Bell v. State, Unpublished Decision (2-10-1997)
Bell v. State, Unpublished Decision (2-10-1997)
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
Defendant-appellant, Robert L. Bell, appeals a decision of the Clermont County Court of Common Pleas affirming the one-year suspension and disqualification of his commercial driver's license ("CDL")imposed by the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles ("BMV").On December 9, 1993, appellant was involved in a motor vehicle accident while operating a tractor trailer. Ohio state police officer Andrea Bennett stopped appellant and administered a breath test which revealed a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .043 per cent. Bennett charged appellant with operating a commercial vehicle with an alcohol concentration of four-hundredths of one per cent or more, in violation of R.C.
Meanwhile, Bennett prepared a sworn affidavit concerning the results of the breath test and submitted it to the BMV as required by R.C.
Appellant filed an administrative appeal which was denied. He then appealed to the Clermont County Court of Common Pleas pursuant to R.C.
Appellant presents one assignment of error for review:
THE COURT ERRED IN AFFIRMING THE DECISION OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING OFFICER SINCE THAT DECISION WAS AGAINST THE MANIFEST WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE AND CONTRARY TO LAW.
Appellant argues that because he pled guilty to Section A of R.C.
R.C.
If a person * * * submits to a test that discloses the presence of * * * an alcohol concentration of four-hundredths of one per cent or more, the provisions of division (B)(1) or (3) of section
4506.16 of the Revised Code apply and the person shall immediately surrender his commercial driver's license to the peace officer. The peace officer shall forward the license, together with a sworn report, to the registrar of motor vehicles certifying that the test was requested pursuant to division (A) of this section and that the person * * * submitted to a test that disclosed the presence of * * * an alcohol concentration of four-hundredths of one per cent or more.
R.C.
R.C.
The registrar of motor vehicles shall disqualify any person from operating a commercial motor vehicle as follows:
(1) Upon a first conviction for a violation of divisions (B) to (G) of section
4506.15 of the Revised Code * * * one year, in addition to any other penalty imposed by the Revised Code. (Emphasis added.)
By comparison, R.C.
Because appellant was charged with, but not convicted of, violating Section B of the statute, we find that the common pleas court erred in affirming the BMV's one-year suspension of appellant's license. We hereby reverse the decision of the court of common pleas. The BMV's decision suspending appellant's CDL for one year was improper. Since appellant was not convicted of violating R.C.
Judgment reversed.
YOUNG, P.J., and POWELL, J., concur.
No person shall do any of the following:
* * *
(B) Drive a commercial motor vehicle while having an alcohol concentration of fourhundredths of one per cent or more.
Upon receipt of a sworn report from a peace officer as provided in division (D) of this section, the registrar shall disqualify the person named in the report from driving a commercial motor vehicle for the period required by section
4506.16 of the Revised Code.
Whoever violates division (A) of section
4506.15 of the Revised Code * * * immediately shall be place out-of-service for twenty-four hours, in addition to any disqualification required by this section and any other penalty imposed by the Revised Code.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.