245 Conn. 442 | Conn. | 1998
Lead Opinion
Opinion
The dispositive issue in this appeal is whether knowledge that one’s license has been suspended is an essential element of the crime of operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license in violation of General Statutes § 14-215.
During the jury portion of the defendant’s bifurcated trial,
The notice was mailed by “bulk certified mail to the address of the [defendant] ... as shown by the records of the commissioner” of motor vehicles in accordance with General Statutes § 14-111 (a), which provides the method for notifying an operator of a license suspension.
The defendant testified at trial that she had not received the notice and was not aware that her license had been suspended. She also testified that her mail delivery was unreliable because her mailbox was one of fifteen mailboxes grouped together and that “you sometimes don’t get certain things that should be coming in and many, many times, at least a couple of times a week, I’m getting things that belong to somebody else.”
Following the close of testimony, the defendant requested that the trial court instruct the jury that knowledge of the suspension of her license is an essential element of § 14-215 (a).
“The third element is that the operation occurred while her license was under suspension by the commissioner of motor vehicles. The third element of operating while under suspension requires proof of compliance with [§ 14-111 (a)].
“[Section 14-111 (a)] does not require personal service of a notice of suspension but provides that if . . . a notice is forwarded by bulk certified mail to the address of the person registered as owner or operator of any motor vehicle as shown by the records of the commissioner shall be sufficient notice to such person ....
“The statute does not require that a defendant actually receive notice or that the [department] receive a return receipt. Constructive notice by the [department] is all that is required.
“Constructive notice is information or knowledge of a fact imputed by law to a person although she may not . . . actually have it because she could have discovered the fact by proper diligence. That’s what the definition of constructive notice is.”
The defendant took exception to the trial court’s instructions, arguing that § 14-215 (a) requires that she possess actual knowledge that her license was under suspension. The jury found the defendant guilty of operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license in violation of § 14-215 (a).
Thereafter, a court trial was held to determine whether the underlying reason for the defendant’s license suspension was her failure of a chemical alcohol
The dispositive issue is whether § 14-215 (a) requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt of actual knowledge
It is undisputed that the defendant properly preserved her claim for appellate review.
“The process of statutory interpretation involves a reasoned search for the intention of the legislature. Frillici v. Westport, 231 Conn. 418, 431, 650 A.2d 557 (1994). In other words, we seek to determine, in a reasoned manner, the meaning of the statutory language as applied to the facts of this case .... In seeking to determine that meaning, ‘we look to the words of the
We next turn to legislative history and policy. “While the general rule at common law was that the scienter was a necessary element in the indictment and proof of every crime,
“[T]here are many instances where the requirement of criminal intent has been omitted from police regulatory or public welfare statutes.” Id., 149. “There are many statutes in the nature of police regulations for
“The touchstone is not the reprehensibility of the offender but the nature of the evils to be avoided, and the extent of the probable frustration of the regulatory scheme which a requirement of scienter would create. . . . Personal blame on the part of the actor, except in the general sense that he should have known better or exercised a greater degree of care, is not a necessary element of many offenses where protection of the public against the harm which would result in the absence of regulation is the principal legislative concern. . . . [P]ublic policy may require that in the prohibition or punishment of particular acts it may be provided that he who shall do them shall do them at his peril, and will not be heard to plead in defense good faith or ignorance.” (Citations omitted; internal quotation
“There is a suggestion in some of the early cases dealing with police regulatory legislation not requiring any criminal intent that the penalties must be ‘petty’ and not involve imprisonment. . . . The question left undecided in those cases, whether a provision for imprisonment necessarily implied a requirement of mens rea, has long been resolved in favor of the view that the abandonment of the element of intent depends upon the ‘peculiar nature and quality of the offense’ and whether the penalty serves as an effective means of regulation.” (Citations omitted.) Id., 152.
