City of Overland Park v. Rhodes

257 P.3d 864, 46 Kan. App. 2d 57, 2011 Kan. App. LEXIS 110, 2011 WL 2652346
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kansas
DecidedJuly 8, 2011
Docket103,762
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 257 P.3d 864 (City of Overland Park v. Rhodes) 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. Rhodes, 257 P.3d 864, 46 Kan. App. 2d 57, 2011 Kan. App. LEXIS 110, 2011 WL 2652346 (kanctapp 2011).

Opinions

Pierron, J.:

Kelly K. Rhodes appeals her conviction of driving while intoxicated (DUI). She argues the police DUI checkpoint was unconstitutional and, as a result, her conviction should be reversed. She also argues the Intoxilyzer 8000 test results should have been suppressed because the officers failed to comply with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) regulations and the Intoxilyzer 8000 was not properly certified. We affirm.

On August 22, 2008, Overland Park Police set up a DUI checkpoint along Metcalf Avenue. Motorists were directed off Metcalf Avenue and into a parking lot where they were directed into enforcement lanes. The enforcement lane officers had been instructed to look for signs of alcohol consumption or impaired drivers. If they noticed impairment or consumption, the officers asked the driver to step out of tire vehicle and undergo further testing. If an individual was asked to undergo additional testing, another officer would park the vehicle and any passengers would wait in the waiting area.

Rhodes was directed into the enforcement lane in front of Officer Christopher Moore. He smelled the odor of alcohol coming from the Rhodes vehicle and noticed that her eyes were red, watery, and bloodshot. Officer Moore told Rhodes that the operation was a DUI check point and asked her if she had been drinking that night. With slurred speech, Rhodes admitted she had been drinking. Officer Moore asked Rhodes to perform field sobriety tests. He had her perform the HGN, the walk and turn, and one-leg stand, and recite the alphabet and some numbers. Rhodes exhibited several clues of impairment. As a result, Officer Moore arrested Rhodes for DUI and escorted her to the booking area.

At 1:04 a.m., Officer Moore checked Rhodes’ mouth for any foreign objects. He read her the Miranda rights, gave her a written copy of the DC-70, and read the implied consent advisories to her. Rhodes agreed to take a breath test. Between 1:04 a.m. and execution of the breath test, Officer Moore kept Rhodes in constant observation to make sure she did not put any foreign objects into [59]*59her mouth. Twenty minutes later, Officer Moore walked Rhodes over to a van where Deputy Hamilton performed the breath test. Rhodes blew a .115 alcohol concentration on the breath test. Rhodes was arrested and charged with DUI.

On June 18,2008, Rhodes was found guilty of DUI in municipal court and sentenced to 180 days in jail. Her conviction was affirmed by the district court.

For her first argument on appeal, Rhodes argues the majority of the factors under State v. Deskins, 234 Kan. 529, 673 P.2d 1174 (1983), weigh in favor of the suppression of the evidence and, thus, because the State failed to prove the reasonableness of the checkpoint stop under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the district court ex'red in failing to suppress the results of the stop.

“An appellate court reviews the district court’s decision on a motion to suppress using a bifurcated standard. Without reweighing the evidence, the district court’s findings are reviewed to determine whether they are supported by substantial competent evidence. The appellate court then reviews the ultimate legal conclusion regarding the suppression of evidence using a de novo standard.” State v. Woolverton, 284 Kan. 59, 70, 159 P.3d 985 (2007).

The Fourth Amendment protects individuals against “ ‘ “arbitrary invasions by government officials” by imposing a standard of reasonableness upon the exercise of those officials’ discretion.’ ” State v. Barker, 252 Kan. 949, 953, 850 P.2d 885 (1993). Stopping and detaining a motorist without some “ ‘articulable and reasonable suspicion’ ” of unlawful conduct is an unreasonable seizure under the Fourth Amendment. 252 Kan. at 953. However, checkpoint cases have carved out an exception to this general rule. 252 Kan. at 953.

In order to meet this exception, these cases have set out a series of factors that must be weighed together in determining the constitutionality of a DUI checkpoint. They are as follows:

“Numerous conditions and factors must be considered in determining whether a DUI roadblock meets the balancing test in favor of the [State]. Among the factors which should be considered are: (1) The degree of discretion, if any, left to the officer in the field; (2) the location designated for the roadblock; (3) the time and duration of the roadblock; (4) standards set by superior officers; (5) advance notice [60]*60to the public at large; (6) advance warning to the individual approaching motorist; (7) maintenance of safety conditions; (8) degree of fear or anxiety generated by the mode of operation; (9) average length of time each motorist is detained; (10) physical factors surrounding the location, type and method of operation; (11) the availability of less intrusive methods for combating the problem; (12) the degree of effectiveness of the procedure; and (13) any other relevant circumstances which might bear upon the test. Not all of the factors need to be favorable to the State but all which are applicable to a given roadblock should be considered.” Deskins, 234 Kan. at 541.

Thus, the court must weigh each of these factors, recognizing that “[n]ot all of the factors must be favorable to die State.” Barker, 252 Kan. at 953. Following is an analysis of each of the Deskins factors in the context of the present case:

The Degree of Discretion, If Any, Left to the Officer in the Field

The kind of standardless and unconstrained discretion that results from an officer s ability to stop any vehicle out of whim “ ‘is the evil the Court has discerned when ... it has insisted that the discretion of the official in the field be circumscribed, at least to some extent.’ ” Deskins, 234 Kan. at 535. “ ‘To that end, the Fourth Amendment requires . . . that [a] seizure must be carried out pursuant to a plan embodying explicit, neutral limitations on the conduct of individual officers.’ ” 234 Kan. at 536. As part of this plan, “ ‘ “questioning all oncoming traffic at roadblock type stops is one possible alternative.” ’ ” 234 Kan. at 539.

In this case, the officers had no discretion regarding which cars to stop, they were to stop all vehicles. The officers in charge set up strict standards for the officers to follow and provided a briefing on these standards to each officer before they went on duty at the checkpoint. The officers were even given standard greetings to give to each driver and told to hand drivers a brochure and inquire whether the driver had anything to chink drat evening. From die facts, there was little, if any, degree of discretion left to die officers performing the DUI checkpoint.

The Location Designated for the Checkpoint

Rhodes introduces persuasive authority that “statistics concerning the extent of the problejn of drunk driving” should be pre[61]*61sented. This does not necessarily make the checkpoint unreasonable however. The location chosen by the officers was because of the high DUI and alcohol incidents in the area and because a severe fatality had recently occurred nearby. In support of this reasoning, the State produced evidence of the area being a “high accident” area.

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Related

City of Overland Park v. Rhodes
257 P.3d 864 (Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2011)

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Bluebook (online)
257 P.3d 864, 46 Kan. App. 2d 57, 2011 Kan. App. LEXIS 110, 2011 WL 2652346, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-overland-park-v-rhodes-kanctapp-2011.