DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAY SAFETY AND MOTOR VEHICLES, APPELLANT,
v.
JAMES F. SINCLAIR, JR., APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles appealed a trial court order requiring it to issue a hardship license for medical purposes to a twice-convicted DUI offender. The appellate court reversed, holding that only DHSMV has statutory authority to issue hardship licenses, not the trial court, and the offender must first satisfy statutory prerequisites including DUI supervision program enrollment and a favorable evaluation.
No. Only DHSMV retains sole authority to issue hardship licenses under Section 322.271(2)(b). County court judges lack this authority. A person must first satisfy statutory prerequisites—serving one year of the revocation term, enrolling in a DUI supervision program, and receiving a favorable evaluation—before petitioning DHSMV for a hardship license.
[1] A county court judge lacks the authority to order the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to issue a hardship license for medical purposes to a defendant conv…
[2] The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles retains the sole authority to issue hardship licenses for medical purposes to individuals convicted of DUI offenses, s…
Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“A person whose license has been revoked for a period of 5 years or less pursuant to Sec. 322.28(2)(a) may, upon the expiration of 12 months after the date said revocation was imposed, petition the department for reinstatement of his or her driving privilege on a restricted basis.”
Establishes that only DHSMV has authority to reinstate driving privileges upon satisfaction of statutory conditions, not trial courts.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceJames F. Sinclair, Jr. had been convicted twice for DUI within five years and had his license revoked. The trial court ordered DHSMV to issue him a ha…
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POLEN, Judge.
The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) appeals from a final order requiring it to issue a hardship license for medical purposes to the defendant, James F. Sinclair. We reverse.
In the order requiring DHSMV to issue the hardship license, the trial court certified the following question of great public importance:
Does a county court judge have the authority to issue a hardship license for medical purposes only to a defendant who has been convicted twice for DUI within five years, who has not fulfilled the requirements of Section 322.271(2)(b), Florida Statutes (1995), including enrolling in a DUI supervision program and receiving a favorable evaluation, and who has a serious, life threatening illness which requires medical care?
We answer this question in the negative. Rather, we agree with DHSMV that in accordance with section 322.271(2)(b), Florida Statutes (1995), it retains the sole authority to issue a hardship license. This statutory section provides:
A person whose license has been revoked for a period of 5 years or less pursuant to Sec. 322.28(2)(a) may, upon the expiration of 12 months after the date said revocation was imposed, petition the department for reinstatement of his or her driving privilege on a restricted basis.... In addition, the department shall require such persons upon reinstatement to have not driven and to have been drug free for at least 12 months immediately prior to such reinstatement, to be supervised by a DUI program licensed by the department, and to report to the program at least three times a year as required by the program for the duration of the revocation period for supervision. Such supervision shall include evaluation, education, referral into treatment, and other activities required by the department. Such persons shall assume reasonable costs of supervision. If such person fails to comply with the required supervision, the program shall report the failure to the department, and the department shall cancel such person’s driving privilege. This paragraph does not apply to any person whose driving privilege has been permanently revoked.
Based on the above statutory language, it was up to Sinclair to petition DHSMV for a hardship license. DHSMV is authorized to issue such a license under 322.271(l)(c) which allows DHSMV to issue a business purposes only hardship license for various reasons including medical purposes. In addition, section 322.271(2)(b), limits a hardship reinstatement for drivers convicted twice of DUI within five years to those who have served one year of a revocation term, enrolled in a DUI supervision program and received a favorable evaluation. If these circumstances are met, and DHSMV does not issue a hardship license, then remedy could be sought by way of a petition for writ of certiorari to the circuit court. Accordingly, we reverse in accordance with the above statutes because it is up to DHSMV to issue a hardship license after certain conditions precedent are met.
GUNTHER and FARMER, JJ., concur.
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Dep't OF Hwy. Safety v. Sylvie Marie Parsons, 719 So. 2d 339 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998)…act on the case. However, the circuit court sitting in its appellate capacity does not have the power or authority to order the Department to issue a hardship license for Parsons. Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles v. Sin [*341] clair, 697 So. 2d 230 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997). The circuit court’s power to issue an injunction is derived from Florida Rules of Civil Procedure 1.550(b) and 1.610(a) when the court is sitting in its capacity as a trial court. Accordingly, we quash the portion of the order…