In Connecticut, the legislature has promulgated “an unambiguous policy aimed at ensuring that our highways are safe from the carnage associated with drunken drivers.” State v. Stevens, 224 Conn. 730, 739, 620 A.2d 789 (1993); see State v. Hickam, 235 Conn. 614, 624-25, 668 A.2d 1321 (1995), cert. denied, 517 U.S. 1221, 116 S. Ct. 1851, 134 L. Ed. 2d 951 (1996); State v. Boisvert, 40 Conn. App. 420, 428, 671 A.2d 834, cert. denied, 237 Conn. 903, 674 A.2d 1332 (1996). “The legislature enacted the statutes governing the operation of motor vehicles, including § 14-111, for the protection of the lives and property of the citizens of this state. In matters concerning public safety, the legislative department in the use of its police power is the judge, within reasonable limits, of what the public welfare requires.” (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Hickey v. Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, 170 Conn. 136, 139, 365 A.2d 403 (1976).
It is clear that, when enacting § 14-215, the legislature was concerned with “the amount of casualties, fatalities, and injuries that are occurring repeatedly in the State. Many of these [drivers], when they are under the influence, are nothing but killers, legalized killers.” 26
In discussing an amendment to § 14-215 to institute a five day mandatory minimum term of imprisonment, Senator James J. Murphy stated that “[o]ne of the problems that we have had through the years in addressing the drunk driving statute is that every time we kind of toughen it out, toughen it up or do something that’s necessary, we find that there are people who continue to drive with impunity and, in fact, go into the courtrooms, they drive while they’re under suspension, pay a hundred and a hundred and fifty dollar fine and keep going back out. ... So that we have these drivers who are charged, convicted of serious motor vehicle offenses, i.e., driving while intoxicated, manslaughter in the second degree or with underlying circumstances of drunk driving convictions or involved with the excessive use of alcohol that has resulted in the death of another, they take the suspension and just continue on out driving with impunity . . . .” 26 S. Proc., Pt. 13,
A principal purpose for the enactment of § 14-215 was to protect the safety of the public by eliminating the threat of drunk drivers. The legislature was gravely concerned with enforcing license suspensions in order to prevent those individuals who have had their licenses suspended from “driving with impunity.” The legislature has constructed two levels of sanctions that correspond to the severity of the underlying reason for a license suspension. Those reasons that are more threatening to the safety of the public, such as failing a chemical alcohol test,
The defendant argues that a violation of § 14-215 (a) requires actual knowledge of the suspension because of the severe penalties imposed. She cites as support
There are other instances in which a criminal conviction does not require proof of actual knowledge.
In State v. Kreminski, supra, 178 Conn. 148, we concluded that scienter or knowledge of a licensing requirement is not required in a conviction for violating General Statutes (Rev. to 1977) § 36-334, which prohibits the sale of securities by unlicensed persons. We reasoned that “[although protection of the financial interest of the public may not be as paramount as safeguarding its health and morals by suppressing activities which endanger those interests, nevertheless, it is a matter of serious concern and the legislature might reasonably have concluded that strict criminal liability was appropriate.” Id., 151-52. The present case entails those paramount public health and safety interests that call for omitting proof of actual knowledge for conviction.
In State v. Denby, 235 Conn. 477, 482, 668 A.2d 682 (1995), we concluded that specific intent to sell narcotics at a location within 1000 feet of a school is an essential element of the crime of possession of narcotics with intent to sell within 1000 feet of a school in violation of General Statutes (Rev. to 1991) § 21a-278a (b),
We conclude that the language of the statute, the legislative history and the legislative purpose evince a
The judgment is affirmed.
In this opinion BORDEN, KATZ and MCDONALD, Js., concurred.
General Statutes § 14-215 provides: “Operation while registration or license is refused, suspended or revoked, (a) No person to whom an operator’s license has been refused, or whose operator’s license or right to operate a motor vehicle in this state has been suspended or revoked, shall operate any motor vehicle during the period of such refusal, suspension or revocation. No
“(b) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, any person who violates any provision of subsection (a) of this section shall be fined not less than one hundred fifty dollars nor more than two hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than ninety days or be both fined and imprisoned for the first offense, and for any subsequent offense shall be fined not less than two hundred dollars nor more than six hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than one year or be both fined and imprisoned.
