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IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL
FIRST DISTRICT, STATE OF FLORIDA
NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO
STATE OF FLORIDA,
FILE MOTION FOR REHEARING AND
DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAY
DISPOSITION THEREOF IF FILED
SAFETY AND MOTOR VEHICLES,
Petitioner,
CASE NO. 1D 03-0449
v.
PAULA GORDON,
Respondent.
_____________________________/
Opinion filed October 31, 2003.
Petition for Writ of Certiorari - - Original Jurisdiction.
Judson M. Chapman, Assistant General Counsel; Dept. of Highway Safety and Motor
Vehicles, Tallahassee, for Petitioner.
David M. Robbins, and Susan Z. Cohen; Epstein & Robbins, Jacksonville, for
Respondent.
HAWKES, J.
The issue before us involves Respondent, Paula Gordon's plea to the criminal
charge of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI), and the administrative
procedure that resulted in the suspension of her privilege to drive. Petitioner, the

Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (the Department), seeks certiorari
review of the trial court's grant of certiorari to Gordon, after the trial court concluded
the Department was bound by the plea agreement entered between Gordon and the
assistant state attorney. We find the trial court departed from the essential
requirements of law by granting Gordon's petition for writ of certiorari.
Pursuant to a plea agreement with the state attorney's office, Gordon pled no
contest and was convicted for her second DUI. Both the assistant state attorney and
defense counsel represented to the court that Gordon's conviction occurred more than
five years after her first conviction. Accordingly, Gordon was sentenced consistent
with the mandatory minimum penalties for a second DUI committed more than five
years from her previous offense, and her drivers' licence was revoked for only six
months. Her plea agreement with the state attorney's office only resolved her criminal
case. Any bargain a defendant may strike in a plea agreement in a criminal case has
no bearing on administrative consequences that flow from the defendant's actions.
See generally, McFarland v. State, 28 Fla. L. Weekly D2298 (Fla. 1st DCA, Oct. 10,
2003).
The record indicates Gordon's DUI convictions were actually only one year and
two months apart. The Department notified Gordon that her license was
administratively revoked for five years, as required by section 322.28(2)(a)2., Florida
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Statutes (2000).
Gordon sought certiorari review, arguing that, because the Department was an
agent of the State of Florida, it was bound by the plea agreement between Gordon and
the state attorney's office. The trial court agreed, and ordered the Department to
reinstate Gordon's driver's license. In so doing, the trial court departed from the
essential requirements of law.
The administrative revocation of a driver's license for DUI is not "punishment"
of the offender. See Dep't of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles v. Grapski, 696 So.
2d 950, 951 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997). Rather "it is an administrative remedy for the public
protection that mandatorily follows conviction for certain offenses." Id. (quoting
Smith v. City of Gainesville, 93 So. 2d 105, 107 (Fla.1957)); see also Dep't. of
Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles v. Vogt, 489 So. 2d 1168, 1170 (Fla. 2d DCA
1986). When a driver's license revocation is made mandatory by statute, revocation
is an administrative function rather than the imposition of a criminal sentence. See
Grapski, 696 So. 2d at 951.
Here, Gordon had two DUI convictions within a five year period. Thus, the
statute mandated her driver's license be suspended for at least five years. See �
322.28(2)(a)2., Fla. Stat. Based on the plain language of the statute, a criminal
sentence is separate and distinct from a mandatory administrative revocation. See id.
-3-

Accordingly, the administrative revocation, which is designed to protect the public,
cannot be negotiated away as part of a criminal sentence in a plea agreement.
The Department's Petition for Writ of Certiorari is GRANTED, and the case
REMANDED for the trial court to reinstate the Department's Order of Revocation.
BROWNING, and POLSTON, JJ., CONCUR.
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