Good Driving Statute

Town of Glocester appealed a trial magistrate’s decision dismissing Defendant’s charged violations pursuant to § 31-41.1-7 (application for dismissal based on good driving record). The Glocester Police Department issued Defendant a citation in connection with a commercial vehicle. At trial, Defendant moved to dismiss the charged violations based on her good driving record pursuant to § 31-41.1-7. The trial magistrate interpreted the statute to mean that only enumerated violations may be excluded from the good driving statute’s protection. The trial magistrate concluded that none of the exclusions prohibiting dismissal applied to Defendant. On appeal, Town of Glocester argued that the trial magistrate erred because the charged violations were ineligible for dismissal under the good driving statute since the violations were committed in connection with a commercial vehicle.

The good driving statute provides that any person who has had a driver’s license for more than three years, and who has not been charged with a traffic violation within the preceding three years, may move to dismiss the charged traffic violations. § 31-41.1-7(d) provides circumstances in which a violation may not be dismissed. Specifically, § 31-41.1-7(d)(7) provides that “[a]ny violation committed by a holder of a commercial license . . . or any violation committed.in a commercial vehicle . . . by an operator who does not hold a commercial license” may not be dismissed under the good driving statute. As such, the Appeals Panel held that the trial magistrate erred because the charged violations were not eligible for dismissal under the good driving statute. Accordingly, the Appeals Panel reversed the dismissal and remanded the matter for further proceedings.

State of Rhode Island v. Jessica Hopkins, No. T18-0018 (February 28, 2019).pdf