Selby v. Department of Motor Vehicles

Opinion

BROWN (Gerald), P. J.

Leslie Ann Selby wants to drive a school bus. The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) summarily turned down her application for a school bus driver’s certificate without a hearing because she was convicted in 1975 of violating Health and Safety Code section 11377, possessing methylamine.

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Upon petition, the superior court ordered the DMV to grant her a hearing to determine her qualifications. The DMV appeals, contending no hearing is required—the denial is automatic because of the drug conviction.

The superior court found Selby’s involvement with methylamine was superficial and peripheral; whether the conviction was a misdemeanor or a felony is unclear from the record; she had been placed on summary probation for two years, without time in custody or fine, after which the charge was dismissed under Penal Code section 1203.4;

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she has had no

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other convictions before or since; without a hearing the DMV has barred her from practicing her chosen profession. From these facts the court concluded the DMV had violated Selby’s rights to due process and equal protection under the California Constitution.

Vehicle Code section 34501.5 requires the California Highway Patrol (CHP) to adopt reasonable regulations for the safe operation of school buses. Accordingly, the CHP has adopted regulations governing the denial of school bus driver certificates. In June 1979, when Selby’s application was denied, the regulations required automatic denial of a certificate in all cases where the applicant had been convicted, within seven years before applying, of any offense relating to possessing narcotics, habit forming drugs or dangerous drugs except marijuana (Cal. Admin. Code, tit. 13, § 1208, subd. (a)(5)). The regulations require use of a conviction which has been dismissed under section 1203.4 as a ground for denial of a certificate (Cal. Admin. Code, tit. 13, § 1210, subd. (b)).

As a result of the dismissal under section 1203.4 of the charges against her, Selby is entitled to release “from all penalties and disabilities resulting from the offense of which [s]he has been convicted” (Pen. Code, § 1203.4, subd. (a)), A grant of relief under section 1203.4 is intended to reward an individual who successfully completes probation by mitigating some of the consequences of his conviction and, with a few exceptions, to restore him to his former status in society to the extent the Legislature has power to do so