VAIDIK, J.
We start with Section 9-24-19-2, which provides:
A person who operates a motor vehicle upon a highway when the person knows that the person’s driving privilege, license, or permit is suspended or revoked, when less than ten (10) years have elapsed between:
(1) the date a judgment was entered against the person for a prior unrelated violation of section 1 of this chapter, [footnote omitted] this section, IC 9-1-4-52 (repealed July 1, 1991), or IC 9-24-18-5(a) (repealed July 1, 2000); and
(2) the date the violation described in subdivision (1) was committed;
commits a Class A misdemeanor.
(Emphasis added). It is agreed that the use of the phase “in subdivision (1)” is a mistake. Instead, it should refer to the date that the current violation described in the introductory paragraph was committed. See Appellant’s App. p. 51 (“The statute as written erroneously refers to ‘subdivision (1)’ instead of the unnumbered first paragraph of the statute . . . .”) (trial court order); Appellant’s Br. p. 5 (“The trial court correctly discerned that the legislature intended to refer to the date of the commission of the current offense . . . .”); Appellee’s Br. p. 3. Thus, the question is whether the statute is enforceable as written.
Because Section 9-24-19-2 is a penal statute, it must be strictly construed. George v. Nat’l Collegiate Athletic Ass’n, 945 N.E.2d 150, 154 (Ind. 2011), reh’g denied. Due process requires that a penal statute clearly define the prohibited conduct so that it provides adequate and fair notice as to what precisely is proscribed. Id.
. . . .
The purpose of Section 9-24-19-2 is to create an enhanced penalty for those who have a prior unrelated judgment for operating a vehicle without a license within the past ten years. The predecessor statute is Section 9-24-18-5, which was repealed in 2000. Section 9-24-18-5 provided:
(a) Except as provided in subsections (b) and (d), a person who operates a motor vehicle upon a highway while the person’s driving privilege, license, or permit is suspended or revoked commits a Class A infraction. However, if:
(1) a person knowingly or intentionally violates this subsection; and
(2) less than ten (10) years have elapsed between the date a judgment was entered against the person for a prior unrelated violation of this subsection or IC 9-1-4-52 (repealed July 1, 1991) and the date the violation described in subdivision (1) was committed;
the person commits a Class A misdemeanor.
Ind. Code § 9-24-18-5 (West 1998) (repealed by P.L. 32-2000, Sec. 27) (emphasis added). As the State points out, much of the terminology from the old statute is used in the new statute. But when Section 9-24-19-2 was enacted in 2000, the old statute was broken up into two statutes and reorganized. Thus, subdivision (1) in the old statute does not match up with subdivision (1) in the new statute. This is the source of the problem. And in the eleven-plus years that Section 9-24-19-2 has been in existence, there has not been a case reporting on this problem.
Despite the “subdivision (1)” mistake in Section 9-24-19-2, the statute permits a conviction for the Class A misdemeanor regardless of the amount of time that has elapsed since the judgment for the prior unrelated violation. This is because the plain language of Section 9-24-9-2 provides that less than ten years must have elapsed between (1) the date that the judgment was entered for the prior unrelated violation and (2) the date that the violation described “in subdivision 1” (that is, the date of the judgment for the prior unrelated violation as opposed to the date of the violation for the current offense) was committed. Thus, because the date of commission of the offense and the date of judgment for the offense will almost always be within ten years, the statute – read literally – makes every prior unrelated judgment an enhancing offense. The legislature surely did not intend this result.
Instead, what the legislature intended was to elevate the offense to a Class A misdemeanor if the offender had a prior unrelated judgment for driving while suspended within the past ten years. When examining the statutory scheme as a whole, we refuse to rely excessively on the legislature’s erroneous use of “subdivision (1).” It is clear that the legislature meant to refer back to the date of the instant offense in the introductory paragraph and not to the date of the prior unrelated judgment described in subdivision (1). This was merely an oversight that carried over from the old statute. We presume that the legislature intended for the language to be applied logically and consistent with the underlying goals and policies of the statute. Moreover, we will not presume that the legislature intended to do a useless thing. State v. Brunner, 947 N.E.2d 411, 416 (Ind. 2011), reh’g denied. In addition, Gearlds cannot claim that he is not subject to Section 9-24-19-2. Read literally, the statute impacts more people who drive while suspended and who have prior convictions. That is, driving while suspended is a Class A misdemeanor regardless of the date of the prior unrelated judgment. Reading Section 9-24-9-2 to have the ten-year limitation is interpreting the statute in a more restrictive way.
We are mindful that clarity in penal statutes is a very high priority. See Sales v. State, 723 N.E.2d 416, 422 (Ind. 2000). But a statute can still be enforced when it is universally understood and fully appreciated. See id. Here, a reading of Section 9-24-19-2 alerts drivers that operating a motor vehicle while suspended can be punished more severely if a judgment was entered against the person for a prior unrelated violation within the past ten years. In fact, it takes a careful reading of Section 9-24-19-2 to comprehend the “subdivision (1)” mistake. And it has taken over a decade for this issue to appear as a blip on this Court‟s radar screen. Indeed, this statute has surfaced before us many times without as much as a mention of this mistake. See, e.g., Spivey v. State, 922 N.E.2d 91, 92 (Ind. Ct. App. 2010) (“[I]n order to convict Spivey of driving while suspended, the State was required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Spivey operated a motor vehicle on a highway when he knew his driving privileges had been suspended and also, that within the past ten years, Spivey had a prior unrelated judgment for a violation of certain other traffic laws. See I.C. § 9–24–19–2.”). But nevertheless, the legislature should amend Section 9-24-19-2 to remove the erroneous “subdivision (1)” language contained in subdivision (2) to avoid any future litigation over this issue. 10
Because the statute is enforceable in its current form, we reverse the trial court’s dismissal of the Class A misdemeanor charge against Gearlds and remand for further proceedings.
FRIEDLANDER, J., and DARDEN, J., concur.