NICHOLAS GIKAS, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. FRANK S. ZOLIN, as Director, etc., Defendant and Respondent.
No. S030724
Supreme Court of California
Dec. 23, 1993
841
Michael D. McGlinn for Plaintiff and Appellant.
Paul H. Neuharth, Jr., and Ed Kuwatch as Amici Curiae on behalf of Plaintiff and Appellant.
Daniel E. Lungren, Attorney General, Henry G. Ullerich, Assistant Attorney General, Melvin R. Segal, Martin H. Milas and Mary Horst, Deputy Attorneys General, for Defendant and Respondent.
OPINION
ARABIAN, J.—Alarmed by the death and destruction that drunk drivers cruelly perpetrate upon our highways, the Legislature has empowered the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to promptly suspend the drivers’ licenses of those who drive while intoxicated. We are asked to decide whether a determination in a criminal prosecution that a defendant had been
I. FACTS
In the early morning hours of July 20, 1990, California Highway Patrol Officer Kenneth Jolly arrested appellant, Nicholas Gikas, for driving while under the influence of alcohol. A blood test showed that appellant‘s blood-alcohol level was 0.10 percent. Officer Jolly served appellant with an “administrative per se order of suspension,” giving appellant a 45-day driving license, but notifying him that his license would be suspended after that time because of the results of the blood test.
Appellant moved to suppress evidence in the criminal proceeding. Officer Jolly and a defense investigator testified at the hearing. The municipal court ruled that the original stop and detention were unreasonable, and granted the motion. The People, represented by the San Diego City Attorney, indicated they were unable to proceed, and the criminal case was dismissed. The People did not appeal.
Thereafter, the DMV conducted an administrative hearing to consider suspending appellant‘s driver‘s license because of the July 20, 1990, blood test. Relying on the municipal court‘s grant of the suppression motion and the subsequent dismissal of the criminal charges, appellant argued that the DMV was collaterally estopped from relitigating the legality of his arrest. The DMV rejected the claim, and suspended appellant‘s driver‘s license for four months. It later denied relief on administrative review.
Appellant filed a petition for writ of administrative mandamus in the superior court. The court denied the petition, finding that the DMV “is not collaterally estopped from determining that plaintiff‘s stop and detention was lawful.” The Court of Appeal stayed the suspension pending appeal and, by a two-to-one vote, with Justice Huffman dissenting, reversed. It found that the “DMV is collaterally estopped from relitigating the cited issues [essentially the lawfulness of the arrest] which were necessarily resolved by the municipal court decision to grant the suppression motion.” Because of this holding, the court did not decide appellant‘s alternate contention, that the dismissal of the criminal charges was an “acquitt[al]” that also precluded the administrative proceeding under
We granted the DMV‘s petition for review.
A. Introduction
It is a criminal offense to drive while under the influence of alcohol or a drug, or to drive with 0.08 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in the blood. (
The DMV has long been authorized to suspend drivers’ licenses of persons convicted of specified alcohol related driving offenses, or of persons who refused to submit to a chemical test to determine their blood-alcohol level. (E.g.,
Under this legislation, when a person is arrested for driving under the influence and is determined to have a prohibited blood-alcohol level, the arresting officer or the DMV serves the person with a “notice of the order of suspension.” (
The DMV automatically reviews the suspension order to determine, by a preponderance of the evidence, whether: (1) the arresting officer had reason-
The express legislative purposes of the administrative suspension procedure are: (1) to provide safety to persons using the highways by quickly suspending the driving privilege of persons who drive with excessive blood-alcohol levels; (2) to guard against erroneous deprivation by providing a prompt administrative review of the suspension; and (3) to place no restriction on the ability of a prosecutor to pursue related criminal actions. (
The legislative history reveals that “[t]he need for the administrative per se statutes arose from the fact that ‘[t]he legal process leading to imposition of a suspension sometimes [took] years from the time of arrest.’ [Citation.] ‘Many drivers with high chemical test results fail[ed] to have sanctions taken against their driving privilege because of reduction in charges as the result of “plea-bargaining” or pre-trial diversion programs.’ [Citation.] In enacting the administrative per se law, the Legislature intended to establish ‘an expedited driver‘s license suspension system’ [citation] that would ‘reduce court delays. The suspension will be swift and certain and will be more effective as a deterrent . . . .’ [Citation.]” (Bell v. Department of Motor Vehicles (1992) 11 Cal.App.4th 304, 312 [13 Cal.Rptr.2d 830].)
