Douglas Thomas Whittemore v. Commonwealth

COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA

Present: Judges Willis, Bray and Senior Judge Hodges Argued at Alexandria, Virginia

DOUGLAS THOMAS WHITTEMORE

MEMORANDUM OPINION * BY v. Record No. 3005-95-4 JUDGE JERE M. H. WILLIS, JR. FEBRUARY 25, 1997 COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF ALEXANDRIA Donald H. Kent, Judge

J. Burkhardt Beale (Boone, Beale, Carpenter & Cosby, on brief), for appellant.

Marla Graff Decker, Assistant Attorney General (James S. Gilmore, III, Attorney General, on brief), for appellee.

Douglas Thomas Whittemore contends that the statutory double jeopardy prohibition of Code § 19.2-294 prohibits his prosecution for drunk driving after his driver's license was suspended for seven days pursuant to Code § 46.2-391.2.

This appeal is controlled by the Supreme Court's decision in Brame v. Commonwealth, 252 Va. 122, 132-33, 476 S.E.2d 177, 183-84 (1996) (holding that Code § 19.2-294 applies only to criminal proceedings and that the administrative license suspension is a civil proceeding). See also Tench v. Commonwealth, 21 Va. App. 200, 204, 462 S.E.2d 922, 923-24 (1995) (en banc) (holding that an administrative license suspension is a civil penalty and does not constitute "punishment" for double jeopardy purposes); Jones v. City of Lynchburg, 23 Va. App. 167, 170, 474 S.E.2d 863, 864-65 (1996) (holding that an administrative license suspension hearing is a civil proceeding).

Accordingly, we affirm the trial court's judgment.

Affirmed.