Mitchell v. Commonwealth, Department of Transportation, Bureau of Driver Licensing

OPINION BY

Senior Judge FLAHERTY.

Kenneth Ray Mitchell (Licensee) appeals from an order of the Court of Common Pleas of Westmoreland County (trial court) which dismissed his statutory appeal from a one-year suspension of his operating privileges imposed by the Department of Transportation, Bureau of Driver Licensing (Department). We affirm.

The issue here of first impression is whether or not the operator of a motor vehicle in Pennsylvania may refuse to submit to chemical testing after a traffic stop by an off-duty Pennsylvania State trooper not in uniform in an unmarked car.

The Department sent…