Tom Francen v. Colorado Department of Revenue, Division of Motor Vehicles

Summary

The court held that, under the version of the driver's-license-revocation statute applicable at the time of Francen's hearing, probable cause concerned the evidence supporting issuance of a revocation notice and did not permit a driver to challenge the legality of the initial police contact. It also held that the exclusionary rule did not apply in the civil license-revocation proceeding because the proceeding was not quasi-criminal and the deterrent benefits did not outweigh the societal costs. Justice Hood, dissenting, would have considered the later statutory amendment and held that the prior statute allowed challenges to the legality of the initial contact.