“[T]he Legislature, in enacting these statutes, contemplated two processes—one involving court proceedings and criminal in nature, the other involving administrative proceedings and civil in nature; and that these processes are, for the most part, intended to operate independently of each other and to provide for different dispositions.” (Robertson v. Department of Motor Vehicles (1992) 7 Cal.App.4th 938, 947 [9 Cal.Rptr.2d 319].) However, as relevant here, one important requirement is common to both. For the incriminating evidence to be admissible in the criminal proceeding, or for the DMV to suspend the driver‘s license, the underlying arrest must have been lawful. (
In the criminal proceeding of this case, the court concluded that the arrest was unlawful. The precise question confronting us is whether that determination precludes relitigation of the issue in the administrative proceeding.
Especially pertinent to this inquiry is
Subdivision (e) of
Appellant contends that collateral estoppel principles prevent relitigation of the lawfulness of the arrest in the administrative proceeding, and that he was “acquitted” of the criminal charges within the meaning of
B. Collateral Estoppel
In general, collateral estoppel precludes a party from relitigating issues litigated and decided in a prior proceeding. (People v. Sims (1982) 32 Cal.3d 468, 477 [186 Cal.Rptr. 77, 651 P.2d 321]; Teitelbaum Furs, Inc. v. Dominion Ins. Co., Ltd. (1962) 58 Cal.2d 601, 604 [25 Cal.Rptr. 559, 375 P.2d 439].) “Traditionally, we have applied the doctrine only if several threshold requirements are fulfilled. First, the issue sought to be precluded from relitigation must be identical to that decided in a former proceeding. Second, this issue must have been actually litigated in the former proceeding. Third, it must have been necessarily decided in the former proceeding. Fourth, the decision in the former proceeding must be final and on the merits. Finally, the party against whom preclusion is sought must be the same as, or in privity with, the party to the former proceeding.” (Lucido v. Superior Court (1990) 51 Cal.3d 335, 341 [272 Cal.Rptr. 767, 795 P.2d 1223, 2 A.L.R.5th 995].) Even if these threshold requirements are satisfied, the doctrine will not be applied if such application would not serve its underlying fundamental principles. (Id. at p. 339.)
The DMV concedes that the first four requirements are satisfied: the identical issue—the lawfulness of the arrest—was litigated in the criminal proceeding, and it was necessarily and finally decided on the merits. Appellant, for his part, does not argue that the prosecution in the criminal proceeding is the same party as the DMV in the administrative proceeding. The disagreement centers around whether the DMV is in privity with the prosecution.
“[T]he determination whether a party is in privity with another for purposes of collateral estoppel is a policy decision.” (Dyson v. State Personnel Bd. (1989) 213 Cal.App.3d 711, 724 [262 Cal.Rptr. 112]; see also Lucido v. Superior Court, supra, 51 Cal.3d at pp. 342-343 [“We have repeatedly looked to the public policies underlying the doctrine before concluding that collateral estoppel should be applied in a particular setting.“]; People v. Sims, supra, 32 Cal.3d at p. 477 [“this court must consider whether the traditional requirements and policy reasons for applying collateral estoppel were satisfied by the facts of this case“].) “Privity is essentially a shorthand statement that collateral estoppel is to be applied in a given case [assuming the other requirements are satisfied]; there is no universally applicable definition of privity.” (Lynch v. Glass (1975) 44 Cal.App.3d 943, 947 [119 Cal.Rptr. 139]; also quoted in People v. Sims, supra, 32 Cal.3d at p. 486.) “The concept refers ‘to a relationship between the party to be estopped and the unsuccessful party in the prior litigation which is “sufficiently close” so as to justify application of the doctrine of collateral estoppel.‘” (People v. Sims, supra, 32 Cal.3d at pp. 486-487, quoting Clemmer v. Hartford Insurance Co. (1978) 22 Cal.3d 865, 875 [151 Cal.Rptr. 285, 587 P.2d 1098].)
Numerous cases involving a refusal to take a chemical test under
Appellant cites the cases finding privity. In Zapata v. Department of Motor Vehicles, supra, 2 Cal.App.4th 108, the court compared the district attorney‘s prosecution of drunk-driving cases and the DMV‘s handling of administrative proceedings, and concluded: “The obvious purpose of both agencies in both proceedings is to protect the public from those who drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs. From each proceeding, sanctions may flow that will hopefully deter such conduct. . . . [¶] Since both agencies represent the state, both have the same interest of protecting the public from those who drive under the influence, and both initiate proceedings in an effort to obtain sanctions to deter such conduct, it is clear that the relationship between the district attorney and DMV in the context of [driving under the influence] enforcement is ‘sufficiently close’ to support a finding of privity for the purpose of applying collateral estoppel. (See People v. Sims, supra, 32 Cal.3d at pp. 486-488.)” (Id. at p. 115.)
