Attorneys Attack License Suspension Law

The Idaho Supreme Court has been asked to strike down a 1994 state law allowing authorities to immediately seize the licenses of suspected drunken drivers.

Loss of a driver’s license is a penalty, they argue, and a driver shouldn’t also suffer a second penalty if charged with drunken driving or other offenses.

That would be “double jeopardy,” or two charges for the same crime, the appeals court was advised in Idaho Falls hearings this week.

The law went into effect last year, intended to get tough on people who drive under the influence. The Legislature in March suspended enforcement pending the outcome of legal challenges.

Robert Crowley, a Rigby attorney representing Juan Talavera, argued that point. Talavera was cited in 1994 by a Rigby police officer who measured Talavera’s blood-alcohol level at 0.20 percent, twice the legal limit of intoxication. The officer used the new law.

A district judge rejected a challenge by Talavera, and Deputy Attorney General Michael Henderson of the Idaho attorney general’s office asked the court to uphold the decision.