intent absolves the State of its duty to convict within the bounds of due process. I would reverse.