Appeals Panel
06/05/2018
State of Rhode Island v. Wayne Everett, No. T17-0005 (June 5, 2018)
Constitutional Issues
Defendant appealed a decision by a trial magistrate upholding violations of R.I.G.L. 1956 § 31-22-22(g) (no seatbelt – operator) and R.I.G.L. 1956 § 31-10-27 (license to be carried and exhibited on demand). Defendant argued that his license citation should be reversed because the statute requiring him to carry and display a driver’s license was unconstitutional. The Appeals Panel held that the law requiring defendant to carry a license with him while driving was “rationally related” to the “legitimate state interest” of “maintaining public safety on highways.” Accordingly, the Appeals Panel denied defendant’s appeal and upheld the trial magistrate’s decision.
State of Rhode Island v. Wayne Everett, No. T17-0005 (June 5, 2018).pdf
Appeals Panel
06/05/2018
State of Rhode Island v. Wayne Everett, No. T17-0005 (June 5, 2018)
Jurisdiction
Defendant appealed a decision by a trial magistrate upholding violations of R.I.G.L. 1956 § 31-22-22(g) (no seatbelt – operator) and R.I.G.L. 1956 § 31-10-27 (license to be carried and exhibited on demand). Defendant argued that, as a citizen of the Usquepaug Nehantick-Nahaganset Tribe, defendant is a foreign national and the Traffic Tribunal lacked subject matter jurisdiction over him for any traffic violations he committed. The Appeals Panel, however, noted that in accordance with authority granted to it by state statute, and based on the United States Supreme Court decision in Mescalero Apache Tribe v. Jones, the Appeals Panel had subject matter jurisdiction over any traffic violation committed off tribal land and within the state’s borders. Accordingly, the Appeals Panel denied defendant’s appeal and upheld the trial magistrate’s decision.
State of Rhode Island v. Wayne Everett, No. T17-0005 (June 5, 2018).pdf