, J
P agi B8
S eptember 20, 1995 • T he P ortland O bserver
IE
MR
Ï
, . g»
ÆT
ÄIV
F ”
Kf
-
W J à
U
•;S I
w
IF
Oregon Men’s PAC
Why Taking Our Drivers’ Licenses Is Bad Law
I he 68th Oregon Legislature
passed a new law that will suspend
drivers' licenses for '‘failure to pay
child support” It is effective Sep­
tember 9th, 1995.
I here isn't enough space here to
explore all the pros and cons o f this
proposal. Besides the common sense
question echoed by Rep. Luke on the
lloor of the House — "If they can't
drive how are they supposed to work
and make a living ’” — it's unfair and
it's unconstitutional. I hat's already
been decided by the high courts o f
this great state.
Anytime you mess with funda­
mental liberties, you risk the height­
ened scrutiny o f the 14th Amend­
ment: "No Stale shall make or en­
force any law which shall abridge the
privileges or immunities o f citizens
o f the United States; nor shall any
State deprive any person o f life, lib­
erty or property without due process
o f law; nor deny to any person within
its jurisdiction the equal protection
o f the laws.”
The fundamental problem o f
equality as we see it is very plain but
rarely addressed: the same piece of
paper that says we have to pay child
support also says the other parent has
to let us see our kids. But the state has
selectively decided which part o f our
court orders it will enforce, the part
with the money in it. The other kind
o f support, the emotional kind we
and our children are very interested
in, is disregarded. And that kind o f
support has been upheld repeatedly
as a liberty interest, too.
Back to HB 2357. Itisnot law to
suspend or withhold licenses for be­
ing behind in your child support.
You are prevented from even getting
a hardship permit. This is a harsher
penalty than if you are convicted of
driving drunk. What is the logic be­
sides wanting to punish'1
It is often overlooked by many
o f the opposing viewpoint who testi­
fied at public hearings for this bill
that this already has the power under
law to put us in prison (nonsupport
has been a Class C felony since 1971)
and take everything we have o f val­
ue. This government needs to start
finding out why the money isn’t be­
ing paid. Justice Riggs o f the Oregon
Court o f Appeals used to be the pre­
siding judge in Multnomah County.
In a m id-80’s interview for a Wil­
lamette Week article called “Men on
Trial”, he told the reporter that the
vast majority o f men being prosecut­
ed for not paying child support in his
courts simply had no money.
Back to “unconstitutional”.
In 1971 the United States Su­
preme Court’s decided in Bell v.
Burson that, regardless o f whether
viewed as a right or a privilege, a
driver’s license is a valuable entitle­
ment that cannot be suspended or
revoked without providing the li­
cense holder his procedural due pro­
cess o f law as required by the Four­
teenth Amendment. Due process in
this context requires that, prior to any
suspension, the license holder has to
be given a notice o f intent to suspend
and notice o f the availability o f a
hearing. Also, due process requires
that, if requested, the licensee must
be given a hearing “appropriate to
the circumstances” prior to any sus­
pension
In 1976 our Court o f Appeals
recognized Bell v. Burson in Floyd
v. Motor Vehicles Division. It ech­
oed much o f the above protections.
Floyd added that a government agen­
cy cannot “unilaterally determine
facts decisive o f important entitle­
ments" if it is going to operate con­
sistent with due process.
1973’s Josephine Co. Sch. Dist.
v. OSAA included a footnote which
quoted the U S. Supreme Court in
Kent v. Dulles ( 1947). In discussing
the right to travel, the highest court of
the land observed: “ Freedom of
movement is basic to our scheme of
values”, and is a liberty that emerged
as early as the Magna Charta. It’s a
trademark o f all free societies.
State v. Norton, (1982) distin­
guished Bell in this way:
Unique Oregon Traffic Signs To Come Down r '
eral Highway Administration decid­
ed against adopting them as a nation­
al standard in the Manual o f Uniform
Traffic Control Devices.”
Williams said there are some in­
herent problems with using the signs.
“Even though the signs do pro­
vide a convenience to motorists, they
do not clearly define the proper right-
of-way for drivers approaching an
intersection from other directions.
This can also cause confusion for
pedestrians and bicyclists using the
intersection. Motorists viewing one
o f these signs with the accompany­
ing stop sign are presented with con­
flicting messages. Safety consider­
ations demand that every sign we
place in an intersection be as clear
and easy to understand as possible,”
Williams said.
Only in Oregon will you find
signs posted at certain intersections
chat read "right turn permitted with­
out stopping.” But those signs will
not be in place much longer, accord­
ing to state traffic engineer Brant
Williams.
" I hese signs are a true Oregon
anomaly. To our knowledge, no oth­
er state ever used this kind ofcontrol,
and now, with more motorists from
out-of-state visiting than ever be­
low we re concerned that visitors
may become confused by the signs,”
Williams ypid.
Although the signs have a long
history in Oregon, they have never
received approval or recognition by
the federal government.
“We have documentation o f in­
tersections allow ing right turns with­
out stopping, dating back to the 1940s,
Williams said "In 1985, O D O T (O r­
egon Department o f Transportation)
The state is allowing three years
for the signs to come down.
