Licensing — Driver’s license — Revocation — Habitual traffic offender — Driving while license suspended or revoked — Statute defining HTO as any person who has accumulated three or more convictions for driving while license suspended or revoked within 5-year period includes doing so both knowingly and unknowingly — Hearing officer’s conclusion that licensee’s license was properly revoked as HTO is supported by competent substantial evidence
BRYON PATRICK KLAIR, Plaintiff, v. STATE OF FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAY SAFETY AND MOTOR VEHICLES, Defendant. Circuit Court, 12th Judicial Circuit (Appellate) in and for Sarasota County. Case No. 2025 CA 002440 SC. Division H Circuit. September 20, 2025. Counsel: Kathy Jimenez-Morales, Chief Counsel, DHSMV, for Defendant.ORDER DENYING PETITIONFOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI
(DANIELLE BREWER, J.) BEFORE THE COURT is Petitioner’s Petition for Writ of Certiorari (DIN 2), Respondent’s Response to Petition for Writ of Certiorari (DIN 7), and Petitioner’s Reply (DIN 10 and DIN 12). Petitioner requested Oral Argument on 21 July 2025. See DIN 11. However, the Court is denying said request herein. The Court has reviewed the Petition, Response, and Reply, the entirety of the record contained within the case file, and all relevant legal authority, and is otherwise advised in the premises.Jurisdiction and This Court’s Standard of Review
The Court has jurisdiction pursuant to Section 322.27, Florida Statutes, and Section 322.31, Florida Statutes. Section 322.27(7), Florida Statutes, states: “Review of an order of suspension or revocation shall be by writ of certiorari as provided in s. 322.31.” §322.27(7), Fla. Stat. Section 322.31, Florida Statutes, states:
The final orders and rulings of the department wherein any person is denied a license, or where such license has been canceled, suspended, or revoked shall be reviewable in the manner and within the time provided by the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure only by a writ of certiorari issued by the circuit court in the county wherein such person shall reside, in the manner prescribed by the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure, any provision in chapter 120 to the contrary notwithstanding.
§ 322.31, Fla. Stat.
This Court’s “first tier” certiorari review is limited to “whether procedural due process is accorded, whether the essential requirements of the law have been observed, and whether the administrative findings and judgment are supported by competent substantial evidence.” City of Deerfield Beach v. Vaillant, 419 So. 2d 624, 626 (Fla. 1982). The Court’s review of the order entered by Chaandi McGruder, HSMV Field Hearing Officer, Bureau of Administrative Reviews, Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, dated 15 April 2025, is limited to these considerations; it is not a plenary appeal.Habitual Traffic Offender Status
Section 322.27(5), Florida Statutes states:
(5)(a) The department shall revoke the license of any person designated a habitual offender, as set forth in s. 322.264, and such person is not eligible to be relicensed for a minimum of 5 years from the date of revocation, except as provided for in s. 322.271. Any person whose license is revoked may, by petition to the department, show cause why his or her license should not be revoked.
(b) If a person whose driver license has been revoked under paragraph (a) as a result of a third violation of driving a motor vehicle while his or her license is suspended or revoked provides proof of compliance for an offense listed in s. 318.14(10)(a) 1.-5., the clerk of court shall submit an amended disposition to remove the habitual traffic offender designation.
§322.27(5), Fla. Stat.
Section 322.264, Florida Statutes, states:
A “habitual traffic offender” is any person whose record, as maintained by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, shows that such person has accumulated the specified number of convictions for offenses described in subsection (1) or subsection (2) within a 5-year period:
(1) Three or more convictions of any one or more of the following offenses arising out of separate acts:
. . .
(d) Driving a motor vehicle while his or her license is suspended or revoked;
. . .
§322.264, Fla. Stat.
Section 322.34, Florida Statutes, is titled “Driving while license suspended, revoked, canceled, or disqualified.” See §322.34, Fla. Stat. Section 322.34, Florida Statutes, includes penalties for both unknowingly and knowingly driving while one’s license is suspended, revoked, canceled, or disqualified. See §322.34, Fla. Stat.Ruling
Based on the Court’s review of the Petition, Response, and Reply, the entirety of the record contained within the case file, and all relevant legal authority, this Court finds that procedural due process was accorded to Petitioner; the hearing officer observed the essential requirements of the law in making her decision and entering her 15 April 2025 order; and, the hearing officer’s administrative findings are supported by competent substantial evidence on the record.
The Petitioner does not dispute that he was provided notice and an opportunity to be heard before the hearing officer. Therefore, the Court does not address procedural due process further.
As to the hearing officer observing the essential requirements of the law, the record makes it apparent that the hearing officer applied the appropriate law to the case, after considering all information and legal authority provided to her by the Petitioner. Without giving the hearing officer’s ruling deference, this Court agrees with the hearing officer’s interpretation of Section 322.264, Florida Statutes, in that there is no knowledge requirement to be designated a “Habitual Traffic Offender” as it relates to driving a motor vehicle while one’s license is suspended or revoked. Section 322.264, Florida Statutes, does not differentiate between “unknowing” and “knowing” like Section 322.34, Florida Statutes. Rather, Section 322.264, Florida Statutes, simply states “[t]hree or more convictions of any one or more of the following offenses arising out of separate acts:. . .(d) Driving a motor vehicle while his or her license is suspended or revoked.” §322.264, Fla. Stat.
Read in context with Section 322.34, Florida Statutes, the text “driving a motor vehicle while his or her license is suspended or revoked” found in Section 322.264, includes doing so both knowingly and unknowingly.
As to the hearing officer’s administrative findings being supported by competent substantial evidence, “[t]he court must review the record and determine inter alia whether the agency decision is supported by competent substantial evidence.” Dusseau v. Metropolitan Dade County Bd. Of County Com’rs, 794 So. 2d 1270, 1274 (Fla. 2001) [26 Fla. L. Weekly S329a]. “Competent substantial evidence is tantamount to legally sufficient evidence.” Id. It is not this Court’s role to usurp the fact-finding authority of the Department’s hearing officer. Id. at 1275. This Court is not permitted to reweigh the evidence or to determine whether the hearing officer’s decision was opposed by competent substantial evidence. See Id.
In this case, after reviewing all evidence presented and legal authority provided by Petitioner, the hearing officer made a written ruling based on the record before her and concluded that the Department properly revoked the Petitioner’s driving privileges. This conclusion is supported by competent substantial evidence on the record, specifically the Petitioner’s Driver Record.
Here, the hearing officer provided appropriate due process; understood, observed, and applied the essential requirements of the law; and made conclusions of law and fact based on competent substantial evidence.
NOW, THEREFORE, for the foregoing reasons, the Court hereby ORDERS and ADJUDGES as follows:
Petitioner’s Petition for Writ of Certiorari (DIN 2) is hereby DENIED.