Case Problems with Sample Answer

Case Problems with Sample Answer

for Essentials of the Legal Environment

Second Edition

4–6. Case Problem with Sample Answer

In February 1999, Carl Adler mailed a driver’s license renewal application form and a check for $28 to the New York Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). The form required Adler’s Social Security number, which he intentionally omitted. The DMV returned the application and check and told Adler to supply his Social Security number or send proof that the Social Security Administration could not give him a number. Claiming a right to privacy, Adler refused to comply. The DMV responded that federal law authorizes the states to obtain Social Security numbers from individuals in the context of administering certain state programs, including driver’s license programs, and that Adler’s application would not be processed until he supplied the number. Adler filed a suit in a New York state court against the DMV, asserting in part that it was in violation of the federal Privacy Act of 1974. Adler asked the court to, among other things, order the DMV to renew his license. Should the court grant Adler’s request? Why or why not? [Adler v. Jackson, 712 N.Y.S.2d 240 (Sup. 2000)]

4–6. Answer

The court dismissed Adler’s complaint, holding, among other things, that the DMV was not in violation of the Federal Privacy Act. The right to bring a civil action against a government agency under the act is limited to actions against agencies of the federal government. The DMV, of course, was an agency of the state government. The court also explained that “[t]he Driver’s Privacy Protection Act of 1994 regulates the disclosure of personal information contained in the records of state motor vehicle departments. The United States Supreme Court, in Reno v. Condon, recognized that ‘[s]tate DMV’s require drivers and automobile owners to provide personal information, which may include a person’s name, address, telephone number, vehicle description, Social Security number, medical information, and photograph, as a condition of obtaining a driver’s license or registering an automobile.’” This personal information is “a thing in interstate commerce,” which meant that it was within Congress’ power to regulate. “While petitioner has expressed a concern regarding the DMV’s sharing of identifying information including social security numbers, as permitted under the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act, this does not establish any right to a renewal license, in the absence of furnishing his Social Security number.”