Beller v. Rolfe

2008 UT 68, 194 P.3d 949, 613 Utah Adv. Rep. 25, 2008 Utah LEXIS 152, 2008 WL 4272975
CourtUtah Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 19, 2008
Docket20060641
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 2008 UT 68 (Beller v. Rolfe) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Utah Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Beller v. Rolfe, 2008 UT 68, 194 P.3d 949, 613 Utah Adv. Rep. 25, 2008 Utah LEXIS 152, 2008 WL 4272975 (Utah 2008).

Opinion

NEHRING, Justice:

1 1 In this appeal we take up the question of whether the exclusionary rule applies to driver license suspension proceedings. We hold that it does not. Curtis Beller, whom police stopped on noise and light ordinance violations and subsequently arrested for operating his motorcycle while under the influence of alcohol, challenges the loss of his driving privileges. Mr. Beller contends that law enforcement lacked a sufficient justification to stop him, and therefore, the exelusion-ary rule should bar the State from admitting in proceedings before the Utah Driver License Division any evidence obtained pursuant to the search. We hold that the exclusionary rule does not apply to driver license suspension and revocation proceedings and therefore affirm.

FACTS

12 Just after midnight, Salt Lake City Police Officer Jeff Kendrick, who was stopped on the side of the road, noticed two motorcycles as they passed on the opposite side of the street. Officer Kendrick, who was a motorcycle officer and familiar with motorcycles, noted that the sound coming from one of the motoreycle's mufflers was "extremely loud" and that blue lights illuminated the engine. Although Officer Kendrick did not know the make or model of the passing motorcycle, he noted that the noise it emitted was "loud enough that you could hear [it], you know, a block away, and that's not typical of a regular stock equipped muffler on a Harley Davidson." At first, he decided not to follow the two motorcycles because he did not want to leave his partner. His partner was a new officer, whom Officer Kendrick was helping to train, and who was involved at the time in an unrelated traffic stop.

13 A few minutes later, the motorcycles passed again. This time they approached on the side of the street where Officer Kendrick was situated. One of the motorcycles came so close to the two officers that Officer Kendrick said he was concerned about his safety. He then decided to follow the two motorcey-cles.

" 4 Based on his observations and previous experience, Officer Kendrick thought that the loud motorcycle likely violated Salt Lake City Ordinance 12.28.100, which prohibits an individual from operating a motorcycle with a muffler system that has been modified or replaced in order to make the emitted sound louder. He also thought that the blue lights coming from the engine likely violated Salt Lake City Ordinance 12.28.090, which prohibits an individual from operating a vehicle with excessive lighting equipment. Officer Kendrick followed the two motorcycles and, when he caught up to them at an intersection, instructed them to pull over. They complied.

[ 5 When Officer Kendrick approached the motorcyclists, he noticed one of them, Curtis Beller, smelled of alcohol. Mr. Beller stipulated as much at his revocation hearing. Officer Kendrick also noticed that Mr. Beller displayed bloodshot eyes and relaxed facial features. After Mr. Beller admitted he had been drinking earlier that evening, Officer Kendrick requested Mr. Beller to perform field sobriety tests. Mr. Beller agreed to perform the tests but failed them. When Mr. Beller also failed the portable breath test, he was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. Officer Kendrick gave Mr. Beller notice of the Division's intention to suspend his license.

*951 T6 Mr. Beller requested an administrative hearing before the Division to challenge the suspension. After his efforts failed to persuade the Division not to suspend his license, Mr. Beller filed a petition for review by trial de novo in the district court. At that hearing, Mr. Beller argued that Officer Kendrick lacked reasonable suspicion that Mr. Beller had committed a traffic offense and therefore had no lawful reason to stop him. Mr. Beller further argued that because the detention was constitutionally unreasonable in accordance with the exclusionary rule, "his driver's license [should] be reinstated according ly."

T7 The district court disagreed. Although the court found that Officer Kendrick lacked reasonable suspicion to initiate the stop, it ruled that the exclusionary rule did not apply to Mr. Beller's driver license hearing, which it determined to be remedial in nature rather than quasi-criminal. Mr. Beller and the State appealed. The Utah Court of Appeals certified the case to this court for determination. We now affirm.

ARGUMENT

8 The parties ask us to consider several arguments on appeal. First, the State argues that Mr. Beller waived his right to argue that the exclusionary rule applied to his driver license hearing because he failed to raise the issue before the Division in his initial administrative hearing. Mr. Beller counters that, for essentially the same reasons, the State waived its right to argue that the exclusionary rule did not apply. Second, assuming the parties did not waive the issue, they ask us to consider the underlying merits of their arguments regarding the exelusion-ary rule's application. Finally, the parties ask us to consider whether the district court erred in concluding that Officer Kendrick violated the Fourth Amendment by stopping Mr. Beller without reasonable suspicion. We will address each of these arguments in turn.

I. NO WAIVER OCCURRED

T9 Because Mr. Beller received a trial de novo, we need not determine whether he (or the State) waived the issue of whether the exclusionary rule applies. Individuals whose driver licenses have been revoked are entitled to seek judicial review. Utah Code Ann. § (Supp.2008); id. § 53-3-224 (2007). Utah's Administrative Procedures Act extends to district courts the jurisdiction to review these agency decisions by "trial de novo." Id. § 63G-4-402 (Supp. 2008). 1 Although, as we have previously stated, the term "de novo" literally means "'anew, afresh, a second time," we are aware that the term is often imprecisely used. Bernat v. Allphin, 2005 UT 1, ¶ 30, 106 P.3d 707 (quoting Pledger v. Cox, 626 P.2d 415, 416 (Utah 1981)). Trial de novo can refer to either a complete retrial upon new evidence or a trial upon the record made by a lower tribunal. The proper meaning largely depends on the context in which it is used. Id. ¶¶ 30, 31.

1 10 As we previously indicated, Mr. Beller petitioned for and received a trial de novo before the district court. As the record in this case aptly reflects, Mr. Beller's trial de novo provided an opportunity to present new evidence. Because Mr. Beller had the opportunity to present new evidence in what was a complete repeat of the prior proceeding, he also enjoyed the opportunity to present new legal arguments-regardless of whether he had raised them at the administrative hearing. And since Mr. Beller had the chance to present new arguments before the district court, the State could as well. Therefore, neither party waived the issue of whether the exclusionary rule applied by failing to argue it before the Division.

II. THE EXCLUSIONARY RULE DOES NOT APPLY

¶ 11 The exelusionary rule is a judicially created remedy designed to safeguard the rights created by the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. One of the central objectives of the rule is to deter those who would defy the mandate of the Fourth Amendment.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Beylund v. Levi
2017 ND 30 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 2017)
Hanson v. Colo. Dep't of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Div.
411 P.3d 1 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 2012)
Francen v. Colo. Dep't of Revenue
411 P.3d 693 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 2012)
Miller v. Toler
729 S.E.2d 137 (West Virginia Supreme Court, 2012)
Rudolph v. Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles
107 So. 3d 1129 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2012)
Roark v. Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles
107 So. 3d 1131 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2012)
Baldwin v. Huber
223 P.3d 150 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 2009)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2008 UT 68, 194 P.3d 949, 613 Utah Adv. Rep. 25, 2008 Utah LEXIS 152, 2008 WL 4272975, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/beller-v-rolfe-utah-2008.