Commonwealth v. Townsend

613 A.2d 564, 418 Pa. Super. 48, 1992 Pa. Super. LEXIS 2533
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedAugust 6, 1992
Docket185
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 613 A.2d 564 (Commonwealth v. Townsend) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior 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. Townsend, 613 A.2d 564, 418 Pa. Super. 48, 1992 Pa. Super. LEXIS 2533 (Pa. Ct. App. 1992).

Opinions

JOHNSON, Judge:

In this appeal from Judgment of Sentence, we are asked to review the trial court’s determination that breathalyzer test results were properly admitted at trial. George M. Townsend contends that the procedures employed in operating the testing equipment were in violation of applicable regulations. We conclude that Townsend was entitled to suppression of the test results, finding that the trial court erred in its determination that the Commonwealth had carried its burden of demonstrating compliance with the regulations. Accordingly, we reverse and remand for a new trial.

On June 22,1988, Townsend was charged by a Beaver Falls Police Officer with operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol to a degree which rendered him incapable of safe driving, 75 Pa.C.S. § 3731(a)(1), operating a vehicle while the amount of alcohol by weight in his blood was .10% or greater, 75 Pa.C.S. § 3731(a)(4), and driving the wrong direction on a one-way street, 75 Pa.C.S. § 3308(b). A jury trial was held on the two driving under the influence charges. The Commonwealth presented the testimony of the arresting offi[50]*50cer and the testimony of the officer who administered a breathalyzer test to Townsend, as well as the testimony of Jerry Richey, an Intoxilyzer Technician for the Allegheny County Department of Laboratories. The jury returned a verdict of guilty on the charge of operating a vehicle while the amount of alcohol by weight was .10% or greater, 75 Pa.C.S. § 3731(a)(4).

On appeal, Townsend contests the admissibility of the results of the breath test for two separate reasons. First, he contends that the simulator solution used to verify the accuracy of the testing device was not produced in accordance with applicable regulations. Specifically, Townsend directs our attention to regulations which instruct that simulator solution is to be manufactured and tested for accuracy at “independent laboratories.” See, 67 Pa.Code § 77.24(d), infra. He argues that, within the meaning of the regulation, the section of the Allegheny County Department of Laboratories which manufactures the solution is not independent of the section of the same department which tests the solution for accuracy. Second, Townsend argues that, even though the testing device in question was removed from service due to malfunctions, at trial, the Commonwealth failed to demonstrate regulatory compliance requiring such machines to be “serviced, repaired and adjusted, as necessary, ... prior to being placed back into service.” See, 67 Pa.Code § 77.24(c). For the reasons which follow, we conclude that the Commonwealth has failed to demonstrate compliance with the independent laboratory requirement of 67 Pa.Code § 77.24(d), and that Townsend was thus entitled to suppression of the test results.

The Vehicle Code, 75 Pa.C.S. § 101 et seq, provides, in pertinent part:

§ 1547. Chemical testing to determine amount of alcohol or controlled substance
(c) Test results admissible in evidence. — In any summary proceeding or criminal proceeding in which the defendant is charged with a violation of section 3731 or any other violation of this title arising out of the same action, the amount [51]*51of alcohol or controlled substance in the defendant’s blood, as shown by chemical testing of the person’s breath, blood or urine, which tests were conducted by qualified persons using approved equipment, shall be admissible in evidence.
(1) Chemical tests of breath shall be performed on devices approved by the Department of Health using procedures prescribed jointly by regulations of the departments of Health and Transportation. Devices shall have been calibrated and tested for accuracy within a period of time and in a manner specified by regulations of the Departments of Health and Transportation....

75 Pa.C.S. § 1547(c) (emphasis added). The regulations which govern tests for blood alcohol contents, found at 67 Pa.Code § 77.21 et seq., and adopted jointly by the Departments of Health and Transportation, state, in relevant part:

§ 77.24. Breath test procedures.
(b) Procedures. ... Alcohol breath tests, accuracy inspection tests and calibrations conducted using breath test equipment shall be performed in accordance with accepted standard procedures for operation specified by the manufacturer of the equipment or comparable procedures. The procedures for alcohol breath testing shall include, at a minimum:
(2) One simulator test using a simulator solution designed to give a reading of .10%, to be conducted immediately after the second actual alcohol breath test has been completed.... The tests results will be disregarded, and the breath test device will be removed from service ... if one of the following occurs:
(ii) If the simulator test yields a result less than .09% or greater than .10% when the breath test device is read to the second decimal place, or if the simulator test yields a result less than .090% or greater than .109% when the breath test device can be read to the third decimal place.
[52]*52(d) Simulator solution certification. The manufacturer of simulator solution shall certify to the test user that its simulator solution is of the proper concentration to produce the intended results when used for accuracy inspection tests or for calibrating breath test devices. This certification shall be based on gas chromatographic analysis by a laboratory independent of the manufacturer.

67 Pa.Code § 77.24 (emphasis added).

Relying upon subsection (d), which requires that the laboratory which tests the simulator solution be “independent” of the manufacturer, Townsend argues that the two sections of the Allegheny County Department of Laboratories, which provided the simulator solution for calibration of the breath test equipment used to test him, are not independent within the meaning of this subsection.

In response, the Commonwealth argues initially that compliance with § 77.24(d) is not necessary so long as the Commonwealth follows “accepted standard procedures for operation specified by the manufacturer of the equipment or comparable procedures.” Appellee’s Brief at 3, citing § 77.24(b) (emphasis by Commonwealth). We disagree.

The Commonwealth’s argument fails to recognize that § 77.24(b) goes on to state that “[t]he procedures for alcohol breath testing shall include, at a minimum: ... (2) One simulator test using simulator solution designed to give a reading of .10%, to be conducted immediately after the second actual alcohol breath test has been completed.” Thus, subsection (b) does not make breath tests admissible merely upon compliance with procedures “comparable to those specified by the manufacturer”; the tests must also include a test of simulator solution as directed by § 77.24(b)(2). Moreover, the language of subsection (b)(2) states that “[t]he test results will be disregarded, and the breath test device will be removed from service” if the test of the simulator solution does not yield a result sufficiently close to .10%. Therefore, we reject the Commonwealth’s argument that following procedures that are “comparable to those specified by the manufacturer” alone [53]

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
613 A.2d 564, 418 Pa. Super. 48, 1992 Pa. Super. LEXIS 2533, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-townsend-pasuperct-1992.