Schuster v. State of NM Tax. & Rev. Dep’t

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Eric Schuster appealed a decision of the Taxation and Revenue Department, Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) to revoke his driver's license pursuant to the Implied Consent Act. The primary issue arising from this case was whether MVD must find that the arrest of a driver charged with driving while intoxicated (DWI) was constitutional as one of the prerequisites to revoking the driver's license. Upon review, the Supreme Court answered this question in the affirmative and overruled "Glynn v. State, Taxation & Revenue Dep't," (252 P.3d 742) to the extent the Glynn court held that the constitutionality of the arrest need not be decided in DWI license revocation hearings. The secondary issues concerned: (1) the district court's jurisdiction to hear an appeal from an MVD license revocation hearing regarding the constitutionality of an arrest; and (2) whether the district court erred in affirming both MVD's revocation of Schuster's driver's license and MVD's finding that the arrest of Schuster was constitutional. The Court held that: (1) the district court's review of constitutional issues in a license revocation hearing is conducted under its appellate jurisdiction and not under its original jurisdiction; and (2) the district court did not err in affirming MVD's revocation of Schuster's driver's license because Schuster's was constitutional. View "Schuster v. State of NM Tax. & Rev. Dep't" on Justia Law