You be the Judge: If you Drive a Car

If you drive a car, this may interest you.

Michael was charged with drunk driving in New York, based upon a blood-alcohol test. When he pleaded guilty to the charge, New York entered a conviction and suspended his driving privileges in that State for six months, effective immediately.

Michael was not required to surrender his New Jersey driver's license, but when his suspension was nearly over, New York sent a notice of his conviction to the New Jersey Division of Motor Vehicles.

The notice was sent in accordance with the Interstate Driver License Compact, which authorizes a state to suspend the driving privileges of a person convicted of drunk driving in another state.

Michael had completed his New York suspension when New Jersey began proceedings to suspend Michael’s license for six months.

Michael argued that the six-month New Jersey suspension, after he had already served the six-month New York suspension, amounted to Double Jeopardy in violation of the Constitution.

YOU BE THE JUDGE: Does the Constitution forbid two separate prosecutions for the same offense?

The Court held that the Constitutional protection against Double Jeopardy applied to drunk driving prosecutions. But, Double Jeopardy only protects against two separate prosecutions by a single state for the same conduct. When a defendant’s single act breaks the law and violates the peace and dignity of two sovereign states, it is treated as two separate offenses, not one. This concept, known as the dual-sovereignty doctrine, permits two separate prosecutions, in two separate jurisdictions, for the same conduct. Michael violated the sovereignty of New Jersey, which had issued him a driver’s license, by driving drunk in another state. Both states could impose separate suspensions.

If you would like a copy of the recent decision in New Jersey Division of Motor Vehicles v. Pepe, A-0176-04T2, please call our office.