Schleiker v. Bur. of Traffic Safety

Full title: Pamela Ann Schleiker, Appellant v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania…

Court: Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania

Date published: Jul 27, 1983

463 A.2d 86 (Pa. Cmmw. Ct. 1983)

463 A.2d 86

Opinion

July 27, 1983.

Remand — Trial court failure to file statement in support of order — Pa. R.A.P. 1925.

1. Where the trial court has not filed a statement in support of its order as is required by Pa. R.A.P. 1925(a) and there are conflicts as to the facts in the record and no findings of fact which can be reviewed on appeal, the record will be remanded to the trial court for a statement of its reasons, but the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania will retain jurisdiction. [19]

Submitted on briefs June 6, 1983, to Judges ROGERS, CRAIG and MacPHAIL, sitting as a panel of three.

Appeal, No. 1086 C.D. 1982, from the Order of the Court of Common Pleas of Monroe County in case of Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Transportation, Bureau of Traffic Safety v. Pamela Ann Schleiker, No. 64, Civil 1982.

Motor vehicle operator's license suspended by Department of Transportation. Licensee appealed to the Court of Common Pleas of Monroe County. Appeal denied. MARSH, P.J. Licensee appealed to the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania. Held: Remanded. Jurisdiction retained.

Donald G. Scheck, for appellant.

Harold H. Cramer, Assistant Counsel, with him Ward T. Williams, Chief Counsel, and Jay C. Waldman, General Counsel, for appellee.

OPINION BY JUDGE ROGERS, July 27, 1983:

This is an appeal from the order of the Court of Common Pleas of Monroe County, entered April 13, 1982, after an evidentiary hearing upholding the suspension of the appellant's operating privileges for a period of six months for failing to take a breathalyzer test. Upon examination of the record we have discovered that the judge who entered the order appealed from has not filed a statement in the form of an opinion of the reasons for the order. The question in the case is that of whether the appellant who claims to have been injured in an accident was able knowingly and consciously to refuse the breathalyzer test. There are conflicts as to the facts in the record and no findings of fact which we can review. Therefore it is necessary that we remand the record to the Court of Common Pleas of Monroe County for the statement called for by Pa. R.A.P. No. 1925(a). Jurisdiction retained.

ORDER

AND NOW, this 27th day of July, 1983, the record in the above-captioned matter is remanded to the Court of Common Pleas of Monroe County for further proceedings consistent with this opinion including findings and a brief statement of reasons for the April 13, 1982, order; jurisdiction is retained.