The Zapata court further concluded that the public policy considerations of “preservation of the integrity of the judicial system, promotion of judicial economy, and protection of litigants from harassment by vexatious litigation” favor application of the collateral estoppel doctrine. (Zapata v. Department of Motor Vehicles, supra, 2 Cal.App.4th at p. 115.)
The DMV and dissent below counter with the cases finding no privity. Justice Huffman argued: “Common sense indicates the public prosecutors and a state licensing agency are totally separate entities. Zapata, seeking to find privity by the use of generalization, concludes that since both agencies represent the state and have an interest in protecting the public from drunk drivers, they are in privity. Respectfully, that logic would place the Governor, the Legislature, the public prosecutors, the DMV, and any agency devoted to the rehabilitation of alcoholics in privity as they represent state agencies and have an interest in protecting the public from drunk drivers.
“In this case the San Diego City Attorney of necessity has its own agenda in selecting the cases to prosecute, determining how to marshal its evidence, and whether to seek review of potentially erroneous decisions issued by the
In deciding this question, we face a significant constraint not present in the earlier cases. The Legislature has now addressed the matter, and made the policy decisions. The 1989 legislation, operative July 1, 1990, repeatedly states that the results of the administrative proceeding have no collateral estoppel effect on the criminal prosecution. (
The Legislature thus made the policy decision that, whatever similarities there may or may not be between this situation and that of People v. Sims, supra, 32 Cal.3d 468, administrative proceedings before the DMV will not have a preclusive effect on related criminal proceedings. If, today, a defendant were to argue that a favorable administrative outcome collaterally estopped a criminal prosecution, and cited Sims to support the contention, the contrary legislative enactment would clearly prevail. Absent constitutional constraints,3 when the Legislature has established policy, it is not for the courts to differ. (Mercer v. Department of Motor Vehicles, supra, 53 Cal.3d at pp. 761, 769; AIU Ins. Co. v. Superior Court (1990) 51 Cal.3d 807, 818 [274 Cal.Rptr. 820, 799 P.2d 1253] [because the legislative bodies made the
Here, of course, appellant does not seek to have the administrative proceeding preclude the criminal, but the reverse. As will be explained further in part II. C., post, the bill that was eventually enacted into law, as originally introduced in the Legislature, provided that neither the criminal nor the administrative proceeding would have any effect on the other. If this original version had been enacted, we would have had to reject out of hand appellant‘s collateral estoppel argument, whatever we might otherwise think of the policy considerations. The bill was significantly amended during the legislative process, and the enacted statute specifies that an “acquitt[al]” of the criminal charges does preclude the administrative sanction. (
Because the Legislature has specified exactly what preclusive effect the criminal proceeding has on the administrative, we may not grant greater preclusive effect merely because we may find it to be desirable. Expressio unius est exclusio alterius. The expression of some things in a statute necessarily means the exclusion of other things not expressed. (Dyna-Med, Inc. v. Fair Employment & Housing Com. (1987) 43 Cal.3d 1379, 1391, fn. 13 [241 Cal.Rptr. 67, 743 P.2d 1323].) The expression of preclusion by an acquittal excludes preclusion in other regards not expressed.
The answer to the instant question is therefore not to be found by applying “[t]raditional[]” (Lucido v. Superior Court, supra, 51 Cal.3d at p. 341) collateral estoppel analysis, but rather by interpreting
C. Acquittal
As noted in footnote 3, ante, an acquittal in a criminal case does not necessarily preclude administrative proceedings based upon the same facts.
The bill that became the “administrative per se” law originally provided that neither the criminal nor the administrative proceeding would have any impact on the other. Under Senate Bill No. 1623, 1989-1990 Regular Session, as introduced on March 10, 1989,
During the legislative process, the final sentence of the language quoted in the previous paragraph was deleted, and replaced with language substantially identical to the current second sentence of
It is apparent from this legislative history and the language of
We must determine what the Legislature intended when it chose to have an acquittal preclude an administrative suspension. Obviously, when a trial on the merits of a criminal charge results in a verdict of not guilty, the defendant has been acquitted. Is one also acquitted when, as here, the charges are dismissed following suppression of the relevant evidence and the prosecution‘s statement that it is therefore unable to proceed?
