Posted on 08/02/2007 9:41:16 AM PDT by leadpenny
The ruling is binding only in Henrico County but is being immediately appealed to Circuit Court and could eventually reach the Virginia Supreme Court.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A Henrico County judge declared the state's new abusive driver fees unconstitutional Thursday.
General District Court Judge Archie Yeatts issued the ruling in the case of Anthony Price, who was facing his fifth charge of driving on a suspended license.
With his order, Yeatts instructed Henrico General District Court clerks not to collect civil remedial fees that can reach $1,000 or more for certain driving offenses.
The ruling is binding only in Henrico County but is being immediately appealed to Circuit Court and could eventually reach the Virginia Supreme Court.
The fees have prompted protests from Virginians outraged that they apply only to state residents. Price's lawyers argued at a hearing last week that forcing him to pay $750 in fees that don't apply to people who live outside Virginia violates the 14th Amendment's guarantee of equal protection under the law.
Since the fees took effect July 1, critics have called for their immediate repeal in a special legislative session. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine opposes a special session but has suggested legislators revisit the law in the regular session that begins in January.
The General Assembly passed the fees this year to help endow the first major transportation funding law in a generation. They range from the fee Price initially faced _ three annual installments of $250 _ to $3,000 over three years for driving-related felonies.
Because lawmakers wanted the revenue for highway maintenance, they enacted the surcharges as fees, which Virginia is powerless to collect outside its boundaries. The state can collect fines from out-of-state motorists, but state Constitution requires those revenues to be used exclusively for education.
You’d also think it would violate the constitutional provision against excessive fines.
i am totally in support of repealing these fees but this guy is on his fifth time of driving on a suspended license. hah. thanks for taking on our battle anthony.
Wow, if I’d known that I’d have to pay a fee to be an abusive driver, I’d have stopped long ago!
To overcome the equal protection argument being made the VA legislature could easily amend the law to apply it to out-of-state drivers as well. It seems to me that opponents should also be arguing that it violates equal protection because it forces bad drivers to pay for new roads where there is no evidence that bad drivers cause any more of an adverse impact on roads than good drivers do.
But this judge is of course right, and I expect the law to be overturned statewide before too much longer.
A common sense ruling for once!
Richmond ping.
More on the abuser fees.
I might have commented on the wrong thing. I think this may be different than the $2500 speeding fines enacted a short time ago, which is what I was thinking of.
You are absolutely right.
This law is an abomination. Governor Gridlock and his RINO minions in the General Assembly would have you believe that this law is all about safety (it isn’t) and that so-called bad drivers should pay out the wazoo to fund their road schemes because none of them understand how to prioritize budget needs.
This is a horrible ruling, on its face.
Aren’t they using ‘equal protection’ to essentially say “if it’s not a federal law that applies to all citizens, then it’s unfair.”
That’s ridiculous!
Lame.
Lame.
Lame excuse.
Although I can't follow the logic (does the Virginia Constitution also include "equal protection under the law"? or are they relying on the federal Constitution?) it seems reasonable that all equal violators should pay the same penalties.
That is somewhat different from taxing different groups unequally for the general public benefit.
Look for this to be used on red-light cameras in various states since these are “administrative fees” not fines.
It’s about time someone finally took on these abusive “administrative fees”. The method of assessment and enforcement effectively precludes the normal court and appeals process. In fact, you are guilty, with no chance of defending yourself.
Because lawmakers wanted the revenue for highway maintenance, they enacted the surcharges as fees, which Virginia is powerless to collect outside its boundaries. The state can collect fines from out-of-state motorists, but state Constitution requires those revenues to be used exclusively for education.
Probably need to ammend the state constitution and make transportation fines exclusive to transportation uses.
The US Constitution is supreme. No state can enact any law that violates a provision of the US Constitution, in this case the equal protection clause.
Virginia’s constitution contains and equal protection clause.
Hon - maybe if you lived in Virginia you’d understand where I’m coming from. I’ve lived through budget battles about paying for roads. The gov is a tax-raising, lying dem. This abuser fee is purely a revenue-generating mechanism. It has nothing whatsoever to do with safety. The gov just throws that in as an afterthought. I fully understand the constitutional issues you raise. It’s irrelevant to my mind - there was no budget crisis that required increasing revenues to pay for roads. Gov. Gridlock and his pals pushed this through hoping that the sheeple wouldn’t notice.
They were wrong.
The supremacy clause DOES NOT require that ALL state or local laws be uniform, though.
And equal protection DOES NOT (and should not) even require that all transactions be identical within the state.
For example, out-of-state tuition prices may differ from in-state tuition at a state college. And rightly so.
I have no doubt that they taxing maniacs. They usually are. Doesn’t change the fact that the method they chose was because for some bizarre reason your state constitution directs funds from traffic fines exclusively to education.
I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if they now try to change the state constitution so that the fines can be used for transportation AND education and then re-enact the surcharges and fees as fines so that it no longer runs afoul of the equal protection clause.
I wouldn’t put it past them to try to amend the constitution so they to go to general funds. You’ll still get stuck paying the bill, they’ll just change the name.
Citizens should get ahead of the poli’s by starting their own drive to amend the constitution and re-direct the fines back to transportation. Let them find educrat dollars somewhere else or do without.
After the Minneapolis bridge collapse, it might be the perfect time to battle the NEA on this issue.
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