“(c) Any person who operates any motor vehicle during the period his operator’s license or right to operate a motor vehicle in this state is under suspension or revocation on account of a violation of subsection (a) of section 14-227a or section 53a-56b or 53a-60d or pursuant to section 14-227b, shall be fined not less than five hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars and imprisoned not more than one year, thirty consecutive days of which may not be suspended or reduced in any manner.”
Bellarocco testified at trial that the defendant did not produce her operator’s license when she had been stopped. In contrast, the defendant testified that she did in fact possess her license at that time and that she produced it for Bellarocco. In light of the fact that the defendant’s license had been suspended, the jury reasonably could have found that she was unable to produce her license.
See footnote 1 of this opinion.
The defendant was charged in a two part information. The first part of the information, namely, the charge of driving with a suspended license in
It is not clear from the record or trial testimony when the defendant had failed the chemical alcohol test.
General Statutes § 14-227b provides in pertinent part: “Implied consent to test. Suspension of license for refusing to submit to test or having elevated blood alcohol content. Hearing, (a) Any person who operates a motor vehicle in this state shall be deemed to have given his consent to a chemical analysis of his blood, breath or urine and, if said person is a minor, his parent or parents or guardian shall also be deemed to have given his consent.
“(b) If any such person, having been placed under arrest for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug or both or while his ability to operate such motor vehicle is impaired by the consumption of intoxicating liquor, and thereafter, after being apprised of his constitutional rights, having been requested to submit to a blood, breath or urine test at the option of the police officer, having been afforded a reasonable opportunity to telephone an attorney prior to the performance of such test and having been informed that his license or nonresident operating privilege may be suspended in accordance with the provisions of this section if he refuses to submit to such test or if he submits to such test and the results of such test indicate that the ratio of alcohol in his blood was ten-hundredths of one per cent or more of alcohol, by weight, and that evidence of any such refusal shall be admissible in accordance with subsection (f) of section 14-227a and may be used against him in any criminal prosecution, refuses to submit to the designated test, the test shall not be given; provided, if the person refuses or is unable to submit to a blood test, the police officer shall designate the breath or urine test as the test to be taken. The police officer shall make a notation upon the records of the police department that he informed the person that his license or nonresident operating privilege may be suspended if he refused to submit to such test or if he submitted to such test and the results of such test indicated that the ratio of alcohol in his blood was ten-hundredths of one per cent or more of alcohol, by weight
“(c) If the person arrested refuses to submit to such test or analysis or submits to such test or analysis, commenced within two hours of the time of operation, and the results of such test or analysis indicate that the ratio of alcohol in the blood of such person is ten-hundredths of one per cent or more of alcohol, by weight, the police officer, acting on behalf of the
“(d) Upon receipt of such report, the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles may suspend any license or nonresident operating privilege of such person effective as of a date certain, which date shall be not later than thirty days after the date such person received notice of his arrest by the police officer. Any person whose license or operating privilege has been suspended in accordance with this subsection shall automatically be entitled to a hearing before the commissioner to be held prior to the effective date of the suspension. The commissioner shall send a suspension notice to such person informing such person that his operator’s license or nonresident operating privilege is suspended as of a date certain and that he is entitled to a hearing prior to the effective date of the suspension and may schedule such hearing by contacting the Department of Motor Vehicles not later than seven days after the date of mailing of such suspension notice.
“(e) If such person does not contact the department to schedule a hearing, the commissioner shall affirm the suspension contained in the suspension notice for the appropriate period specified in subsection (h) of this section.
“(f) If such person contacts the department to schedule a hearing, the department shall assign a date, time and place for the hearing, which date shall be prior to the effective date of the suspension. . . .