In interpreting the language of a statute, we first turn to the words themselves. (IT Corp. v. Solano County Bd. of Supervisors (1991) 1 Cal.4th 81, 98 [2 Cal.Rptr.2d 513, 820 P.2d 1023].) The key word here, of course, is “acquitted.” The statute does not define the word, and our review of available legislative materials discloses nothing that sheds light on its meaning not apparent from the language of the bills and the statute itself. However, the term “acquitted” or “acquittal” is used throughout the Penal Code in contexts consistently indicating a decision on the merits by the fact finder following the attachment of jeopardy. (E.g.,
Judicial decisions have construed the term consistently with its use throughout the Penal Code. When a statute uses terms that have been judicially construed, it is presumed that the terms have been used in the sense that the courts have placed upon them. (People v. Weidert (1985) 39 Cal.3d 836, 845-846 [218 Cal.Rptr. 57, 705 P.2d 380].) A question similar to the one here has arisen in death penalty cases.
We therefore conclude that when the Legislature used the word “acquitted” it did not intend to necessarily include a dismissal. “The term ‘acquittal,’ . . . generally refers to a disposition based upon a determination of the merits. [Fn. omitted.] ‘[A] defendant is acquitted only when “the ruling of the judge, whatever its label, actually represents a resolution [in the defendant‘s favor], correct or not, of some or all of the factual elements of the offense charged.” [Citation.]’ (United States v. Scott (1978) 437 U.S. 82, 97 [57 L.Ed.2d 65, 78, 98 S.Ct. 2187] [defining the term in the context of double jeopardy].)” (Agresti v. Department of Motor Vehicles, supra, 5 Cal.App.4th at pp. 604-605; see also Snow v. Department of Motor Vehicles (1993) 17 Cal.App.4th 230, 233 [21 Cal.Rptr.2d 68] [dismissal of criminal charges after a trial resulted in a hung jury is not an acquittal under
In Agresti v. Department of Motor Vehicles, supra, 5 Cal.App.4th at page 604, the record did not disclose the reason for the dismissal, and the court held that it was not an acquittal. The court specifically noted the case did not involve a dismissal following a finding by the trial court that the defendant had been unlawfully arrested. (Id. at pp. 604-605, fn. 2.) This case does. However, we do not believe the result here should be different.
The context in which the word “acquitted” is used in the statute also shows that the Legislature intended it to have its usual meaning, and not a broader meaning encompassing dismissals for reasons unrelated to actual innocence.
This interpretation of the word “acquitted” is consistent with the purposes of the administrative per se legislation. One purpose is to provide a prompt administrative review of the suspension. This review includes a determination of the lawfulness of the arrest, and is itself subject to judicial review. Another purpose is to make the highways of California safer. “Deterring drunk driving and identifying and removing drunk drivers from the roadways undeniably serves a highly important governmental interest. . . . Stopping the carnage wrought on California highways by drunk drivers is a concern the importance of which is difficult to overestimate.” (Ingersoll v. Palmer (1987) 43 Cal.3d 1321, 1338-1339 [241 Cal.Rptr. 42, 743 P.2d 1299].)
In furthering these purposes, the Legislature used precise language. It chose to prevent the DMV from suspending a driver‘s license if the criminal courts found the person in fact not guilty of drunk driving, but not otherwise. “It would be inconsistent with the purpose of this factfinding procedure [administrative review], and with the intent to suspend the driving privilege of those who are thus found to have been driving under the influence, to rescind the suspension for reasons that have nothing to do with whether the person was in fact driving while intoxicated.” (Agresti v. Department of Motor Vehicles, supra, 5 Cal.App.4th at p. 606; see also Claxton v. Zolin, supra, 8 Cal.App.4th at p. 561.)
