66 Op. Att'y Gen. 215 | Wis. Att'y Gen. | 1977
DAVID T. PROSSER, JR., District Attorney Outagamie County
Your predecessor, Mr. Kenneth F. Rottier, requested my opinion regarding the proper interpretation of sec.
"346.93 Intoxicants in vehicle carrying minor. No person under the age of 18 years, unless he is a parent, guardian or spouse of the minor, may knowingly possess, transport or have under his control any intoxicating liquor in any motor vehicle, or knowingly possess, transport or have under his control any malt beverage in any motor vehicle while any person under 18 years of age is a passenger or present in such motor vehicle unless such person is employed by a liquor licensee, wholesaler, retailer, distributor, manufacturer or rectifier and is possessing, transporting or having such beverage in a motor vehicle under his control during the regular working hours and in the course of his employment."
He stated that there are two different interpretations that have been accorded the statute. It was his view that the statute means "a minor is proscribed from possessing, transporting or controlling intoxicating liquor or beer in a motor vehicle whileanother person, who is also a minor, is present in that motor vehicle." (emphasis yours.) He described the opposing view as follows:
"Other municipalities in this county, however, interpret the statute to mean that a juvenile who possesses, transports, or controls intoxicating liquor or beer in a motor vehicle may be *216 the same person as the `person under 18 years of age (who) is a passenger or present in such motor vehicle.' In other words, even a juvenile driver alone in a motor vehicle is considered to be guilty of this offense."
I believe that your predecessor was correct in concluding that the person violating the statute and the "person under 18 years of age [who] is a passenger or present in [the] motor vehicle" must be two different individuals. I reach that conclusion by the application of the fundamental canon of statutory construction that "[i]n construing a statute we attempt to find the common sense meaning and purpose of the words employed." State ex rel.Lynch v. Conta,
Your predecessor indicated in his letter "that the differing interpretations have arisen from the revision of the statute" contained in ch.
While I have little difficulty in concluding that your predecessor was correct in rejecting the view that the violator of the statute and the "person under the age of 18 years [who] is a passenger or present in [the] motor vehicle" may be one and the same individual, I find more troublesome another issue which must be resolved in determining the proper interpretation of sec.
First, it is a rule of statutory construction "that qualifying or limiting words or clauses in a statute are to be referred to the next preceding antecedent, unless the context or the evident meaning of the enactment requires a different construction."Jorgenson v. Superior,
Second, it is also a rule of statutory construction "that a law should be so construed that no word or clause shall be rendered surplusage." Mulvaney v. Tri State Truck and Auto Body, Inc.,
Third, while the punctuation of a statute is not entitled to a great deal of weight in determining legislative intent, Morrillv. The State,
Fourth, the conclusion that the phrase, "while any person, etc.," relates solely to the prohibition regarding malt beverages is also supported by the legislative history of sec.
Chapter
A substitute amendment to that legislation was introduced, which provided, in relevant part, as follows:
"No person under the age of 21 years may knowingly possess, transport or have under his control any intoxicating liquor in any motor vehicle, or knowingly possess, transport or have under his control any malt beverage in any motor vehicle while any person under 18 years of age is a passenger or present in such motor vehicle . . . ."
That substitute amendment, further amended by the addition of the clause, "unless he is a parent, guardian or spouse of the minor," was ultimately passed by the Legislature as ch.
Thus, the history of sec.
In summary, then, sec.
BCL:DJB