Commonwealth v. Kiely

57 Pa. D. & C.2d 648, 1972 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 496
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Dauphin County
DecidedJuly 28, 1972
Docketno. 2065 of 1971
StatusPublished

This text of 57 Pa. D. & C.2d 648 (Commonwealth v. Kiely) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Dauphin County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Commonwealth v. Kiely, 57 Pa. D. & C.2d 648, 1972 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 496 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1972).

Opinion

WICKERSHAM, J„

— On Sunday, August 1, 1971, a member of the Harrisburg City Police Department, while on routine patrol on Third Street, witnessed an automobile weaving from lane to lane. The operator was defendant, James Joseph Kiely. When stopped by the police, defendant had difficulty exiting from his vehicle, stumbled and fell out of the car. The investigating officers detected the odor of alcohol on his breath. He was given an immediate coordination test at the scene, consisting of walking a line, picking up a coin, touching his toes, which test he failed in the view of the officers. Officer Eubanks then read to defendant his rights,1 he was placed under arrest and was asked whether or not he would consent to taking an alcohol balloon test2 at Harrisburg City Hall, to which defendant consented.

[650]*650A member of the Harrisburg Police Department administered the Mobatt Sobermeter Test to defendant, the results of which indicated that the amount of alcohol by weight in the blood of defendant tested was in excess of 21 one-hundredths (0.214) percent.3 In addition, the officer testified that prior to the actual administration of the Mobatt Sobermeter Test, he had the opportunity to observe and speak to defendant, that defendant admitted that he had consumed alcoholic beverages and further that defendant walked with a staggering gait and his speech was slurred.

Prior to trial on the charge of driving under the influence of liquor,4 defendant filed a motion to suppress the evidence of the Commonwealth.5 Thereafter, defendant pled not guilty, waived a jury trial and following the introduction of evidence was found guilty as charged.

The matter is now before this court on defendant’s motion in arrest of judgment and motion for new trial and oral argument thereon before the court en banc. The principal thrust of defendant’s position is that the Harrisburg City police officers, who took him into [651]*651custody, failed to advise him that he had a right not to submit to a chemical test such as is provided for by section 624.1 of The Vehicle Code. The pertinent section provides:

“§624.1 Intoxication chemical tests, etc.
“(a) Any person who operates a motor vehicle or tractor in this Commonwealth, shall be deemed to have given his consent to a chemical test of his breath, for the purpose of determining the alcoholic content of his blood: Provided, That the test is administered by qualified personnel and with equipment approved by the secretary at the direction of a police officer having reasonable grounds to believe the person to have been driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor. Qualified personnel means a physician or a police officer who has received training in the use of such equipment in a training program approved by the secretary. If any person is placed under arrest and charged with the operation of a motor vehicle or tractor while under the influence of intoxicating liquor and is thereafter requested to submit to a chemical test and refuses to do so, the test shall not be given but the secretary may suspend his license or permit to operate a motor vehicle or tractor with or without a hearing. Any person whose license or permit to operate a motor vehicle or tractor is suspended under the provisions of this act shall have the same right of appeal as provided for in cases of suspension for other reasons.”

It is the further contention of defendant that his constitutional rights were violated in that the arresting police officers had defendant perform certain coordination tests at the scene of the accident prior to advising defendant of his rights under Miranda and Escobedo, supra.

In Commonwealth v. Bonser, 215 Pa. Superior Ct. [652]*652452 (1969), opinion by Judge Jacobs, defendant was arrested and charged with a violation of section 1037 of The Vehicle Code, driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor. The Commonwealth had contended that an individual arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol was not entitled to the Miranda warnings before being subjected to custodial interrogation. The Superior Court held that although the offense constituted a misdemeanor, the Miranda warnings had to be given.

The Bonser holding is of no help to defendant in this situation because the arresting officers both testified that the required Miranda warnings were given to defendant prior to his being subjected to custodial interrogation and prior to his submission to a chemical test of his breath.

Defendant, however, points to Commonwealth v. Bloom, 50 D. & C. 2d 516 (1970), a decision by Judge Lippincott, of Delaware County. The Bloom case holds that, in a similar prosecution for driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor, defendant was “in custody” when he was pulled over to the side of the road by the police officers and told to produce his license and registration cards. The Bloom case, supporting the position of defendant in the instant situation, further held, at page 519:

“Did the police have to advise defendant of his Miranda rights prior to directing that he perform the ‘walk-the-line’ test? This question is resolved by Schmerber v. California, 384 U. S. 757, 86 S. Ct. 1826, 16 L. Ed. 2d 908 (1966), which also involved a conviction for driving while intoxicated. While the issue there was whether evidence of a blood test was admissible, the court emphasized that withdrawing of blood was to be distinguished from other situations: 384 U.S. 763:
[653]*653“ ‘It is clear that the protection of the privilege reaches an accused’s communications, whatever form they might take, and the compulsion of responses which are also communications, ... To compel a person to submit to testing in which an effort will be made to determine his guilt or innocence on the basis of physiological responses, whether willed or not, is to evoke the spirit and history of the Fifth Amendment.’
“In the instant case, defendant was not advised of his Miranda warnings until after he submitted to the ‘walk-the-line’ test. There is no evidence whatever to suggest that he volunteered to take the test or otherwise waived his constitutional rights, nor is there any indication that he was given a choice as to whether to take the test. The circumstances and testimony further show that the test was administered for the purpose of determining his guilt or innocence on the basis of his physiological responses, to wit, coordination, gait, mental alertness, etc. Both officers stated that the purpose of the test was to determine whether or not charges should be preferred.
“We, therefore, conclude that defendant was effectively denied his constitutional right against self-incrimination when he was directed to submit to the ‘walk-the-line’ test, and any evidence relating to his physiological responses thereto should have been suppressed prior to trial.”

We reach a different conclusion. We hold that the Miranda warnings apply only to evidence of a testimonial nature gathered by the police in violation of defendant’s rights.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Holt v. United States
218 U.S. 245 (Supreme Court, 1910)
Escobedo v. Illinois
378 U.S. 478 (Supreme Court, 1964)
Miranda v. Arizona
384 U.S. 436 (Supreme Court, 1966)
Schmerber v. California
384 U.S. 757 (Supreme Court, 1966)
State v. Myers
67 S.E.2d 506 (Supreme Court of South Carolina, 1951)
Commonwealth v. Butler
173 A.2d 468 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1961)
Commonwealth v. Byrd
219 A.2d 293 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1966)
Commonwealth v. Kravitz
161 A.2d 861 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1960)
Commonwealth v. Bonser
258 A.2d 675 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1969)
Commonwealth v. Bryant
79 A.2d 193 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1951)
Commonwealth v. Fletcher
128 A.2d 897 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1956)
Hunt v. State
27 So. 2d 186 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1946)
Ingles v. People
22 P.2d 1109 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1933)
Noelke v. State
15 N.E.2d 950 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1938)
Commonwealth v. Musto
35 A.2d 307 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1943)
Commonwealth v. Valeroso
116 A. 828 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1922)
Commonwealth v. DiStasio
1 N.E.2d 189 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1936)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
57 Pa. D. & C.2d 648, 1972 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 496, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-kiely-pactcompldauphi-1972.