Appellant relies on cases holding either that a dismissal is the equivalent of an acquittal for double jeopardy purposes when based upon insufficiency of the evidence to establish factual guilt (e.g., Smalis v. Pennsylvania (1986) 476 U.S. 140, 144 [90 L.Ed.2d 121, 116, 106 S.Ct. 1745]), or that a certain dismissal prohibited further criminal proceedings. (People v. Superior Court (Lauman) (1963) 217 Cal.App.2d 517 [31 Cal.Rptr. 710].) These cases do not aid him. Here, there was never a judicial finding of insufficient evidence to establish the relevant facts; rather, the evidence that would prove them was suppressed. Moreover, as explained in Agresti v. Department of Motor Vehicles, supra, 5 Cal.App.4th at page 606, “The question here is not whether the dismissal of charges barred further criminal prosecution, but
We thus hold that a person is “acquitted” of the criminal charges within the meaning of
The dismissal here was based upon the finding that the arrest was unlawful and the resultant inability of the prosecution to proceed. There was no judicial ruling that appellant did not in fact drive while intoxicated. In this situation, the Legislature allows the DMV to conduct the administrative suspension process independently of the criminal action. Accordingly, the dismissal of the criminal charges did not prevent the DMV from determining the lawfulness of the arrest, subject to judicial review under
D. Penal Code section 1538.5, subdivision (d)
Amicus curiae in support of appellant argues that
The argument of amicus curiae is straightforward: the administrative hearing of this case is “any trial or other hearing” within the meaning of
Despite the fact that
We also find it unlikely the Legislature intended
A literal, universal, application of
Other statutory provisions bolster the conclusion that
It is settled that the exclusionary rule does not apply to all administrative hearings. (E.g., Emslie v. State Bar (1974) 11 Cal.3d 210, 229 [113 Cal.Rptr. 175, 520 P.2d 991] [attorney disciplinary proceeding]; Finkelstein v. State Personnel Bd. (1990) 218 Cal.App.3d 264 [267 Cal.Rptr. 133] [disciplinary proceeding]; see generally 1 Witkin, Cal. Evidence (3d ed. 1986) Introduction, § 55, p. 49.) We find nothing in
This court has construed
In Schlick v. Superior Court, supra, 4 Cal.4th at page 316, we left open the possibility that
III. CONCLUSION
The Court of Appeal erred in holding that the DMV was precluded from relitigating the lawfulness of the arrest. The judgment of the Court of Appeal is therefore reversed. Each party shall bear its own costs.
Lucas, C. J., Baxter, J., and George, J., concurred.
Nevertheless, I dissent. The majority‘s reasoning cannot be squared with principles of statutory construction or issue preclusion, i.e., collateral estoppel. The Legislature—not this court—must prescribe the result the majority reach. The rub, however, is that the Legislature evidently has indicated that it does not desire the majority‘s result. It did so by removing from
I.
Subdivision (e) of
As finally enacted,
The Legislature originally proposed to provide in subdivision (f) of
Confirming the effect of the deletion of the italicized language, the first sentence of
The effect on this court of the Legislature‘s decision to omit the prior language from the final version of the bill is plain. We cannot interpret
The appellate courts of this state have also uniformly held that a statute cannot be interpreted to include what was specifically excluded in the drafting process. “To do so would not be interpreting the legislative intent
Other jurisdictions are also in accord. The United States Supreme Court has spoken authoritatively: “‘Few principles of statutory construction are more compelling than the proposition that Congress does not intend sub silentio to enact statutory language that it has earlier discarded in favor of other language.‘” (INS v. Cardoza-Fonseca (1987) 480 U.S. 421, 442-443.) In an earlier case, the federal high court observed, “Where Congress includes limiting language in an earlier version of a bill but deletes it prior to enactment, it may be presumed that the limitation was not intended.” (Russello v. United States (1983) 464 U.S. 16, 23-24.) And still earlier that court noted, “The Conference Committee, however, deleted this ‘effects on commerce’ provision, leaving only the ‘in commerce’ language. ... [Congress‘s] action strongly militates against a judgment that Congress intended a result that it expressly declined to enact.” (Gulf Oil Corp. v. Copp Paving Co. (1974) 419 U.S. 186, 200.)
The high courts of other states are also of a view contrary to that of the majority. “The deletion of a provision in a pending bill discloses the legislative intent to reject the proposal. [Citation.] Courts should be slow to put back that which the legislature has rejected.” (Transportation Ins. Co. v. Maksyn (Tex. 1979) 580 S.W.2d 334, 338; accord, Smith v. Baldwin (Tex. 1980) 611 S.W.2d 611, 616-617.) “The rejection by the legislature of a specific provision contained in a proposed enactment is persuasive to the conclusion that the act should not be so construed as in effect to include that provision, at least where there is no basis for the assumption that the words
Here, unfortunately, the majority are quick to do what the Texas Supreme Court, as noted above, wisely declared they should do slowly if at all. Of course, the rule should not be applied to yield absurd or arbitrary consequences. (See U.S. ex rel. Stinson v. Prudential Ins. (3d Cir. 1991) 944 F.2d 1149, 1156-1157.) But here the arbitrary consequences stem from the majority view. Careful attention in the trial court to the legality of an arrest may well give way to a summary determination by a lay DMV official much less skilled, if skilled at all, in the rules of criminal procedure and constitutional law.
