William Richard Eikey v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Transportation, Bureau of Driver Licensing

Summary

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania affirmed the trial court’s decision sustaining William Richard Eikey’s appeal from a two-year suspension of his operating privilege. The court held that the amended version of Vehicle Code Section 1532(c), effective April 22, 2019, applied when the trial court decided the appeal and no longer authorized a suspension based on Eikey’s controlled-substance possession conviction.

Holdings

1. The amended version of Section 1532(c), as modified by Act 95, applied when the trial court decided Eikey's license-suspension appeal because the amended statute was in effect at the time of the hearing and judgment.
2. Eikey was not subject to suspension of his operating privilege under the amended Section 1532(c) based on his Section 13(a)(16) Drug Act conviction.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the amended version of Section 1532(c) of the Vehicle Code, which eliminated mandatory operating-privilege suspensions for drug convictions, applied to Eikey's pending license-suspension appeal despite his conviction having occurred before the amendment's effective date.
2. Whether the trial court properly sustained Eikey's appeal from the Department's suspension.

Disposition

affirmed