“(h) The commissioner shall suspend the operator’s license or nonresident operating privilege, and revoke the temporary operator’s license or nonresident operating privilege issued pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, of a person who did not contact the department to schedule a hearing . . . .”
There is no evidence in the record that the defendant ever had requested a hearing.
General Statutes § 14-111 (a) provides: “No provision of this chapter shall be construed to prohibit the commissioner from suspending or revoking any registration or any operator’s license issued under the provisions of any statute relating to motor vehicles, or from suspending the right of any person to operate a motor vehicle in this state, or from suspending or revoking the right of any nonresident to operate, or the right to any operation of, any motor vehicle within this state, for any cause that he deems sufficient, with or without a hearing. Whenever any certificate of registration or any operator’s license or both are suspended or revoked, all evidence of the same shall be delivered forthwith to the commissioner or to any person authorized by him to receive the same, and the commissioner or any person authorized by him may seize such certificate of registration or operator’s license and all evidence of the same. Except as otherwise provided by law, the commissioner may cancel any such suspension or revocation and may return such certificate of registration or the operator’s license either with or without an additional fee, provided no certificate of registration or operator’s license which has been suspended for any definite term, except as provided in subsection (k) of this section, shall be returned until the term of suspension has been completed. Any appeal taken from the action of the commissioner shall not act as a stay of suspension or revocation except with his consent. No service of process shall be necessary in connection with any of the prescribed activities of the commissioner, but a notice forwarded by bulk certified mail to the address of the person registered as owner or operator of any motor vehicle as shown by the records of the commissioner shall be sufficient notice to such person that the certificate of registration or operator’s license is revoked or under suspension.’’ (Emphasis added.)
The defendant submitted to the trial court the following written request to charge the jury:
“For the defendant to be convicted of operating a motor vehicle while her motor vehicle license is under suspension, it would be necessary for the jury to find beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant knew that her motor vehicle license was under suspension.
“Legal Authority: Bell v. Burson, 402 U.S. 535, [91 S. Ct. 1586, 29 L. Ed. 2d 90] (1971); Commonwealth v. Horney, [365 Pa. Super. 152] 529 A.2d 18 (1987); State v. Counts, 783 S.W.2d 181, 182 (Mo. 1990); State v. Aldrich, 83 Or. App. 643, 732 P.2d 943 (1987) [rev’d on other grounds, 305 Or. 466, 752 P.2d 311 (1988)].
“To the contrary: State v. [Torma], 21 Conn. App. 496 [574 A.2d 828] (1990).”
During the court trial, much of the same evidence regarding the notice of suspension was presented as during the jury trial. A representative from the department testified that the defendant’s license had been suspended because she had failed a chemical alcohol test, that a suspension notice had been mailed to the defendant by bulk certified mail, and that the notice informed the defendant of her right to a hearing and the effective date and length of the suspension. Additionally, the state introduced the defendant’s driving history record, which showed that her license had been suspended for failing a chemical alcohol test pursuant to § 14-227b.
Section 14-215 (b) describes the penalties for driving with a suspended license when the underlying cause of the suspension is a reason other than operating while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug; General Statutes § 14-227a (a); manslaughter in the second degree with a motor vehicle; General Statutes § 53a-56b; assault in the second degree with a motor vehicle; General Statutes § 53a-60d; or refusing to submit to a chemical alcohol analysis or having elevated blood alcohol content. General Statutes § 14^227b.
The defendant appealed from the judgment of the trial court to the Appellate Court and we transferred the appeal to this court pursuant to Practice Book § 4023, now Practice Book (1998 Rev.) § 65-1, and General Statutes § 51-199 (c).
The state argues, in the alternative, that the defendant had actual knowledge of her license suspension as a result of having received a temporary operator's license pursuant to § 14-227b (c). Because we conclude that actual knowledge is not required, and because no evidence of a temporary license was introduced at trial, we do not address the state’s alternate argument.