II.
Because the Legislature ultimately chose silence on the question whether a criminal court‘s determination that an arrest was illegal precluded the DMV from relitigating the issue, standard issue-preclusion analysis applies—not the majority‘s policy-based analysis (maj. opn., ante, at pp. 851-852), which is founded on a policy the Legislature rejected.
Applying traditional preclusion analysis, I conclude that the state is estopped from relitigating the arrest‘s legality. The majority and I agree that four of the five threshold requirements for collateral estoppel are satisfied. (Maj. opn., ante, at pp. 848-849.) I maintain that the fifth, privity, is also satisfied. Both the DMV and the district attorney zealously represent the same party: the state. Therefore, they are privies and the matter may not be relitigated. (Zapata v. Department of Motor Vehicles (1991) 2 Cal.App.4th 108, 115.)
The touchstone of preclusion‘s privity element is whether the predecessor party adequately represented the successor party‘s interests in the outcome. (Rest.2d Judgments, § 75, com. b, p. 210.) “The relationships denominated by the term ‘privity’ fall into three general categories. The first includes relationships that are explicitly representative. ... The second includes the array of substantive legal relationships ... in which one of those involved in the relationship is treated as having the capacity to bind the other to a judgment. ... The third includes successors in interest to property. ...” (Id., com. a, p. 210.) The relationship between the prosecution and the DMV in this case falls into the second category. (People v. Sims (1982) 32 Cal.3d 468, 486-487.)
The United States Supreme Court holds a similar view. In “the leading decision” on the subject (18 Wright et al., Federal Practice and Procedure (1981) § 4458, p. 505), the court stated, “There is privity between officers of the same government so that a judgment in a suit between a party and a representative of the United States is res judicata in relitigation of the same issue between that party and another officer of the government. [Citation.] The crucial point is whether or not in the earlier litigation the representative of the United States had authority to represent its interests in a final adjudication of the issue in controversy.” (Sunshine Coal Co. v. Adkins (1940) 310 U.S. 381, 402-403.)
Other jurisdictions also hew to a similar view of privity.
Particularly instructive is Briggs v. State, Dept. of Public Safety (Alaska 1987) 732 P.2d 1078. In Briggs, a court ordered suppression of breathalyzer test results that showed Briggs had been driving while drunk. The prosecution did not appeal. The charges were dismissed. (Id. at p. 1079.) Thereafter,
The Alaska Supreme Court first held that the administrative decision to consider the breathalyzer test results was wrong because no sample was preserved nor a second test given. (732 P.2d at p. 1080.) The state argued it should be allowed to relitigate certain issues regarding the test procedure already determined adversely to it in the criminal court. (Id. at p. 1081; cf. id. at p. 1079.) The Alaska Supreme Court held that the state was estopped to relitigate the issue previously decided. As relevant here, the court decided, “we hold that the [Division of Motor Vehicles of the] Department of Public Safety and the state were in privity. ‘The general rule is that litigation by one agency is binding on other agencies of the same government, but exceptions may be warranted if there are important differences in the authority of the respective agencies.’ 18 C. Wright, A. Miller, and H. Cooper, Federal Practice and Procedure § 4458, at 504-05 (1981). ... [¶]... The interests of the Department of Public Safety in litigating this issue were ... adequately represented.” (732 P.2d at pp. 1082-1083, fn. omitted.)
In State v. $11,346.00 in U.S. Currency (Wyo. 1989) 777 P.2d 65, a criminal court found that money was seized via an unlawful search and could not be used as evidence. The criminal defendant moved to have the money, which was also the subject of a forfeiture proceeding, returned to him because it had been unlawfully seized. The forfeiture court agreed. In affirming the court‘s grant of summary judgment, the Wyoming Supreme Court rejected an argument “that the agency of the State which appears as the nominal plaintiff in forfeiture is neither identical to nor in privity with the State‘s agency that prosecuted [the criminal defendant]. ... To accept this argument ... would be to elevate form over substance and permit the State to, incongruously, have its cake and eat it too. ....” (Id. at p. 68.)
