City of Overland Park v. Lull

349 P.3d 1278, 51 Kan. App. 2d 588, 2015 Kan. App. LEXIS 40
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kansas
DecidedMarch 13, 2015
DocketNo. 111,741
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 349 P.3d 1278 (City of Overland Park v. Lull) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Overland Park v. Lull, 349 P.3d 1278, 51 Kan. App. 2d 588, 2015 Kan. App. LEXIS 40 (kanctapp 2015).

Opinion

Hill, J.:

In this appeal Joshua Charles Lull asks us to overturn his jury conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol. Lull has convinced us that the district court erred when it denied his motion seeking to suppress evidence of his refusal to take a breath [589]*589test. Because the investigating officer did not substantially comply with tire notice requirements under K.S.A. 2012 Supp. 8-1001(k) when she omitted reading an entire paragraph of the notice that clearly applied to Lull, we reverse the conviction and remand for a new trial.

Lull is arrested following an accident.

One afternoon in September 2012, Officer Tina Morse of the Overland Park Police Department responded to the scene of an injury accident in which a truck driven by Lull had struck a U.S. mail truck at an intersection, causing the mail truck to tip on its side, trapping tire driver.

Officer Morse talked with Lull and immediately noticed his eyes were bloodshot and watery and the smell of consumed alcohol emanated from his breath. Lull admitted to having just come from a bar where he had two drinks. When asked to produce proof of his insurance, Lull initially gave Officer Morse his medical insurance card.

Based on these observations, Officer Morse asked Lull to perform field sobriety testing. Lull did the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, alphabet test, number test, walk-and-turn test, and one-leg stand test. Lull completed the alphabet test but indicated impairment when performing the number test, exhibited three clues of impairment on the walk-and-turn test, and exhibited the same clue of impairment on the one-leg stand test four separate times. Officer Morse then arrested Lull for DUI.

Once at the station, Officer Morse started the required 20-min-ute alcohol deprivation period before the administering of a breath test and provided Lull with a copy of the DC-70 form. Officer Morse observed Lull follow along while the DC-70 form was read to him. At one point, however, Officer Morse became distracted by Lull’s comments and lost her place on the DC-70 form. In doing so, Officer Morse failed to read paragraph 7 to Lull. Officer Morse was unaware she had not read paragraph 7 to Lull until she subsequently viewed the video of their interaction. After Lull indicated that he understood the DC-70 form as read to him, Lull was asked [590]*590to submit to a breath test. Lull refused, indicating he had been told by attorneys not to take the test.

The case moves on to district court.

Lull was convicted in Overland Park Municipal Court of DUI, a second offense, refusal of preliminary breath test, and failure to yield right of way. Lull appealed to the Johnson County District Court. Before trial, Lull filed a motion in limine arguing his test refusal should be suppressed because Officer Morse failed to comply with the oral notice requirements under K.S.A. 2012 Supp. 8-1001(lc).

At the suppression hearing, the City of Overland Park did not dispute that Officer Morse failed to read paragraph 7 of the DC-70 form. However, the City argued that Officer Morse substantially complied with K.S.A. 2012 Supp. 8-1001(k) because the officer’s omission of paragraph 7 was a technical irregularity and Lull had received proper written notice advising him of the essentials of the statute. The district court denied Lull’s motion and his subsequent renewed motion in limine raising the same argument.

During the jury trial, the district court overruled Lull’s objection to the admission of evidence of his test refusal based on the same arguments raised in his motions in limine. The jury found Lull guilty of DUI second offense and failure to yield.

Lull argues to us that the district court erred when it denied his motion in limine seeking to suppress his test refusal. Specifically, Lull claims that Officer Morse’s failure to read paragraph 7 of the DC-70 form in its entirety is not in substantial compliance with the oral notice provisions of K.S.A. 2012 Supp. 8-1001(k). Lull also argues the district court erred when it found that the failure to provide the required notice only concerned the civil administrative action against his driving license.

How we approach this question.

Generally, we review a district court’s decision on a motion to suppress using a bifurcated standard. First, without reweighing the evidence or assessing the credibility of witnesses, we review the district court’s findings to determine whether they are supported by substantial competent evidence. Then, the final legal conclusion [591]*591of whether to suppress is a question of law which we review de novo. However, when the material facts to a trial court’s decision on a motion to suppress evidence are not in dispute, as in the case here, the question of whether to suppress is a question of law over which an appellate court has unlimited review. State v. Martinez, 296 Kan. 482, 485, 293 P.3d 718 (2013). Moreover, the issue raised by Lull requires statutory interpretation, which is a question of law subject to unlimited appellate review. State v. Dale, 293 Kan. 660, 662, 267 P.3d 743 (2011). Finally, the City bore the burden at the suppression hearing. See State v. Morlock, 289 Kan. 980, 985, 218 P.3d 801 (2009).

The officer did not substantially comply with the notice statute.

K.S.A. 2012 Supp. 8-1001(k) provides that before a blood, breath, or urine test is administered, the person shall be given oral and written notice regarding specific aspects of the Kansas Implied Consent Law and the consequences of refusing to submit to and complete the test when requested and failing the completed test. The notice provisions of K.S.A. 8-1001 are mandatory. State v. Luff, 248 Kan. 911, Syl. ¶ 1, 811 P.2d 873 (1991). However, the Kansas Supreme Court has ruled that substantial compliance with the notice provisions of the statute is sufficient. “To substantially comply with the requirements of the statute, a notice must be sufficient to advise the party to whom it is directed of the essentials of the statute.” Barnhart v. Kansas Dept. of Revenue, 243 Kan. 209, 213, 755 P.2d 1337 (1988). When there is not substantial compliance with the statute, no prejudice need be shown. Meigs v. Kansas Dept. of Revenue, 251 Kan. 677, 682, 840 P.2d 448 (1992).

Paragraph 7 of the DC-70 form gives notice of the rights found in K.S.A.

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Bluebook (online)
349 P.3d 1278, 51 Kan. App. 2d 588, 2015 Kan. App. LEXIS 40, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-overland-park-v-lull-kanctapp-2015.