On September 13, 1996, the defendant filed a written request to charge requesting that the trial court include the element of knowledge of suspension in its instructions. See footnote 9 of this opinion. The request was denied on the same day. The defendant also excepted to the jury charge immediately after it was given. Thereafter, during the court trial on the issue of the enhanced penalty, the defendant moved for judgment of acquittal and for a new trial based on the court’s refusal to instruct on knowledge as an element of the crime. These motions wore denied. Moreover, during the sentencing hearing, the defendant further elaborated on her claim that knowledge is a required element for a violation of § 14-215 (a).
“There is a wide split of authority on the question whether driving with a suspended license requires proof of intent.” State v. McCallum, 321 Md. 451, 455, 583 A.2d 250 (1991), quoting Zamarripa v. First Judicial District Court, 103 Nev. 638, 641, 747 P.2d 1386 (1987). We join those jurisdictions that do not require criminal intent or knowledge for a conviction for driving with a suspended license. See People v. Morrison, 149 Ill. App. 3d 282, 284, 500 N.E.2d 442 (1986), cert. denied, 482 U.S. 915, 107 S. Ct. 3187, 96 L. Ed. 2d 675 (1987) (elements of driving while driver’s license is revoked are act of driving motor vehicle and fact that driver’s license was revoked); State v. Carmer, 465 N.W.2d 303, 304 (Iowa App. 1990) (knowledge is not element of driving while license is suspended); State v. Jones, 231 Kan. 366, 368, 644 P.2d 464 (1982) (for conviction of misdemeanor of driving with suspended license, state must send copy of order of suspension but need not prove actual receipt of notice or actual knowledge of suspension; nonreceipt may be mitigating factor at sentencing); State v. Pickering, 432 So. 2d 1067, 1071 (La. App. 1983) (scienter not required for conviction for driving without license; state need only demonstrate that defendant drove vehicle on highway without proper license); State v. Coady, 412 N.W.2d 39, 41 (Minn. App. 1987) (offense of driving after license revocation does not require actual receipt of notice); State v. Grotzky, 222 Neb. 39, 42, 382 N.W.2d 20 (1986) (felony of operating motor vehicle after license revoked does not require intent); States v. Buttrey, 293 Or. 575, 582-84, 651 P.2d 1075 (1982) (defendant sentenced to one year imprisonment for driving with suspended license; state not required to prove knowledge by defendant of license suspension; defendant has statutory affirmative defense of nonreceipt); State v. Chicoine, 154 Vt. 653, 580 A.2d 970 (1990) (actual notice of suspension not required; state must only send notice of suspension by registered or certified mail); but see Jeffcoat v. State, 639 P.2d 308, 313 & n.4 (Alaska App. 1982) (state must show actual knowledge or deliberate conduct calculated to avoid receipt of notice on part of defendant); People v. Lesh, 668 P.2d 1362, 1365 (Colo. 1983) (under statute proof of mailing is only prima facie proof and does not create conclusive presumption; state must prove knowledge of license revocation); State v. Keihn, 542 N.E.2d 963, 968 (Ind. 1989) (state
There is a presumption of mens rea in those crimes having their origin in the common law. United, States v. United States Gypsum Co., 438 U.S. 422, 437, 98 S. Ct. 2864, 57 L. Ed. 2d 854 (1978). “[M]ere omission ... of intent [in the statute] will not be construed as eliminating that element from the crimes denounced; instead Congress will be presumed to have legislated against the background of our traditional legal concepts which render intent a critical factor, and absence of contrary direction [will] be taken as satisfaction with widely accepted definitions, not as a departure from them.” (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Id. Because the crime of driving with a suspended license does not have its origins in the common law, the defendant is not entitled to this presumption.
See 32 S. Proc., Pt. 12, 1989 Sess., p. 3979, remarks of Senator Anthony V. Avallone (“[W]e will not tolerate drunken drivers on our roads. . . . [W]e will not tolerate the carnage, the loss of life and property on our roads as a result of drunken drivers.”).