In State v. Parson (1991) 15 Kan.App.2d 374 [808 P.2d 444], there was a civil judicial determination against the Motor Vehicle Department that the defendant‘s drilling rig need not be registered as a motor vehicle. The defendant was then convicted in criminal court of operating an unregistered vehicle on the highway. Holding that the state was collaterally estopped from bringing the criminal proceeding, the court asked “whether there is ‘privity’ between the State in this case and [the Motor Vehicle Department] in the prior [civil] case? We conclude there is.” (808 P.2d at p. 447.) The court held that because both the Motor Vehicle Department and the prosecutor are arms of the same government, they are privies. (808 P.2d at p. 448.)
Finding collateral estoppel in this case derives from a considered view that the government should not be allowed to administratively pursue individuals who have defeated it in contentious criminal litigation. No sound policy is served by permitting an administrative functionary to review, and in effect overrule, a determination of the constitutional validity of an arrest, a matter uniquely within the judicial province and decided by a judge after a fully contested hearing. As the Zapata court so cogently stated, “Public confidence in the integrity of the judicial system is obviously threatened when a nonjudicial officer, in an informal administrative hearing with no testimony taken, is permitted to relitigate the validity of an arrest that has been previously determined by a municipal court judge, at a contested evidentiary hearing, in the formal setting of a criminal prosecution. If this scenario does not tend to undermine the ‘integrity of the judicial system,’ it is difficult to conceive of what would.” (2 Cal.App.4th at p. 115.)
The Legislature decided that
PANELLI, J., Dissenting.—I concur in Justice Mosk‘s dissenting opinion. I write separately to express my view that the result reached by the majority is
The majority, however, conclude that the Legislature could not have intended
In my view, the majority‘s unsupported and restrictive reading of
As we have previously recognized, the exclusionary rule is based upon the principle that the state should not profit from its own wrongdoing by receiving the benefit of using evidence obtained by unconstitutional means. (Emslie v. State Bar (1974) 11 Cal.3d 210, 226.) In deciding whether the exclusionary rule should apply in a given proceeding, this court has considered: (1) whether the proceeding bears a close identity to the aims and objectives of criminal law enforcement so as to be deemed “quasi-criminal” in nature; (2) whether application of the rule in the proceeding in question will serve as a deterrent to misconduct by law enforcement officers; (3) the social cost resulting from applying the exclusionary rule in the proceeding; and (4) the effect of applying the exclusionary rule on the integrity of the judicial process. (In re Lance W., supra, 37 Cal.3d at p. 892 [does not automatically apply in civil proceedings]; In re William G. (1985) 40 Cal.3d 550, 567, fn. 17 [applies in juvenile court proceeding based upon search by school official]; Emslie v. State Bar, supra, 11 Cal.3d at p. 229 [does not apply in State Bar disciplinary proceedings]; In re Martinez (1970) 1 Cal.3d 641, 650-651 [applies in parole revocation
Interpreting
Therefore, instead of approaching the question at hand with the broad brush employed by the majority, the first step in the analysis should be to determine whether the exclusionary rule applies to the type of administrative proceeding at issue. In my view, there is little room for doubt that the exclusionary rule applies in this case.
First, the statutes governing the Department of Motor Vehicles administrative proceeding implicitly incorporate the exclusionary rule. The Legislature has seen fit to provide for administrative suspension of a driver‘s license only when the underlying arrest of a driver is proven lawful. (
Second, the policy reasons underlying the exclusionary rule (see, ante, this page) support the conclusion that the rule applies in this case. We have
The administrative proceeding in this case must be judged “quasi-criminal” in nature. One objective of the proceeding is to punish the drunken driver by suspending driving privileges. Another objective is to deter driving while under the influence of alcohol. Both punishment and deterrence are common to criminal, as well as administrative, proceedings arising from drunk driving.
