Johnson v. Department of Motor Vehicles
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Puglia, J.
The question in this appeal is whether the statute mandating a one-year suspension of the driver’s license of one convicted of *697 vehicular manslaughter applies when, by force of circumstances, the suspension would run consecutive to a one-year revocation based on discretionary, administrative review of the same conduct that underlies the manslaughter conviction. The answer is yes.
The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) appeals from a judgment issuing a writ of mandate on the petition of Kenneth Johnson (plaintiff). The writ directs DMV both to lift the suspension of plaintiff’s driver’s license and immediately to issue plaintiff a driver’s license. We shall reverse.
On April 15, 1987, a car driven by plaintiff struck and killed a pedestrian. At the scene of the accident, plaintiff admitted to the investigating officer that he had been drinking. Plaintiff was arrested and charged with vehicular manslaughter (Pen. Code, § 192, subd. (c)(3)) and driving under the influence of alcohol and causing bodily injury to another (Veh. Code, § 23153, subd. (a); all statutory references to sections of an undesignated code are to the Vehicle Code).