Court Opinion

ID: 9723321
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 10:11:48.570616+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:24:46.949665
License: Public Domain

Todd, Justice
(concurring specially).
I concur in the result. However, this case and the other implied-consent cases being released contemporaneously with this opinion illustrate the continuing difficulties encountered in seeking to satisfy the requirements of a Miranda warning along with the implied-consent warning. Simply stated, it is a bad marriage and it is time for a divorce. Resolution of this problem could be accomplished by the decriminalization of drunken driving. Presently, an inordinate amount of time is spent by law-enforcement officials and judicial personnel in prosecuting these cases, to say nothing of the expense involved. It is apparent that the interest of the state is to punish the guilty driver by removal of his driving privileges. The fine imposed is minimal when compared with the cost of prosecuting these cases. Further, it is apparent in most cases that the defendant exhausts his rights in the criminal proceedings for the purpose of preserving his driver’s license which is a civil matter.
The legislature should remove driving under the influence from classification as a crime. Precedent exists for this action since Minnesota has already decriminalized public drunkenness, recognizing the medical, rather than the criminal, nature of this problem. The fact that the intoxicated person is operating a motor vehicle does not change the basic cause of the problem. If the crime of driving under the influence were removed from our criminal statutes, we could treat the driver’s-license problem in the civil field where it belongs. The majority opinion discusses the value of a driver’s privilege, but I am not prepared to indicate at this time what significant property rights are in*424volved. The legislature could establish civil procedures within the implied-consent statute which would remove the driving privilege for refusing a test. If a test were taken, a schedule of license suspension based on degree of intoxication might be considered along with the driver’s past history. Furthermore, criminal proceedings would still be available to prosecute the unlicensed, intoxicated driver, or criminal-negligence charges could be brought if appropriate. ¡
Considering the present demands upon law-enforcement officials and the courts, and also the societal interest in suspending the driving privileges of intoxicated drivers, together with Minnesota’s history of leadership in acknowledging the medical problems involved in excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages, the proposal to decriminalize drunken driving should be considered by the legislature.
It should be noted that the legislature has already laid the groundwork for the change proposed in this opinion by its enactment of L. 1976, c. 341, which provides for license revocation in a civil proceeding for drivers whose test results indicate a blood-alcohol content of .10 percent or more. The new law, however, retains the traditional criminal sanctions of fine and imprisonment contained in Minn. St. 169.121, and the possibility of criminal as well as civil action against the offending driver. In this writer’s view, the legislature should complete the task of decriminalization in drunken-driving cases where no death results in order that the drunken-driving problem may be dealt with by the more relevant means — license revocation and treatment.
Sheran, Chief Justice (concurring specially).
I agree with the opinions of Mr. Justice Peterson and Mr. Justice Todd.