Bradt v. Colorado Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Division

178 P.3d 1250, 2007 Colo. App. LEXIS 2192, 2007 WL 3378341
CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 15, 2007
DocketNo. 06CA0909
StatusPublished

This text of 178 P.3d 1250 (Bradt v. Colorado Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Division) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Colorado Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bradt v. Colorado Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Division, 178 P.3d 1250, 2007 Colo. App. LEXIS 2192, 2007 WL 3378341 (Colo. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

Opinion by

Judge ROMÁN.

The Department of Revenue appeals from the district court judgment reversing its revocation of the driver’s license of plaintiff, Lynda Dianne Bradt, for driving with an excessive breath alcohol content (BAC). Although the arresting officer improperly permitted plaintiff to take a breath test after she had initially chosen and then refused to take a blood test, we conclude that the arresting officer’s statutory violation in this regard did not warrant the suppression of the breath test results under the circumstances here. Accordingly, we reverse and remand for reinstatement of the order of revocation.

I. Facts

The relevant facts are not in dispute. After a traffic stop at 2:04 a.m. on June 15, 2005, plaintiff was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. The arresting officer invoked the express consent law and offered plaintiff her statutory choice between taking a blood test or a breath test. Plaintiff then chose to take a blood test, and was transported to the county jail.

Plaintiff later refused by her uncooperative conduct to take the blood test she had chosen. After firefighters arrived to perform the blood draw, plaintiff was verbally abusive and combative, and would not allow her blood to be drawn. Although the arresting officer told her that her license could be revoked for [1252]*1252up to a year if she refused that test, plaintiff said she did not care, and the arresting officer eventually had the firefighters leave because she continually refused her opportunities to take the blood test.

About twenty minutes later, plaintiff initiated further contact with the arresting officer and told him she would like to take “a” test because she did not want her license to be revoked. Plaintiff did not request a blood test at that point, and the arresting officer did not give her that choice again, telling her that he was not going to have the firefighters come back, but that he would allow her to take a breath test and would not hold her previous refusal against her.

Plaintiff then agreed and took a breath test at 3:16 a.m., the results of which showed her BAC to be. 187 grams of alcohol per two hundred ten liters of breath, more than twice the statutory limit for revocation. See § 42-2-126(2)(a)(I), (9)(c)(I), C.R.S.2007.

Following a hearing, the hearing officer rejected plaintiffs arguments, ruling that after plaintiff had refused the chosen blood test by her conduct, she gave up her right to take that test. Based on the results of the breath test, the hearing officer then ordered the revocation for driving with an excessive BAC.

On review, the district court reversed the revocation, ruling that plaintiff retracted her refusal in a timely manner and retained her right to the blood test she had chosen. The court further ruled that the Department acted arbitrarily and capriciously in determining that the breath test results were properly admitted and reversed the revocation in view of the fact that plaintiff had previously chosen to take the blood test.

II. Legal Analysis

The Department contends, among other things, that the revocation was properly based on the breath test results, because even if the arresting officer violated the express consent statute in allowing plaintiff to take the breath test, the violation did not justify suppression of the test results in this case. We agree with this contention.

Under section 42 — 2—126(10)(b), C.R.S.2007, a reviewing court may reverse the Department’s revocation action upon determining that, as relevant here, the Department has made an erroneous interpretation of the law or has acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner. See also §§ 24-4-106(7), 42-2-126(11), C.R.S.2007.

To determine that a hearing officer’s decision was arbitrary and capricious under this statutory standard, a reviewing court must be convinced from the record as a whole that there was not substantial evidence to support the hearing officer’s decision. Charnes v. Robinson, 772 P.2d 62, 68 (Colo.1989).

A. Statutory Violation in Changing Tests

The express consent statute creates mutual rights and responsibilities for both the arresting officer and the arrested driver in connection with the applicable testing requirements. Lahey v. Dep’t of Revenue, 881 P.2d 458, 459 (Colo.App.1994).

Specifically, under these provisions, when the arresting officer requests the suspected drunk driver to submit to testing, the driver has a statutory right and responsibility to choose between taking either a blood test or a breath test to determine the driver’s BAC. When the driver has chosen a test, the arresting officer generally has a corresponding duty to implement the particular type of test selected by the driver, without allowing the driver to change that test selection. See § 42-4-1301.1(2)(a)(I)-(II), C.R.S.2007; People v. Shinaut, 940 P.2d 380, 382-83 (Colo.1997); Brodak v. Visconti, 165 P.3d 896, 898 (Colo.App.2007); Lahey, 881 P.2d at 459.

Thus, under the 2005 version of the express consent law applicable here, the statute created a mandatory requirement for the arresting officer to comply with plaintiffs initial choice of the blood test, and there was no statutory exception allowing the arresting officer to permit plaintiff to change her selection and to take the alternative test. See Riley v. People, 104 P.3d 218, 221 (Colo.2004); cf. Ch. 261, sec. 1, § 42-4-1301.1(2), 2007 Colo. Sess. Laws 1022-24 (providing new statutory exception allowing change to alternative test in certain circumstances, ap[1253]*1253plicable to offenses on and after July 1, 2007).

Here, notwithstanding plaintiffs initial refusal to cooperate with the blood test she had chosen, her initial test selection was irrevocable. Even after her uncooperative conduct, she was still obligated to take only the blood test, and the arresting officer was still required to implement only that test without allowing her to change her selection to a breath test. Consequently, the arresting officer improperly permitted plaintiff to take the breath test at that point in violation of the applicable statutory requirements. See Shinaut, 940 P.2d at 382-83; Lahey, 881 P.2d at 459-60.

B. Suppression of Test Results Not Warranted

Nevertheless, we agree with the Department that suppression of the breath test results was not warranted under the circumstances here.

When a law enforcement officer has failed to comply with the requirements of the express consent statute by permitting the driver to take the alternative test instead of the one initially chosen, suppression of those test results may be an appropriate sanction in some cases, but not in others, depending on the circumstances. See Turbyne v. People, 151 P.3d 563, 570-72 (Colo.2007) (driver improperly permitted to take alternative test; suppression warranted);

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Related

People v. Shinaut
940 P.2d 380 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1997)
Charnes v. Robinson
772 P.2d 62 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1989)
Lahey v. Department of Revenue
881 P.2d 458 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 1994)
Brodak v. Visconti
165 P.3d 896 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 2007)
Dike v. People
30 P.3d 197 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 2001)
Riley v. People
104 P.3d 218 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 2004)
Turbyne v. People
151 P.3d 563 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 2007)

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178 P.3d 1250, 2007 Colo. App. LEXIS 2192, 2007 WL 3378341, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bradt-v-colorado-department-of-revenue-motor-vehicle-division-coloctapp-2007.