Mark B. Gibson v. Mark Schroeder, Commissioner, New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, et al.

In the State of New York, the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles, and the Department of Motor Vehicles (collectively the DMV), is legislatively assigned the task of both revoking a driver license when appropriate and restoring that same driver’s license. The legislation establishing this regime is found in the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law (the VTL), and in the regulation promulgated by the DMV, which is found in Title 15 of the New York Compendium of Rules and Regulation (the NYCRR). Based upon both statute and regulation the DMV is granted unlimited discretion to either restore a person’s driver license, or not. The DMV regime provides for several layers of review, but all determinations and review are conducted by either employees or appointees of the DMV. Only after exhausting the multiple steps of the administrative process can an applicant for restoration of a driver license petition a court for additional review. The reviewing court, however, must defer to the findings and conclusions of the DMV so long as they meet the low threshold of having any rational basis. The issues raised by this procedure are: A. Does the driver license restoration regime established in New York violate Petitioner’s right to due process of law because DMV, although given legislative permission, writes the rules, administers the rules, and adjudicates