Hearing officers who decide DUI license appeals should be lawyers, the judge says.
By Associated Press
Published November 7, 2003
FORT LAUDERDALE - A judge raised concerns about the qualifications of state hearing officers who decide on appeal whether drunken-driving defendants should have their licenses suspended before trial.
Circuit Judge Miette Burnstein ruled that a Broward County man accused of drunken driving should get his license back. Burnstein said the hearing officer who denied the man's request to have the license returned acted in the role of a judge without having the necessary training.
Under state law, drivers get their license suspended when they're charged with drunken driving, but they can appeal the suspension to a hearing officer who works for the state Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
The judge said the officers should be attorneys, pointing out that drunken-driving cases frequently involve complex issues such as the legality of the arrest and whether the blood- or breath-testing equipment functioned properly.
"The use of hearing officers with no formal legal education, possibly not even a college education, to handle cases requiring a substantial legal background and training, as well as insights and attitudes, can create problems in the adjudication of cases," Burnstein wrote in Tuesday's ruling.
None of the state's 72 hearing officers is an attorney, said Bob Sanchez, the department spokesman.
But Sanchez said the current system "strikes a fair balance by advancing the state's legitimate interest in ensuring highway safety while also protecting the due process rights of persons arrested for driving under the influence."
The judge's ruling at this point affects only the case of Terry Griffin, whose suspension she overturned. But the department will appeal her ruling, Sanchez said. If the appellate courts agree with Burnstein, that could have wider implications for the system.
Griffin's attorney appealed the suspension that resulted from a June 19 arrest on a DUI charge.
