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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF ALASKA
| RAYME DEAN STEVENS, | ) |
| ) Court of Appeals No. A-9137 | |
| Appellant, | ) Trial Court No. 4NE-04-044 Cr |
| ) | |
| v. | ) |
| ) O P I N I O N | |
| STATE OF ALASKA, | ) |
| ) | |
| Appellee. | ) No. 2045 April 21, 2006 |
| ) | |
Appeal from the District Court, Fourth Judi
cial District, Nenana, Raymond M. Funk,
Judge.
Appearances: Lawrence F. Reger and Robert
John, Fairbanks, for the Appellant. Jill S.
Dolan, Assistant District Attorney, and
Jeffrey A. OBryant, District Attorney,
Fairbanks, and David W. M rquez, Attorney
General, Juneau, for the Appellee.
Before: Coats, Chief Judge, and Mannheimer
and Stewart, Judges.
MANNHEIMER, Judge.
Rayme Dean Stevenss drivers license was revoked as a
result of his March 2004 conviction for driving under the
influence. Three months later, in June of that year, the Nenana
police observed Stevens driving a four-wheeler (i.e., a four-
wheeled all-terrain vehicle) on the streets of Nenana. Based on
this conduct, Stevens was charged with the offense of driving a
motor vehicle on a highway at a time when his license was
revoked, AS 28.15.291(a).
Stevens ultimately pleaded no contest to this charge,
but he reserved his right to argue on appeal that, even when a
persons drivers license has been revoked, AS 28.15.291(a) does
not prohibit that person from driving an all-terrain vehicle on a
highway.
When a persons drivers license is suspended or revoked,
does AS 28.15.291(a)(1) prohibit that person from
driving any motor vehicle on a highway, even if the
motor vehicle is of a type for which no license is
required?
AS 28.15.291(a)(1) states that it is illegal
for a person to drive[] a motor vehicle on a highway or
vehicular way or area at a time when that persons
drivers license ... or privilege to obtain a license
has been canceled, suspended, or revoked in this
[state] or another jurisdiction. In State v. Straetz,
758 P.2d 133 (Alaska App. 1988), this Court was
confronted with the following question: does this
statute forbid a person whose drivers license has been
suspended or revoked from driving a motor vehicle on a
highway even if the motor vehicle in question is of a
type for which no license is required?
The facts of Straetz were essentially the
same as the facts of the present case: the defendant
was found driving a three-wheeler on a city street in
Fairbanks at a time when his drivers license was
suspended.1 And the defendant in Straetz made the same
argument that Stevens makes in the present case; that
is, the defendant in Straetz argued that because he was
driving an off-road vehicle (albeit on a road), and
because Alaska law does not require a license to
operate an off-road vehicle, his conduct was not
prohibited by AS 28.15.291(a).
This Court rejected this argument:
While it is true that ... the driver of
a three-wheeler is not required to have a
drivers license, the express and unambiguous
terms of AS 28.15.291(a) prohibited Straetz
from driving any motor vehicle on a highway
once his operators license was suspended.
The prohibition did not hinge on the nature
of the motor vehicle, but rather on Straetzs
demonstrated danger as a driver, as evidenced
by his license suspension. Alaska Statute
28.15.291(a) creates no exception that would
allow a driver whose license has been
suspended to drive on a highway in a motor
vehicle that does not require a licensed
driver. The statute, on its face, applies to
all motor vehicles. ... We see nothing
irrational in the legislatures apparent
conclusion that a person whose license has
been suspended should be prohibited from
driving any motor vehicle on a highway, even
one for which an operators license would not
otherwise be required.
Straetz, 758 P.2d at 134-35 (emphasis added).
This Courts decision in Straetz
appears to be dispositive of Stevenss appeal.
Stevens argues, however, that the Alaska
Legislature has since impliedly amended
AS 28.15.291(a) in a manner that overturns
the construction of the statute that this
Court adopted in Straetz.
Stevens relies on a statute passed
in 2002, AS 28.15.021(5). This statute
declares that no drivers license is needed to
drive or operate an off-highway vehicle,
watercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle not
designed for highway use as specified by the
[D]epartment [of Public Safety] by
regulation.
Stevens argues that this statute is
not limited to the off-road operation of off-
highway vehicles. Instead, Stevens contends
that this statute exempts the operation of
off-highway vehicles from any licensing
requirement, even if a person is driving the
off-highway vehicle on a highway. According
to Stevens, the legislatures purpose in
enacting AS 28.15.021(5) was to permit all
persons, even young [and] inexperienced
children, ... to operate off-highway vehicles
on highways[,] regardless of whether they ...
have a license.
And, based on this interpretation
of AS 28.15.021(5), Stevens renews the
argument that we rejected in Straetz: the
argument that, since no drivers license is
required to operate an off-highway vehicle,
AS 28.15.291(a) should not be interpreted to
forbid people with suspended or revoked
licenses from driving off-highway vehicles on
a highway. Stevens argues that if the
legislature intended to allow young and
inexperienced children to drive off-highway
vehicles on city streets, the legislature
must also have intended to allow people whose
licenses are suspended or revoked to do the
same.
Why we reject Stevenss proposed interpretation of AS
28.15.021(5)
AS 28.15.021(5) began life as House Bill 397
(22nd Legislature). The House Transportation