Douglas Thomas Whittemore v. Commonwealth ( 1997 )

COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA
Present: Judges Willis, Bray and Senior Judge Hodges
Argued at Alexandria, Virginia
DOUGLAS THOMAS WHITTEMORE
MEMORANDUM OPINION * BY
v. Record No. 3005-95-4 JUDGE JERE M. H. WILLIS, JR.
FEBRUARY 25, 1997
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF ALEXANDRIA
Donald H. Kent, Judge
J. Burkhardt Beale (Boone, Beale, Carpenter &
Cosby, on brief), for appellant.
Marla Graff Decker, Assistant Attorney
General (James S. Gilmore, III, Attorney
General, on brief), for appellee.
Douglas Thomas Whittemore contends that the statutory double
jeopardy prohibition of Code § 19.2-294 prohibits his prosecution
for drunk driving after his driver's license was suspended for
seven days pursuant to Code § 46.2-391.2.
This appeal is controlled by the Supreme Court's decision in
Brame v. Commonwealth, 252 Va. 122, 132-33, 476 S.E.2d 177,
183-84 (1996) (holding that Code § 19.2-294 applies only to
criminal proceedings and that the administrative license
suspension is a civil proceeding). See also Tench v.
Commonwealth, 21 Va. App. 200, 204, 462 S.E.2d 922, 923-24 (1995)
(en banc) (holding that an administrative license suspension is a
civil penalty and does not constitute "punishment" for double
*
Pursuant to Code § 17-116.010 this opinion is not
designated for publication.
jeopardy purposes); Jones v. City of Lynchburg, 23 Va. App. 167,
170, 474 S.E.2d 863, 864-65 (1996) (holding that an
administrative license suspension hearing is a civil proceeding).
Accordingly, we affirm the trial court's judgment.
Affirmed.
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