Byron White

“ The court opined that the spouse can acquire an automobile with her separate funds and that negligent operation of it on separate business would then not call into question the liability of the other spouse. It described Emma's legal status as 'closely analogous' to that of the automobile owner who permits another person to drive, and it regarded as authority cases upholding a State's right to revoke the owner's license and registration after judgment had been entered against him and remains unsatisfied. ”

“ The husband was described, under Arizona law, as the managing agent of the wife in the control of the community automobile, and 'the driver's licenses of both husband and wife are an integral part of the ball of wax, which is the basis of the Arizona community property laws.' The loss of her license 'is the price an Arizona wife must pay for negligent driving by her husband of the community vehicle' when the resulting judgment is not paid. ”

“ The Arizona Supreme Court has declared that Arizona's Safety Responsibility Act 'has for its principal purpose the protection of the public * * * from financial hardship' resulting from involvement in traffic accidents with uninsured motorists unable to respond to a judgment. ”

“ The Safety Responsibility Act is not an Act for the Relief of Mulcted Creditors. It is not directed to bankrupts as such. Though in a particular case a discharged bankrupt who wants to have his rightfully suspended license and registration restored may have to pay the amount of a discharged debt, or part of it, the bearing of the statute on the purposes served by bankruptcy legislation is essentially tangential.' 369 U.S., at 170-174, 82 S.Ct., at 818-820 (footnotes omitted) . ”

“ There is imposed upon the Motor Vehicle Division Superintendent the duty to suspend the license of each operator, and the registration of each owner, of a motor vehicle involved in an accident resulting in bodily injury or death or property damage to any one person in excess of $100, except, among other situations, where proof of financial responsibility, as by the deposit of appropriate security or by the presence of a liability policy of stated minimum coverage, is afforded. ”

“ Her power to contract is limited to necessaries for herself and the children. § 25-215. Thus, as the parties appear to agree, she could neither enter into a contract for the purchase of an automobile nor acquire insurance upon it except by use of her separate property.
The Court of Appeals ruled that Mrs. Perez' posture, as the innocent wife who had no connection with the negligent conduct that led to the confession and entry of judgment, was, under the logic of Kesler and Reitz, 'a distinction without a significant difference' even though 'she had no alternative.' 421 F.2d 619, 622-623. ”

“ Although the dissent seems unwilling to accept the Arizona Supreme Court's construction of the statute as expressive of the Act's primary purpose [11] and indeed characterizes that construction as unfortunate, post, at 667, a reading of the provisions outlined above leaves the impression that the Arizona Court's description of the statutory purpose is not only logical but persuasive. The sole emphasis in the Act is one of providing leverage for the collection of damages from drivers who either admit that they are at fault or are adjudged negligent. ”

“ Some members of the House, which debated some aspects of the financial responsibility law concept rather extensively in 1935, demonstrated in debate that they were totally unaware of any of the provisions designed to enforce payment of a judgment for injuries caused by the first accident of a financially irresponsible driver. ”

“ What is at issue here is the power of a State to include as part of this comprehensive enactment designed to secure compensation for automobile accident victims a section providing that a discharge in bankruptcy of the automobile accident tort judgment shall have no effect on the judgment debtor's obligation to repay the judgment creditor, at least insofar as such repayment may be enforced by the withholding of driving privileges by the State. ”

“ Arizona is a community property state. Adolfo and Emma Perez are husband and wife. They were resident citizens of Arizona at the time of the accident in Tucson in July 1965. Mr. Perez was driving an automobile registered in his name. He was alone. Mrs. Perez was not with him and had nothing to do with her husband's operation of the car on that day. The automobile, however, was the property of the marital community. ”

“ The majority, that is, looked to the purpose of the state legislation and upheld it because the purpose was not to circumvent the Bankruptcy Act but to promote highway safety; those in dissent, however, were concerned that, whatever the purpose of the Utah Act, its 'plain and inevitable effect * * * (was) to create a powerful weapon for collection of a debt from which (the) bankrupt (had) been relased by federal law.' Id., at 183, 82 S.Ct., at 824. ”

“ Again, the validity of this limited requirement that some drivers post evidence of financial responsibility for the future in order to regain driving privileges is not questioned here. Nor is the broader issue of whether a State may require proof of financial responsibility as a precondition for granting driving privileges to anyone before us for decision. ”

“ Perez' professed inconvenience stands vividly and starkly in contrast with his victims' injuries. But as is so often the case, the victim, once damaged, is seemingly beyond concern. What seems to become important is the perpetrator's inconvenience.
6. It is conceded that Arizona constitutionally could prescribe liability insurance as a condition precedent to the issuance of a license and registration.
Emma Perez' posture is entirely different. ”

“ During the pendency of the bankruptcy proceedings, the provisions of the Arizona Motor Vehicle Safety Responsibility Act came into play. Although only one provision of the Arizona Act is relevant to the issue presented by this case, it is appropriate to describe the statutory scheme in some detail. The Arizona statute is based on the Uniform Motor Vehicle Safety Responsibility Act promulgated by the National Conference on Street and Highway Safety. [1] Articles 1 and 2 of the Act deal, respectively, with definitional matters and administration.
The substantive provisions begin in Art. ”

“ As far as the record in the instant case shows, the provisions of Art. 3 were not invoked against petitioners, and the constitutional validity of these provisions is, of course, not before us for decision. ”

“ I concur in the result as to petitioner Emma Perez and dissent as to petitioner Adolfo Perez.
* The slaughter on the highways of this Nation exceeds the death toll of all our wars. [17] The country is fragmented about the current conflict in Southeast Asia, but I detect little genuine public concern about what takes place in our very midst and on our daily travel routes. ”