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The Indiana Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments Aug. 29 in a case involving a Morgan County man challenging the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles’ refusal to issue him a driver’s license.
According to the appellate court, Prescott Craig is an Indiana resident whose Indiana driving privileges have been suspended for life.
Additionally, although Craig has never held an Illinois driver’s license, Craig’s Illinois “driver’s license and/or driving privileges” have been revoked for life in Illinois because Craig committed an operating while under the influence offense in Illinois in 2010.
In 2023, Craig applied for specialized driving privileges in Indiana with the trial court.
Pursuant to statutory procedures, the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles was represented by a prosecuting attorney, and the prosecuting attorney did not oppose the specialized driving privileges.
The Morgan Superior Court granted Craig specialized driving privileges and ordered him to carry on his person or in his vehicle a valid Indiana driver’s “license or permit.”
Craig then applied to the BMV for a driving credential that would reflect his specialized driving privileges; however, the BMV refused to issue the credential.
The BMV claims it is prohibited from issuing the credential pursuant to the Driver License Compact based on Illinois’s action against Craig.
In his appellee’s brief, Craig argued the BMV’s refusal to issue him a driver’s license was in error.
“Craig has never held a license in another state, therefore, the BMV’s reliance on I.C. 9-28-1-3’s language that the BMV cannot issue a license to drive if his license to drive has been revoked in another state is inapposite,” the brief stated.
Craig also argued that even if he had held a driver’s license in Illinois that was revoked, I.C. 9-28-1-3 (5) permits the BMV to issue a specialized driving privilege to him.
The case is Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles, et al. v. Prescott D. Craig, 24A-MI-227.
The hearing will start at 2 p.m. at the Court of Appeals Courtroom at the Statehouse.
The scheduled panelists are Judge Terry Crone, Judge Cale Bradford and Judge Elizabeth Tavitas.
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