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Kirke v. Motor Vehicle Division

Colorado Court of Appeals. Division II
Jan 23, 1986
724 P.2d 77 (Colo. App. 1986)

Summary

In Kirke v. Colorado Department of Revenue, 724 P.2d 77 (Colo.App. 1986), the Court of Appeals held that reliance on hearsay evidence in a driver's license revocation proceeding to establish an element of the alleged statutory violation denied the driver due process of law. Relying on that decision, Hancock contends that the revocation order here must be reversed because the only evidence of the alcohol content of his blood consisted of hearsay police and laboratory reports.

Summary of this case from Hancock v. State

Opinion

No. 84CA1017

Decided January 23, 1986. Rehearing Denied February 20, 1986. Certiorari Granted (Dept. of Revenue) August 25, 1986 (86SC101).

Appeal from the District Court of El Paso County Honorable Richard V. Hall, Judge

Dworkin and Craw, Jeffrey Dworkin, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Duane Woodard, Attorney General, Charles B. Howe, Chief Deputy Attorney General, Richard H. Forman, Solicitor General, Anthony S. Trumbly, Assistant Attorney General, for Defendant-Appellee.


Plaintiff, Thomas Wesley Kirke, appeals a district court judgment affirming the revocation of his driver's license. We reverse and remand with directions that plaintiff's driver's license be reinstated.

During the investigation of a two-car traffic accident, a DUI enforcement officer was called to the accident scene and was informed by an officer already there that plaintiff was the driver of one of the vehicles involved in the accident. There is nothing in the record which would indicate how the officer obtained this information, nor is there any other evidence in the record which would tend to show that plaintiff was driving a motor vehicle. The DUI officer arrested plaintiff when plaintiff was unable to complete a roadside sobriety test. After a complete advisement pursuant to the implied consent law then in force, plaintiff refused to submit to an intoxilyzer test.

At the revocation hearing, only the DUI officer appeared to testify. Plaintiff objected on hearsay grounds to the DUI officer's testimony that another officer had told him that plaintiff was driving. The hearing officer overruled the hearsay objection, and revoked plaintiff's driver's license. The district court affirmed the revocation order on appeal.

Plaintiff contends the district court erred in affirming the hearing officer's revocation because there was no non-hearsay evidence that plaintiff was driving. We agree.

The due process protections of the United States and Colorado constitutions require that a driver be given the opportunity for a hearing before the state may terminate his driving privilege. Bell v. Burson, 402 U.S. 535, 91 S.Ct. 1586, 29 L.Ed.2d 90 (1971); Heninger v. Charnes, 200 Colo. 194, 613 P.2d 884 (1980). The hearing required by the due process clause must be appropriate to the nature of the case and may not exclude evidence that would be relevant to determination of the issue that is the subject of the hearing. Bell v. Burson, supra; Mameda v. Colorado Department of Revenue, 698 P.2d 277 (Colo.App. 1985).

An appropriate administrative hearing is one in which the parties are apprised of all evidence to be submitted and considered, one in which they have the right of cross-examination, and one in which they are given the opportunity of rebuttal. Weld County Kirby Co. v. Industrial Commission, 676 P.2d 1253 (Colo.App. 1983). This due process right to cross-examination is reflected in several cases that have refused to allow a hearing officer to base findings solely on hearsay evidence. See Sims v. Industrial Commission, 627 P.2d 1107 (Colo. 1981); Romero v. Industrial Commission, 616 P.2d 992 (Colo.App. 1980); Allen v. Industrial Commission, 36 Colo. App. 330, 540 P.2d 358 (1975).

Here, the purpose of the driver's license revocation hearing was to determine whether the request to take the chemical test was based upon reasonable grounds to believe that plaintiff had been driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, whether the request was made as provided by statute, and whether the request was, in fact, refused. See DuPuis v. Charnes, 668 P.2d 1 (Colo. 1983); Vigil v. Motor Vehicle Division, 184 Colo. 142, 519 P.2d 332 (1974). However, the only evidence supporting the hearing officer's finding that the plaintiff had been driving a motor vehicle was hearsay. This use of only hearsay evidence to prove one of the key elements in the revocation hearing denied plaintiff his right to cross-examine the witnesses against him and, thus, denied plaintiff due process of law. Consequently, the district court erred in affirming the driver's license revocation.

The judgment of the district court is reversed and the cause is remanded to the district court with instructions to order that plaintiff's driver's license be reinstated.

JUDGE VAN CISE and JUDGE STERNBERG concur.


Summaries of

Kirke v. Motor Vehicle Division

Colorado Court of Appeals. Division II
Jan 23, 1986
724 P.2d 77 (Colo. App. 1986)

In Kirke v. Colorado Department of Revenue, 724 P.2d 77 (Colo.App. 1986), the Court of Appeals held that reliance on hearsay evidence in a driver's license revocation proceeding to establish an element of the alleged statutory violation denied the driver due process of law. Relying on that decision, Hancock contends that the revocation order here must be reversed because the only evidence of the alcohol content of his blood consisted of hearsay police and laboratory reports.

Summary of this case from Hancock v. State

In Kirke, we discussed factors to be considered in assessing the reliability and trustworthiness of hearsay at revocation hearings.

Summary of this case from Colorado Division of Revenue v. Lounsbury

In Kirke, we held that a licensee is not denied due process when a hearing officer enters a finding of a revocation element in the absence of non-hearsay evidence as to that element, as long as (1) the hearsay evidence relied upon by the hearing officer is reasonably trustworthy and reliable, and (2) the evidence possesses probative value commonly accepted by reasonable and prudent persons in the conduct of their affairs.

Summary of this case from Charnes v. Olona

In Marek v. Motor Vehicle Division, the court of appeals held that revocation was proper, despite conflicting BAC test results.

Summary of this case from Charnes v. Lobato
Case details for

Kirke v. Motor Vehicle Division

Case Details

Full title:Thomas Wesley Kirke, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Colorado Department of…

Court:Colorado Court of Appeals. Division II

Date published: Jan 23, 1986

Citations

724 P.2d 77 (Colo. App. 1986)

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