Commonwealth v. Kohl

576 A.2d 1049, 395 Pa. Super. 73
CourtSupreme Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedNovember 14, 1990
Docket852
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 576 A.2d 1049 (Commonwealth v. Kohl) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Commonwealth v. Kohl, 576 A.2d 1049, 395 Pa. Super. 73 (Pa. 1990).

Opinions

MONTEMURO, Judge:

Following a trial by jury, appellant, Bruce Kohl, was convicted of two counts of homicide by vehicle while under the influence of alcohol,1 two counts of homicide by vehicle,2 two counts of driving while under the influence of alcohol or controlled substance,3 and the summary offenses of reckless driving4 and driving a vehicle at unsafe speed.5 The trial court denied appellant’s post-trial motions and sentenced appellant to the mandatory minimum sentence of not less than three (3) years to a maximum of seven (7) years on the four homicide counts, and imposed a fine and a sentence of not less than thirty (30) days nor more than [76]*76twelve (12) months on the summary offenses. Following denial of his Motion to Modify Sentence, appellant brought this timely appeal. On appeal, appellant challenges the constitutionality of a blood alcohol test performed on a sample of his blood under the authority of the implied consent law, 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 1547(a).6 We find that the blood test was constitutionally invalid, and remand and reverse for a new trial.

Appellant’s convictions stem from a one-car collision which occurred at approximately four o’clock in the morning on March 30, 1985. While proceeding around a sharp bend in the road, appellant’s car struck a utility pole and then a nearby retaining wall, causing the death of his two passengers, Jeffrey Greb and Mark Moser. The police arrived at the scene shortly after the accident, in time to remove appellant and the two passengers from the car before the car burst into flames. Jeffrey Greb died at the scene of the accident, and Mark Moser died while being transported to the hospital.

Appellant, rendered unconscious by the accident, was taken from the accident scene to the hospital. He remained unconscious throughout the day. When appellant was brought into the hospital, the emergency room doctor ordered a blood test of appellant for basic blood work. A police officer went from the scene of the accident to the hospital. When he arrived at the hospital, the officer requested that a blood sample be taken from appellant for analysis as to alcohol content. The police officers investigating the accident did not smell alcohol on appellant’s breath or notice any other signs of alcohol consumption by appellant.

A hospital technician performed a blood alcohol analysis on the sample taken for medical reasons and on the sample drawn by request of the police officer. The analysis on the test requested by the police produced a blood alcohol level of 0.15%. There were no results of the analysis performed on the sample drawn for medical purposes. At the time the [77]*77blood was drawn from his body, no charges had been filed against appellant, appellant was not under arrest, and the police did not have a warrant to conduct the test. Appellant was arrested upon his release from the hospital on April 29, 1985.

In his pretrial motion, appellant moved to suppress the results of the blood test on the basis that the test violated his constitutional rights in that the police lacked probable cause to order the test and appellant did not consent to the test. The trial court denied the motion to suppress, finding that on the basis of the facts of this case, probable cause to order the search did exist. Following his trial and conviction, appellant filed post-verdict motions, which were denied by the trial court.

On appeal, appellant claims that the trial court erred in admitting the results of the blood alcohol test performed on the sample of his blood because the test violated the Fourth Amendment. We agree.

The blood alcohol test performed on appellant was authorized by the “implied consent law” set forth in 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 1547(a):

§ 1547. Chemical testing to determine amount of alcohol or controlled substance
(a) General rule.—Any person who drives, operates or is in actual physical control of the movement of a motor vehicle in this Commonwealth shall be deemed to have given consent to one or more chemical tests of breath, blood or urine for the purpose of determining the alcoholic content of blood or the presence of a controlled substance if a police officer has reasonable grounds to believe the person to have been driving, operating or in actual physical control of the movement of a motor vehicle:
(1) while under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance or both; or
(2) which was involved in an accident in which the operator or passenger of any vehicle involved or a [78]*78pedestrian required treatment at a medical facility or was killed.

75 Pa.C.S.A. § 1547(a).

The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that “[t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons ... against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause ...”7

The administration of a blood alcohol test is a search falling within the protection of the Fourth Amendment. Skinner v. Railway Labor Executives’ Association, 489 U.S. 602, 109 S.Ct. 1402, 1412, 103 L.Ed.2d 639 (1989), citing Schmerber v. California, 384 U.S. 757, 767-68, 86 S.Ct. 1826, 1833-34, 16 L.Ed.2d 908 (1966), Winston v. Lee, 470 U.S. 753, 760, 105 S.Ct. 1611, 1616, 84 L.Ed.2d 662 (1985).

The Fourth Amendment applies only to searches and seizures effected by the Government or its agents. Commonwealth v. Cieri, 346 Pa.Super. 77, 499 A.2d 317, 320-21 (1985), quoting United States v. Jacobsen, 466 U.S. 109, 104 S.Ct. 1652, 80 L.Ed.2d 85 (1985) (citations omitted). Here, appellant’s blood was drawn and tested for alcohol content by hospital technicians at the request of the police officer. The hospital personnel acted as agents of the Commonwealth in administering the test. See Commonwealth v. Cieri, supra, 346 Pa.Superior Ct. at 85, 499 A.2d at 321 (where private hospital nurse withdrew defendant’s blood according to routine hospital procedure, and later forwarded sample to police for blood alcohol test, nurse [79]*79acted as an “instrument” or “agent” of the government). Thus, the blood alcohol test performed on appellant’s blood sample must meet the test of reasonableness under the Fourth Amendment.

I. ADMISSIBILITY OF THE BLOOD ALCOHOL TEST UNDER § 1547(a)(1)

This Court has previously upheld the constitutional validity of a warrantless search conducted under § 1547(a)(1), interpreting the requirement that the officer have “reasonable grounds” to believe that the driver was driving under the influence as requiring that the officer have “probable cause” to believe that the driver was under the influence. Commonwealth v. Quarles, 229 Pa.Super. 363, 388, 324 A.2d 452, 466 (1974). See also Commonwealth v. Smith, 382 Pa.Super.

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576 A.2d 1049, 395 Pa. Super. 73, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-kohl-pa-1990.