“ODOT has adopted a policy of
removing all existing signs and we
are encouraging cites and counties to
do the same,” Williams said. “W e’re
conducted a student o f the signs'
effectiveness in order to gain federal
approval, but unfortunately the Fed­
CELEBRATION
of
(X b e
O O b serU er
A U TO PAm T^SALE
doing our best to make O regon’s
traffic controls consistent within the
state as well as with other states
around the country.”
Meanwhile, Williams is hoping
that local motorists will take heed
when the signs in their areas come
down.
“ W e’re very much concerned
that local drivers who are used to the
signs may continue to make uninter­
rupted right runs, even after the rules
ch an g e,” W illiam s said. “ Even
though most o f these signs are in low-
traffic areas, we want to make sure
that motorists respond well and don’t
end up being ticketed for failure to
obey a stop sign.”
A dvertise
In
I
tnifc
^ ìn rtla u ì»
(OhscrUlcr
Call 288-0033
L
J
We're
working
for you,
so you're
always
connected.
business means you have to do it all.
You work into the wee hours of the
morning, running those numbers
yet again, just so you can make the
most important connection—that first
ON OUR “LIKE NEW AGAIN"
FAMOUS PAINT JOB! JUST
i95
soccer game or that sixth birthday
party. And one day your hard work
OUR VERY BEST PREMIUM
PAINT JOB! NOW ONLY
s
224
95
2 0 QUALITY STEPS INCLUDE:
1 0 QUALITY STEPS INCLUDE:
• EXPER T SAND IN G S M ASKING
• 2 COATS OF ADVANCED ACRYLIC PAINT
• 1 YEAR G UAR AN TEE AG AINST FADING
HURRY! LIM ITE D TIM E ONLY!
• EXTRA PREP, SANDING I BASE'SEAL COAT
• POLYURETHANE PAINT & INTEGRATED
UV/CLEAR COAT
• 5-YEAR GUARANTEE AGAINST FADING'
REGULAR PRICE
L O W E S T P R IC E S O N B O D Y &
F E N D E R R E P A IR - G U A R A N T E E D !
Paint prices lor Truck*. Vans and Sport Utility Vehicles slightly more
will pay off—for you, and for those
who will follow.
U S WEST understands what goes
into building a tradition o f excellence
that lasts for generations—because
we've been working hard at it ourselves
for more than 100 years. Today we offer
you unparalleled reliability in products
and services that helps your business
run just that much easier
n id i way, you’re always connected.
And so is your business.
P A IN T & B O DY
THE BEST JOB FOR THE MONEY. GUARANTEED!
O P E N M O N - FR I. 7 :3 0 A M - 8 :0 0 PM • SAT. 8 :0 0 AM - N O O N
LIJ3WE5T
E. PORTLAND • 835 SE 82nd Avenue • 503-255 -8420
N. PORTLAND • 6444 NE Union - 503 -284-3634
SPRINGFIELD • 136 N. 42nd Street • 503-746-7340
PRICES DO NOT INCLUDE $8 00 ENVIRONMENTAL CHARGE
« 1995 U S WEST. Inc
f
I
makes their pay checks disappear The
current sy stem penalizes your fellow
man just because he can't afford a
lawyer.
If our lawmakers are truly seri­
ous about collecting support for the
children o f this and other states, they
will build in effective due process
safeguards that will make the Child
Support Collection Machine easily
accessible to people whose biggest
crime is being poor.
Perhaps the most important ques­
tion o f all is this: if we continue to let
Oregon Legislature pass new child
support laws, and they go out and get
all that back child support we alleg­
edly owe our ex-wives, are they also
going to get us that time with our
children those same women refused
to let us have?
We didn’t think so. And that’s
the whole point.
Oregon Men’s PAC, 13606 SE
McLoughlin #2, Milwaukie, Oregon
97222, Phone: 794-0858. Fax: 794-
0493
-1
Sometimes, building a successful
SPECIAL
"[ I he] United States Supreme
Court has recognized that a licensee
has a substantial personal interest in
his license to operate a motor vehicle
ad that loss o f that license can work
a great hardship.”
In State v. Cowie (1985), the
Oregon Court o f Appeals noted that
the State had correctly conceded that
a driver's license is a protected prop­
erty interest. In State v. Jones (also in
1985). the State conceded that a driv­
er’s license is a “significant private
interest”, and is protected by the Due
Process Clause. The U S. Supreme
Court agreed previously in Mackey
v. Montrym, and that view is echoed
in O regon's Boykin v. Ott (1972.)
TheOregon M en’s PAC proposes, in
cone lusion, that there are better ways
to get votes than on the backs o f men
who are already doing all they can.
The solution is to make this system
available to all the good people of
Oregon who have the misfortune, not
o f their own doing, o f losing their
jobs or becoming disabled, whatever
CHOICES
Law Offices of Daniel E. Russell, P.C.
SPECIALIZING IN YOUR LEGAL NEEDS
•
•
•
•
•
Real Estate
Wills & Trusts
Medical Malpractice
Accidents-Personal Injuries
Divorce & Family Law
•
•
•
•
•
Landlord/Tenant •
Small Business Law
Product Liability
Criminal Defense
Collections
Call Daniel E. Russell at 282-7999
For your free initial consultation.