City of Little Rock v. Hudson

236 S.W.3d 509, 366 Ark. 415, 2006 Ark. LEXIS 322
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedMay 25, 2006
Docket04-1350
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 236 S.W.3d 509 (City of Little Rock v. Hudson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Little Rock v. Hudson, 236 S.W.3d 509, 366 Ark. 415, 2006 Ark. LEXIS 322 (Ark. 2006).

Opinion

Tom Glaze, Justice.

This is an appeal from the circuit court’s reversal of the Little Rock Civil Service Commission’s decision to uphold disciplinary action imposed on appellee Ronnie Hudson by the Little Rock Fire Department. Hudson is a thirty-two-year employee of the appellant Little Rock Fire Department (“Fire Department” or LRFD); he has been a captain for twenty-two years. The Fire Department has a drug and alcohol testing policy that requires employees to submit to random drug and alcohol tests. If an employee’s test results show that he or she has a blood-alcohol content (BAC) of greater than .02%, the employee is subject to disciplinary action. On May 15, 2003, Hudson went to Southwest Regional Medical Center for a random drug and alcohol test, as required by LRFD policies. Two breathalyzer tests revealed that Hudson’s BAC exceeded the Fire Department’s standards, and, as a result, the Fire Department suspended Hudson for thirty days and demoted him from the rank of captain to the rank of engineer.

Hudson appealed the Fire Department’s disciplinary action to the Little Rock Civil Service Commission, which upheld the Fire Department’s decision. Hudson then appealed the Commission’s decision to Pulaski County Circuit Court. The circuit court held a hearing on March 19, 2004, and issued an order on April 9, 2004, reversing the Commission’s decision and reinstating Hudson to the rank of captain. The LRFD filed a timely notice of appeal from the circuit court’s decision, and now argues that the circuit court’s decision was against the preponderance of the evidence; the Fire Department also raises an argument concerning the trial court’s interpretation of Ark. Code Ann. § 5-65-207 (Supp. 2003). In addition, Hudson filed a notice of cross-appeal from the circuit court’s decision to deny his request for attorney’s fees.

As noted above, the proceeding underlying this appeal is a decision by the Little Rock Civil Service Commission. The circuit court reviews decisions of the Civil Service Commission de novo and has jurisdiction to modify the punishment fixed by the Commission even if the court agrees that the officer violated department rules and regulations. City of Van Buren v. Smith, 345 Ark. 313, 46 S.W.3d 527 (2001); City of Little Rock v. Hall, 249 Ark. 337, 459 S.W.2d 119 (1970). The circuit court does not merely review the decision of the Civil Service Commission for error, but instead conducts a de novo hearing on the record before the Civil Service Commission and any additional competent testimony that either party might desire to introduce. Daley v. City of Little Rock, 36 Ark. App. 80, 818 S.W.2d 259 (1991); Ark. Code Ann. § 14-51-308(e)(1)(c) (Repl. 2000). The effect of this statutory provision for a de novo appeal to circuit court is to reopen the entire matter for consideration by the circuit court, as if a proceeding had been originally brought in that forum. Civil Service Commission of Van Buren v. Matlock, 206 Ark. 1145, 178 S.W.2d 662 (1944). Although the transfer from a civil service commission is called an appeal in Ark. Code Ann. § 14-51-308(e)(l) (Supp. 2005), the circuit court proceeding is in the nature of an original action. Daley, supra.

This court then reviews the findings of the circuit court to determine whether they are clearly against the preponderance of the evidence. City of Van Buren v. Smith, supra; Tovey v. City of Jacksonville, 305 Ark. 401, 808 S.W.2d 740 (1991). A finding is clearly erroneous when, although there is evidence to support it, the reviewing court is left with a definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been made. Foundation Telecommunications v. Moe Studio, 341 Ark. 231, 16 S.W.3d 531 (2000).

In its first point on appeal, the Fire Department argues that the circuit court’s findings were clearly against the preponderance of the evidence. In reaching its conclusions, the circuit court both examined the record of the proceedings before the Civil Service Commission and heard additional witnesses. Thus, the evidence received in both proceedings is reviewed here.

As mentioned above, the Fire Department has a policy under which employees are subject to random drug and alcohol screenings; any employee who has a BAC over .02% is subject to discipline, given the safety-sensitive nature of such employment. Hudson was taken for his drug and alcohol test on May 15, 2002. Sheryl Richie, the nurse who administered the test, testified before the Commission that she was a certified breath alcohol technician as well as a certified factory authorized calibration technician. Richie stated that, on May 14, 2002, she performed an accuracy check on the breathalyzer machine used in Hudson’s test; at that time, the machine was properly calibrated. She tested Hudson twice on May 15, 2002; the first test showed a BAC of .034, and the second test, conducted sixteen minutes later, showed a BAC of .028. Richie stated that, during the interval between tests, Hudson told her that he had consumed NyQuil the night before, but did not mention that he had also consumed alcohol the previous evening. On cross-examination, Richie stated that she was not aware that Hudson had anything in his mouth when he arrived to be tested, nor did she ask him whether he had anything in his mouth.

Dr. James Randall Baber, the medical review officer for the City of Little Rock, testified that he reviewed the records pertaining to Hudson’s breathalyzer, as well as the blood test he subsequently took, and stated that the negative blood test was consistent with the positive results on the breathalyzer tests. Based on the average rate of alcohol metabolism, Dr. Baber opined that, for Hudson’s BAC to have been .034 at 9:48 in the morning, his BAC would have to have been about .234 at 11:48 the previous evening. Dr. Baber also stated that, as of 9:48 a.m. on the morning of the test, he would have expected Hudson not to be exhibiting any clinical symptoms of having consumed alcohol. He also noted that consuming NyQuil, which is ten percent alcohol, would increase one’s blood alcohol level. On cross-examination, however, Dr. Baber conceded that there was “no way” that one’s BAC could have been as high as .234 if one had consumed three glasses of an alcoholic beverage with an alcohol content of seven percent.

Hudson’s wife, Bobby, testified that, on the evening before Hudson’s breathalyzer tests, he had been upset about some harassment complaints that had been filed against him at work, so he had a few drinks from a bottle of pre-mixed screwdrivers. Mrs. Hudson said that Hudson drank two and a half glasses from the bottle. Before he went to bed around 11:00 p.m., Hudson said that he was going to take some NyQuil because he did not feel well. “When he got up the next morning around 5:45 a.m., he was fine,” Mrs. Hudson said.

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Bluebook (online)
236 S.W.3d 509, 366 Ark. 415, 2006 Ark. LEXIS 322, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-little-rock-v-hudson-ark-2006.