PA Superior Court Strikes Down Mandatory Minimum For Driving On a DUI Suspended License

Criminal Defense Lawyer Zak T. Goldstein, Esquire

The Pennsylvania Superior Court has decided the case of Commonwealth v. Jackson, holding that the sentencing provision in 75 Pa. C.S.A. § 1543(b)(1)(ii) (driving on a DUI suspended license) is unconstitutionally vague. This decision is significant because so many individuals, oftentimes unknowingly, violate this law on multiple occasions and therefore are subjected to the mandatory minimum of at least 90 days of imprisonment. This decision holds that this mandatory 90-day sentence is unconstitutional, and therefore countless individuals will no longer be subjected to it. 

Commonwealth v. Jackson

The defendant was arrested under 75 Pa. C.S.A. § 1543(b)(1)(ii), which makes it a crime to drive while a person’s operating privileges is suspended or revoked as a result of a DUI or chemical testing refusing. The defendant pleaded guilty to this offense, but it was his second time violating this statute. Pursuant to 75 Pa. C.S.A. § 1543(b)(1)(ii), if a person has a prior conviction for this offense, then the person must “undergo imprisonment for not less than 90 days.” As such, the trial court sentenced the defendant to 90 days of house arrest and imposed a fine of $1,000.00. The defendant then filed a timely appeal. On appeal, the defendant argued that the sentencing component of the statute is unconstitutionally vague. Specifically, the defendant relied on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s recent decision in Commonwealth v. Eid, which held that the sentencing provision in 75 Pa. C.S.A. § 1543(b)(1.1)(i) (which is identical to 75 Pa. C.S.A. § 1543(b)(1)(ii)’s sentencing provision) was unconstitutionally vague because it did not provide a statutory maximum sentence for the offense. The defendant argued that this logic should apply to 75 Pa. C.S.A. § 1543(b)(1)(ii)’s sentencing provision and that it should also be held as unconstitutional. 

What is 75 Pa. C.S.A. § 1543(b)(1)(ii)?

75 Pa. C.S.A. § 1543(b)(1)(ii) provides: 

(i) A person who drives a motor vehicle on a highway or trafficway of this Commonwealth at a time when the person's operating privilege is suspended or revoked as a condition of acceptance of Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition for a violation of section 3802 (relating to driving under influence of alcohol or controlled substance) or the former section 3731, because of a violation of section 1547(b)(1) (relating to suspension for refusal) or 3802 or former section 3731 or is suspended under section 1581 (relating to Driver's License Compact) for an offense substantially similar to a violation of section 3802 or former section 3731 shall, upon a first conviction, be guilty of a summary offense and shall be sentenced to pay a fine of $500 and to undergo imprisonment for a period of not less than 60 days nor more than 90 days.

(ii) A second violation of this paragraph shall constitute a summary offense and, upon conviction of this paragraph, a person shall be sentenced to pay a fine of $1,000 and to undergo imprisonment for not less than 90 days.

The Pennsylvania Superior Court’s Decision  

The Pennsylvania Superior Court agreed with the defendant and vacated the sentence. Notably, the trial court had also agreed with the defendant and in its opinion wrote that he received an illegal sentence because of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision in Commonwealth v. Eid. The Superior Court held that the sentencing provision that was found to be unconstitutional in Eid was “identical” to the sentencing provision in 75 Pa. C.S.A. § 1543(b)(1)(ii). Therefore, “because 75 Pa. C.S.A. § 1543(b)(1)(ii) does not provide for a maximum term of incarceration, it is unconstitutionally vague and inoperable for the same reasons expressed in Eid.” Pennsylvania law requires that almost all sentences have both minimum and maximum terms. As this statute does not allow for a maximum sentence that is different from the minimum, it was unconstitutional. Accordingly, the Court vacated the defendant’s sentence, and he will receive a new hearing at which no mandatory minimum will apply.

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