Tirado v. Board of Appeal on Motor Vehicle Liability Policies and Bonds (and two companion cases) (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-130-15)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports. If you find a typographical error or other formal error, please notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Judicial Court, John Adams Courthouse, 1 Pemberton Square, Suite 2500, Boston, MA, 02108-1750; (617) 557-1030; SJCReporter@sjc.state.ma.us SJC-11818 ALFREDO TIRADO vs. BOARD OF APPEAL ON MOTOR VEHICLE LIABILITY POLICIES AND BONDS (and two consolidated cases[1]). Norfolk. Worcester. Suffolk. May 5, 2015. – July 28, 2015. Present: Gants, C.J., Spina, Cordy, Botsford, Duffly, Lenk, & Hines, JJ. Board of Appeal on Motor Vehicle Liability Policies and Bonds. Motor Vehicle, License to operate. License. Registrar of Motor Vehicles, Revocation of license to operate. Carrier, License. Practice, Criminal, Conviction, Admission to sufficient facts to warrant finding, Continuance without a finding. Civil action commenced in the Superior Court Department on January 3, 2013. The case was heard by Kenneth J. Fishman, J., on a motion for judgment on the pleadings. Civil action commenced in the Superior Court Department on February 28, 2013. The case was heard by Robert B. Gordon, J., on a motion for judgment on the pleadings. Civil action commenced in the Superior Court Department on March 28, 2013. The case was heard by Judith Fabricant, J., on a motion for judgment on the pleadings. After consolidation of the cases in the Appeals Court, the Supreme Judicial Court granted an application for direct appellate review. David R. Marks, Assistant Attorney General, for the defendants. Dana Alan Curhan for Scott Channing. Ryan E. Alekman, for Alfredo Tirado, was present but did not argue. Cornelius J. Madera, III, for John J. Kelly, was present but did not argue. William A. Quade, for United States Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, amicus curiae, submitted a brief. SPINA, J. In these consolidated appeals, we are asked to determine if a defendant’s admission to sufficient facts to warrant a finding of guilty and a judge’s continuance of the case without a finding (CWOF) constitute a “conviction” as that term is defined in G. L. c. 90F, § 1,[2] governing the licensure of commercial drivers. Judges in the Superior Court determined that it did not and vacated the decisions of the Board of Appeal on Motor Vehicle Liability Policies and Bonds (board) upholding the suspension of the commercial drivers’ licenses (CDLs) at issue by the registrar of motor vehicles (registrar). The board and the registrar appealed. The Appeals Court consolidated the three appeals, and we granted the parties’ joint application for direct appellate review. As we explain, we […]