Stalnaker v. Roberts

Neely, Justice:

These two appeals by the State of West Virginia present the question of the appropriate forum for a collateral attack upon old traffic convictions. Under W. Va. Code, 17C-5-2 [1976] the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles is required to revoke the driver’s license of any person convicted of drunk driving, and the period of revocation is determined by the number of convictions that the person has. Consequently, the validity of prior, unappealed, and frequently uncontested convictions becomes an issue of compelling concern to a person who is about to lose his driver’s license for ten…