Other reasons that are more threatening to the safety of the public include driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug, manslaughter in the second degree with a motor vehicle, and assault in the second degree with a motor vehicle. See General Statutes § 14-215 (c).
The primary reason for the amendment was the fiscal savings to the state that would result by changing the method of notice delivery. See 22 S. Proc., Pt. 1, 1979 Sess., p. 268; 22 H.R. Proc., Pt. 17, 1979 Sess., p. 5873; Conn. Joint Standing Committee Hearings, Transportation, Pt. 1, 1979 Sess., pp. 88, 97-98.
The United States Supreme Court has determined that actual knowledge is not required in certain instances. In United States v. Balint, 258 U.S. 250, 253, 42 S. Ct. 301, 66 L. Ed. 604 (1922), the court concluded that knowledge of the character of a drug is not a required element in a violation of the Narcotic Act. The court found that the purpose of this act was to protect innocent purchasers from the danger of certain drugs and thus “require[d] every person dealing in drugs to ascertain at his peril whether that which he sells comes within the inhibition of the statute, and if he sells the inhibited drug in ignorance of its character, to penalize him.” Id., 254; see State v. Kreminski, supra, 178 Conn. 150-51.
In State v. Denby, supra, 235 Conn. 482, we determined that “the plain language of § 21a-278a (b) requires as an element of the offense an intent to sell or dispense the narcotics at a location that is within 1000 feet of a school.”
In contrast, in State v. Sul, supra, 146 Conn. 78, this court concluded that knowledge that the material is obscene or indecent is an essential element of the crime of “[possessing] with intent to sell . . . offer or show, any book [or] pamphlet . . . containing obscene, indecent or impure language, or any picture . . . of like character . . . .” Id., 80 n.1. This court reasoned that although the statutory definition of the crime does not contain the word “knowingly,” because the “purpose of the statute is to prevent the selling, showing or offering of obscene or indecent material falling within the description stated . . . [i]t must be assumed that the legislature was aware that such material was likely to be sold, offered or shown by one who knew from its nature that it would have an appeal to prurient interests.” Id., 87. The court further reasoned that because this statute requires proof of intent, “it is the obvious intendment of the legislature that the word ‘intent’ should imply knowledge that the material is, in fact, obscene or indecent.” Id. Section 14-215, in contrast, does not contain an element of intent, nor is it necessary to assume that the legislature wanted to impose the element of knowledge in light the legislature’s public policy goals.
The state produced at trial evidence of conformity with § 14-111 (a) in the form of two documents. The jury reasonably could have found that these documents, a copy of the suspension notice and the certificate of mailing, sufficiently proved compliance with § 14-111 (a). See State v. Torma, supra, 21 Conn. App. 502-504.
Concurrence Opinion
concurring. Although I agree with the result of the majority opinion, I do not agree that the legislative history of Public Acts 1983, No. 83-534, which involved the overhaul of Connecticut’s drunk driving laws, is relevant to the issue of whether General Statutes § 14-215 (a) requires that one have actual knowledge that her license has been suspended before she may be prosecuted for driving with a suspended license. The language of § 14-215 (a) has been on the books in essentially its present form since at least 1930. See General Statutes (1930 Rev.) § 1591.
I concur in the result.
General Statutes (1930 Rev.) § 1591 provided: “Operation while registration or license is suspended. No person to whom an operator’s license shall have been refused, or whose operator’s license or whose right to operate a motor vehicle in this state shall have been suspended or revoked, shall operate any motor vehicle during the period of such refusal, suspension or revocation. No person shall operate or cause to be operated any motor vehicle, the registration of which shall have been refused, suspended or revoked, or any motor vehicle, the right to operate which shall have been suspended or revoked. Any person who shall violate any provision of this section shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than two hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than ninety days or be both fined and imprisoned.”
Public Acts 1983, No. 83-534, amended § 14-215 only by adding subsection (c), which provided for enhanced penalties when the reason for the initial suspension was driving under the influence. It in no way had any effect on any notice requirements.