Hinman v. Department of Highway Safety
Hinman v. Department of Highway Safety
Opinion of the Court
Hinman seeks certiorari review of a circuit court’s denial of his petition for writ of certiorari to quash the suspension of his driving privileges by the Department of Highway Safety , and Motor Vehicles (“Department”). He argues that the circuit court departed from, basic-.constitutional principles of law because its ruling put him in the position of having to choose between testifying at his license suspension hearing and his right to remain silent in a subsequent criminal proceeding. We deny the writ.
In this case, Hinman was arrested for driving under the influence.
At the same time he filed his motion to abate, Hinman sought an injunction from the circuit court to stay the license suspension hearing. Thereafter Hinman sought certiorari relief in the circuit court, asserting that by denying his motion to abate, the Department placed his Fifth Amendment rights in jeopardy. The circuit court denied the writ on the grounds that the conduct of the administrative proceeding did not violate Hinman’s Fifth Amendment rights, citing McDonough v. Commonwealth of Penna, Dept. of Transportation, 152 Pa. Cmwlth. 384, 391, 618 A.2d 1258, 1261 (1992), and that Hinman failed to show how he would be prejudiced by testifying at the administrative hearing, citing Nordvick v. Commissioner of Public Safety, 610 N.W.2d 659 (Minn.Ct.App. 2000).
Section 322.2615(l)(a), Florida Statutes, authorizes the Department to suspend a person’s driver’s license when it determines the. person was arrested for DUI. The person may request formal review of the suspension decision, which includes an evidentiary hearing. See § 322.2615(6)(a), Fla. Stat.
Florida Administrative Code Rule 15A.6013(5) provides:
The driver shall have the right to present evidence relevant to issues, to cross-examine opposing witnesses, to impeach any witness and to rebut any evidence presented against the driver.
Section 322.2615(14), Florida Statutes, provides:
[T]he decision of the department under this section shall not be considered in any trial for a violation of s. 316.193, nor shall any written statement submitted by a person in his or her request for departmental review under this section be admissible into evidence against him or her in any such trial.
The statute provides protection from the use of a person’s written statements against him or her, in subsequent proceedings. However, it is silent regarding the subsequent use of testimony given orally at the hearing. Section 322.2615, Florida Statutes, took effect October 10, 1990.. But it appears no Florida court has ruled on this specific question.
The Department argues that because a defendant is not required to testify at the administrative hearing, no Fifth Amendment violation is involved. Further, the Department claims the testimony could not be used against Hinman at a subsequent criminal trial because his testimony is part of the hearing officer’s decision. Section 322.2615(14) provides “the decision of the department under this section shall- not be considered in any trial for a violation of s. 316.193....”
Like the defendant in McDonough, Hin-man was faced with an administrative hearing prior to the disposition of a criminal proceeding, involving the same incident or arrest. However, he was not compelled to testify at the administrative hearing. The Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination evolved as a protection for an individual from being compelled to give testimony in both civil and criminal proceedings, formal or informal, where the answers to questions might be incrimina,-ting. See 3 LaFave, Criminal Procedure § 8.14 (1999).
In Simmons v. United States, 390 U.S. 377, 88 S.Ct. 967, 19 L.Ed.2d 1247 (1968),
We conclude that no Fifth Amendment right was involved in the administrative hearing. Thus, a person being subsequently prosecuted for DUI has no right to stay the license suspension hearing. It also follows that any voluntary statements made by the person at the license suspension hearing have no Fifth Amendment protection. Their only protection stems from the provisions of the statute referenced above.
Petition for Writ of Certiorari DENIED.
. § 316.193(l)(a), Fla. Stat.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.