The second citation was for a violation of Section 1786(f) of the Vehicle Code, 75 Pa.C.S. §1786(f), relating to operating a motor vehicle without the required financial responsibility.

During the course of this traffic stop, Weaver telephoned an insurance company and was able to obtain insurance on his motor vehicle effective as of 5:39 p.m. that day.

A magisterial district court subsequently convicted Weaver of both citations; he did not appeal these convictions.

The magisterial district court then notified the Bureau of Driver Licensing of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation ("DOT") of Weaver's convictions.

The DOT notified Weaver that his operating privileges would be suspended for a period of 12 months as a result of his conviction under Section 1543 of the Vehicle Code for driving a motor vehicle while his operating privileges were suspended. The DOT also informed Weaver that his operating privileges would be suspended for a period of three months under Section 1786(d)(1) of the Vehicle Code as a result of his operation of a motor vehicle without the required financial responsibility. The three-month suspension was scheduled to take effect after his 12 month suspension.

Weaver appealed both suspensions to a trial court, which consolidated the appeals and held a de novo hearing.

At the hearing, the DOT introduced and the trial court admitted, without objection, a certified packet of documents indicating that Weaver had pleaded guilty to violating Sections 1543(a) and 1786(f) of the Vehicle Code before the magisterial district court. Counsel for the DOT noted that these guilty pleas established that Weaver had been operating a vehicle on November 26, 2016 at a time when his license had been suspended and his vehicle had not been covered by the required financial responsibility, thereby justifying the 12 month and three month suspensions of his operating privileges.

Counsel for the DOT acknowledged receipt of a faxed declarations page from Safe Auto Insurance Company reflecting insurance on Weaver's motor vehicle, but noted that this insurance had not become effective until 5:39 p.m. on November 26, 2016, 17 minutes after Weaver's traffic stop. Because Weaver did not have the required coverage as of the time of the stop, counsel for the DOT argued that the imposition of the three-month suspension was proper.

During questioning by the trial court, Weaver confirmed his entry of guilty pleas before the magisterial district court. With respect to the policy from Safe Auto Insurance Company, Weaver stated that he "pulled the policy up on [his] phone and signed up for it right then and there," i.e., during the course of the traffic stop.

At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court stated that it was dismissing Weaver's appeal of the 12 month suspension but sustaining his appeal of the three month suspension. That same day, the trial court entered separate orders reflecting its decision.

The DOT appealed, arguing that the trial court had erred as a matter of law in sustaining Weaver's appeal of the three-month suspension of his operating privileges under Section 1786(d)(1).

Pennsylvania Law

Section 1543(a) of the Pennsylvania Vehicle Code provides:

Except as provided in subsection (b), any person who drives a motor vehicle on any highway or trafficway of this Commonwealth after the commencement of a suspension, revocation or cancellation of the operating privilege and before the operating privilege has been restored is guilty of a summary offense and shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine of $200.

75 Pa.C.S. §1543(a).

Section 1786(f) of the Pennsylvania Vehicle Code states:

Any owner of a motor vehicle for which the existence of financial responsibility is a requirement for its legal operation shall not operate the motor vehicle or permit it to be operated upon a highway of this Commonwealth without the financial responsibility required by this chapter. In addition to the penalties provided by subsection (d), any person who fails to comply with this subsection commits a summary offense and shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine of $300.

75 Pa.C.S. §1786(f).

Section 1786(d)(1) of the Pennsylvania Vehicle Code states:

The Department of Transportation shall suspend the registration of a vehicle for a period of three months if it determines the required financial responsibility was not secured as required by this chapter and shall suspend the operating privilege of the owner or registrant for a period of three months if the department determines that the owner or registrant has operated or permitted the operation of the vehicle without the required financial responsibility. The operating privilege shall not be restored until the restoration fee for operating privilege provided by section 1960 (relating to reinstatement of operating privilege or vehicle registration) is paid.

75 Pa.C.S. §1786(d)(1) (emphasis added).

The Appellate Court's Decision

The appellate court reversed.

In its decision, the appellate court explained that to satisfy its prima facie burden of proof for the suspension of Weaver's operating privilege under the Vehicle Code, the DOT had to establish that (1) Weaver's vehicle was of a type that required registration; (2) the financial responsibility coverage for Weaver's vehicle had not been secured or maintained; and (3) Weaver had operated or permitted the operation of the vehicle while it was not covered by financial responsibility. The DOT could satisfy this burden through the introduction into evidence of properly certified documents showing Weaver's conviction for violating Section 1786(f), the appellate court added.

The appellate court then found that, at the hearing before the trial court, the DOT had introduced, without objection, a certified packet of documents that included Weaver's conviction for violating Section 1786(f) before the magisterial district court. These documents revealed that Weaver's conviction stemmed from his traffic stop on November 26, 2016, the appellate court said. It then ruled that the DOT's introduction of this certified packet of documents satisfied its prima facie burden of proof for the suspension of Weaver's operating privileges under Section 1786(d)(1) and, therefore, that the burden had shifted to Weaver to produce clear and convincing evidence that the vehicle had been insured at the time that it was driven.

However, the appellate court pointed out, Weaver had admitted, and the trial court had found, that he had not obtained the required liability insurance until 17 minutes after the traffic stop had been initiated. Consequently, the appellate court held, the three-month suspension of Weaver's operating privileges imposed by the DOT under Section 1786(d)(1) of the Vehicle Code had been "proper," and the trial court had erred as a matter of law in sustaining Weaver's appeal.

The case is Weaver v. Commonwealth, No. 1115 C.D. 2017 (Pa. Common.Ct. Feb. 15, 2018). Attorneys involved include: Terrance M. Edwards, Senior Counsel, for appellant.