Blazer v. Dep't of Public Safety

2024 S.D. 74
CourtSouth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 11, 2024
Docket30499
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 2024 S.D. 74 (Blazer v. Dep't of Public Safety) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering South Dakota Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Blazer v. Dep't of Public Safety, 2024 S.D. 74 (S.D. 2024).

Opinion

#30499-r-PJD 2024 S.D. 74

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA

****

DONALD WILLIAM BLAZER, Plaintiff and Appellee,

v.

SOUTH DAKOTA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE FIFTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT EDMUNDS COUNTY, SOUTH DAKOTA

THE HONORABLE RICHARD A. SOMMERS Judge

MARTY J. JACKLEY Attorney General

JENNA R. SEVERYN Special Assistant Attorney General Pierre, South Dakota Attorneys for defendant and appellant.

BRANDON M. TALIAFERRO Aberdeen, South Dakota Attorney for plaintiff and appellee.

CONSIDERED ON BRIEFS APRIL 23, 2024 OPINION FILED 12/11/24 #30499

DEVANEY, Justice

[¶1.] During an investigation of a vehicle accident caused by Donald Blazer,

he voluntarily submitted to a preliminary breath test (PBT), but he refused to

submit to a blood draw. The South Dakota Department of Public Safety

(Department) sent Blazer notice of its intent to disqualify his commercial driver’s

license (CDL) for life because his refusal to submit to the blood draw constituted a

second violation of SDCL 32-12A-36; the first occurred in 2014 when he was

convicted of driving under the influence. Blazer requested an administrative

hearing, after which the Department affirmed the disqualification of his CDL for

life. The circuit court reversed, concluding that Blazer’s voluntary submission to

the breath test constituted a submission to a chemical analysis such that his refusal

to submit to the blood draw could not result in the disqualification of his CDL. The

Department appeals. We reverse.

Factual and Procedural Background

[¶2.] At approximately 10:00 p.m. on December 28, 2022, Blazer’s vehicle

crossed the centerline on U.S. Highway 12 and struck another vehicle. He drove

away from the scene of the accident, but shortly thereafter law enforcement found

his abandoned vehicle approximately a mile away and followed his footprints to his

location. They brought Blazer back to his vehicle and placed him in handcuffs.

Blazer admitted that he was the driver of the vehicle involved in the accident.

While Blazer was talking, South Dakota Highway Patrol Trooper Tyler Woodside

detected the odor of alcohol coming from him. When asked if he had been drinking

-1- #30499

alcohol, Blazer admitted to having consumed four beers. Trooper Woodside testified

that he thereafter “obtained a PBT from him” and “[t]he result was .102 percent.”

[¶3.] Trooper Woodside placed Blazer under arrest and ran a check on his

driver’s license. He discovered that Blazer held a CDL and testified that as a result,

he “read him the implied consent card for a commercial driver’s license holder” and

asked Blazer to submit to a blood draw. Blazer refused to do so. Trooper Woodside

transported Blazer to the local jail and obtained a search warrant to obtain a blood

sample. Blazer complied with the blood draw when presented with the warrant.

[¶4.] On January 4, 2023, Blazer was charged by complaint with driving

under the influence in violation of SDCL 32-23-1(1) and (2), failure to furnish

information regarding an accident in violation of SDCL 32-34-6, and driving on the

wrong side of the road in violation of SDCL 32-26-1. The complaint was dismissed

without prejudice in February 2023 after the result of the chemical analysis of

Blazer’s blood revealed a .071 percent blood alcohol content.

[¶5.] On January 5, 2023, the Department sent Blazer a notification of its

intent to disqualify Blazer’s CDL for life based on his December 28, 2022 refusal to

give consent to the blood draw and his 2014 conviction of driving under the

influence. 1 Blazer requested an administrative hearing, and at the hearing he was

1. Under SDCL 32-12A-37, a person is disqualified from driving a commercial motor vehicle “for life for the commission of two or more violations of any of the subdivisions specified in § 32-12A-36, or any combination of those subdivisions, arising from two or more separate incidents.”

The Department relied on SDCL 32-12A-36(1), which disqualifies a person convicted of driving under the influence, as well as SDCL 32-12A-36(5), which disqualifies a person “[f]or refusing to submit to a chemical analysis for (continued . . .) -2- #30499

represented by counsel. The Department presented testimony from Trooper

Woodside and a Department employee. Blazer testified on his own behalf.

[¶6.] During direct examination, Trooper Woodside testified about his

encounter with Blazer consistent with what is related above. He also explained his

reason for obtaining a PBT and subsequent blood draw: “The PBT’s just to confirm

that from my observations of Mr. Blazer he had, in fact, been consuming alcoholic

beverages. The blood draw I can send off to the State Health Lab in Pierre, South

Dakota. It’s a test for the blood alcohol content.”

[¶7.] When asked during cross-examination about the type of breathalyzer

he used, Trooper Woodside testified that he used “an Intoximeter, the PBT that was

issued to [him] by the South Dakota Highway Patrol.” He indicated that he is

familiar with how the Intoximeter works and answered “Yes” when asked whether

he “would agree that the breathalyzer measures blood alcohol content[.]” He also

answered “Yes” to the statement that “the way the breathalyzer measures blood

alcohol content is due to a chemical reaction when the breath goes into the

machine[.]” Also during cross-examination, Trooper Woodside replied “Yes” to the

statement and question, “And you’ve already testified that you agree that the

breath test tests for blood alcohol. So fair to say that a person’s breath could be a

substance to be tested for blood alcohol?”

________________________ (. . . continued) purposes of determining the amount of alcohol or drugs in that person’s blood or other bodily substance while driving a commercial or noncommercial motor vehicle in violation of . . . [SDCL] 32-12A-46[.]”

-3- #30499

[¶8.] Blazer testified that he sustained a severe concussion as a result of the

accident and was out of work for approximately a month. He further testified that

because of the injury he did not recall being read the implied consent statute by

Trooper Woodside. He disagreed that his inability to recall the events of the

evening was related to his consumption of alcohol, and he disagreed that he refused

to submit to a chemical analysis, stating that he submitted to the breath test as

requested by the officer.

[¶9.] The Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) took the matter under

advisement and thereafter issued a written proposed decision. The ALJ found that

Blazer submitted to a PBT and the result was .102 percent. The ALJ further found

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2024 S.D. 74, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/blazer-v-dept-of-public-safety-sd-2024.