Furthermore, the arresting police officers who enforce the criminal sanctions are intimately involved in the enforcement of the civil sanctions. (E.g., United States v. Janis, supra, 428 U.S. at p. 458 [recognizing that deterrent effect of exclusionary rule is most potent when the sanction is imposed in a proceeding that falls within the “offending officer‘s zone of primary interest“].) The arresting officer makes the car stop and conducts a blood, breath or urine test. (
The exclusionary rule clearly applies to this administrative proceeding.4 The question, thus, becomes whether there is any legitimate reason not to apply
Since the exclusionary rule is applicable to the administrative proceeding, no policies underlying that rule would be offended by applying the prohibition on admission of the evidence found in the course of a
Furthermore, the goals of the administrative hearing cannot be impaired by giving conclusive effect to the judicial determination that the arrest was based upon unlawfully obtained evidence under
On the other hand, the policy underlying the adoption of
Furthermore, permitting such administrative reconsideration of search and seizure issues undermines the integrity of the criminal court‘s ruling and the criminal and administrative processes as a whole. (Zapata v. Department of Motor Vehicles, supra, 2 Cal.App.4th at p. 115; cf. Schlick v. Superior Court, supra, 4 Cal.4th at p. 316.) As the Zapata court accurately summarized: “Public confidence in the integrity of the judicial system is obviously threatened when a nonjudicial officer, in an informal administrative hearing with no testimony taken, is permitted to relitigate the validity of an arrest that has been previously determined by a municipal court judge, at a contested evidentiary hearing, in the formal setting of a criminal prosecution. If this scenario does not tend to undermine the ‘integrity of the judicial system,’ it is difficult to conceive of what would.” (Zapata v. Department of Motor Vehicles, supra, 2 Cal.App.4th at p. 115.)
In my view, the majority‘s interpretation of
KENNARD, J., Dissenting.—When a motorist, charged with driving under the influence of alcohol (
To reach the conclusion that the Legislature intended to permit the use of collateral estoppel at DMV hearings, Justice Mosk‘s dissenting opinion (in which Justice Panelli concurs) looks to the Legislature‘s omission of certain language from the final draft of the statutory scheme that regulates the manner in which a motorist‘s license may be suspended for driving after consuming alcohol.³ I, on the other hand, am of the view that the statutory language it actually adopted signaled the Legislature‘s desire to allow the parties at DMV hearings to invoke the doctrine of collateral estoppel.
I
Appellant was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. He moved to suppress the evidence supporting the charge, asserting that the arresting officer lacked sufficient grounds to detain him. The trial court granted the motion and, upon the People‘s representation that they were unable to proceed, dismissed the case against appellant. There was no appeal.
II
Under California law, the Department of Motor Vehicles must immediately suspend the driving privileges of any person who has driven a motor vehicle with a blood-alcohol level of .08 percent or greater. The notice of suspension may be served upon the motorist by a police officer (usually the arresting officer) or by the DMV. (
In this case, appellant contends that the arresting officer lacked reasonable cause to believe appellant violated either
The Legislature addressed the question of collateral estoppel in
Through this provision, the Legislature signaled that the doctrine of collateral estoppel is inapplicable only when a party attempts to use a factual determination at a DMV hearing to bar relitigation of the issue in a subsequent criminal proceeding. Had the Legislature desired to also bar the use of collateral estoppel at a DMV hearing after adjudication in the criminal case, it would surely have said so. Therefore, applying the well-established doctrine of expressio unius est exclusio alterius—the expression of one thing is the exclusion of another—we may infer that the Legislature intended the doctrine of collateral estoppel to apply when a party to a license revocation proceeding seeks to relitigate at the DMV hearing an issue that has already been adjudicated in the criminal proceeding. (See generally, Grupe Development Co. v. Superior Court (1993) 4 Cal.4th 911, 921; Kinlaw v. State of California (1991) 54 Cal.3d 326, 343; Southern Cal. Gas. Co. v. Public Utilities Com. (1979) 24 Cal.3d 653, 659.)
Sound policy supports this legislative determination. The Legislature may well have concluded that because of the informal nature of administrative hearings before the DMV, it would be inappropriate to use the doctrine of
Here, in reaching its conclusion that the Legislature did not intend parties to rely on the doctrine of collateral estoppel to bar relitigation at DMV hearings of issues finally adjudicated in the related criminal proceeding, the majority relies on
The language that the majority quotes from
I therefore conclude that in this case the DMV should be collaterally estopped from relitigating, at its administrative hearing, the legality of appellant‘s detention and arrest, because that issue had already been determined by a court in the related criminal proceeding. In view of this conclusion, I need not reach the question whether, as Justice Panelli asserts in his dissenting opinion, the same result is compelled by
III
In this case, it is a motorist who seeks to invoke the doctrine of collateral estoppel to bar the DMV from relitigating the legality of the arresting
To allow both parties to the DMV license suspension proceeding—the motorist and the DMV—to invoke collateral estoppel would simplify those proceedings by preventing relitigation of issues already reliably determined by a court in the context of a criminal prosecution. As I have shown, this result is consistent with the specific language of
I would affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeal.
Notes
¹All further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise indicated. Unless otherwise stated, all further statutory references are to the Vehicle Code.