Francis v. Director of Revenue

85 S.W.3d 56, 2002 Mo. App. LEXIS 1555, 2002 WL 1543575
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedJuly 16, 2002
DocketNo. ED 79655
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 85 S.W.3d 56 (Francis v. Director of Revenue) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Francis v. Director of Revenue, 85 S.W.3d 56, 2002 Mo. App. LEXIS 1555, 2002 WL 1543575 (Mo. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

JAMES R. DOWD, P.J.

Shawn D. Francis was arrested for driving while intoxicated and given a blood test. The test results revealed his blood alcohol content (BAC) to be .143 percent, well over the legal limit of .10 percent.1 The Director of Revenue revoked his license for one year, as required by § 302.505 RSMo (2000)2 and Francis filed a petition for trial de novo in the circuit court. At the original hearing before commissioner McCartney the Director relied solely on the Department of Revenue’s business records. Francis offered no evidence, but objected to that portion of the business records containing a statement signed by the blood drawer on the ground that it was inadmissible hearsay. That statement reads as follows:

In accordance with the provisions of section 577.029 RSMo, at the place of my [58]*58employment and at the request and direction of a law enforcement officer, I withdrew blood from Shawn D. Francis for the purpose of determining the alcohol content of the blood, using good faith medical judgment, and in strict accord with my training and accepted medical practices that such procedure did not endanger the life or health of the person. A nonalcoholic antiseptic was used for cleansing the skin prior to venapunc-ture. The sample was labelled (sic.) with subject’s identification and given to the requesting law enforcement officer. The blood was withdrawn into a clean and dry sterile vessel by means of a previously unused and sterile needle and was sealed with an air-tight, inart (sic.) stopper.

Craig T. Mueller signed this statement, checked the box labeled “Trained Medical Technician” and circled “Phlebotomist” under the check mark.

The Commissioner took the matter under consideration and then upheld the revocation of Francis’s license. Francis requested and was granted a rehearing before a Circuit Judge. After rehearing, the court set aside the revocation of Francis’s driving privileges because “there was insufficient evidence presented to find Petitioner had a blood alcohol concentration of .10% or more by weight.” The Director appeals. We reverse.

At the outset, we note that Francis argues that this appeal should be dismissed because the trial court failed to record its proceedings on rehearing. We disagree. As is made clear in Kinder v. Director of Revenue, 895 S.W.2d 627, 629 (Mo.App. E.D.1995): “If neither party presents additional evidence, the administrative record represents the only evidence upon which the circuit court’s decision can be based, and the only evidence reviewed on appeal.” Other cases have recognized the legitimacy of this principle. See Henzlik v. Director of Revenue, 951 S.W.2d 760, 762 (Mo.App. S.D.1997) (“We recognize, of course, that had the trial court received no evidence and based its decision solely on documents in the legal file, the absence of a transcript would not require reversal.”).

There is no indication from the record on appeal that Francis at any point attempted to introduce evidence. At the original hearing Francis argued only that the Director’s records failed to establish that the blood drawer was qualified to draw blood. In his motion for reconsideration he raised only legal questions regarding the sufficiency of the Director’s records. In relevant part, Francis’s motion for reconsideration says:

The specific grounds upon which the reconsideration is requested are as follows:
1. That Petitioner was not afforded the opportunity to cross-examine the Director of Revenue witness, Craig T. Mueller, the alleged phlebotomist that drew Petitioner’s blood on July 21, 2000.
2. That at the Trial DeNovo, (sic.) Counsel for Petitioner objected on the record to the introduction of the Director of Revenue’s blood test results on the basis of hearsay, self-serving and that the person signing the Form 2389 was not present to testify and be cross-examined by Petitioner.
3. That Counsel for Petitioner also offered into evidence the Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District case Nesbitt v. Director of Revenue, ... that clearly states that the Director of Revenue failed to meet its burden that the hospital employee was qualified to draw blood when the person drawing blood failed to appear, and as a result there was no substantial evidence in support of [59]*59the Court’s judgment in admitting the blood alcohol content test results.

The Director maintains, and Francis does not deny, that no evidence was presented at the rehearing. It is clear from the record on appeal that the decisions of both the commissioner and the trial court were based only on the Director’s records. Neither in his motion for reconsideration nor in this appeal has Francis maintained that there is testimony or other evidence that the commissioner or court should have considered. Here, as in Kinder, this court is free to review “the only evidence upon which the circuit court’s decision can be based.... ” Kinder, 895 S.W.2d at 629. Accordingly, we decline the invitation to dismiss this appeal.

The Director maintains that the trial court erred in overturning her revocation of Francis’s driver’s license because the Department of Revenue’s records were sufficient to sustain the Director’s actions and Francis failed to bring forth evidence or law to challenge those records. We agree.

The judgment in a court-tried case must be affirmed unless there is no substantial evidence to support it, it is against the weight of the evidence, or it erroneously declares or applies the law. Murphy v. Carron, 536 S.W.2d 30, 32 (Mo. banc 1976). We view the evidence in the light most favorable to the judgment and give respondent all reasonable inferences therefrom. Hansen v. Director of Revenue, 22 S.W.3d 770, 772 (Mo.App. E.D.2000). We defer to the trial judge’s determination regarding the credibility of witnesses, but in cases submitted solely upon a written record, no such deference is warranted. Director of Revenue v. Christman, 968 S.W.2d 737, 739 (Mo.App. E.D.1998).

In a license revocation or suspension proceeding the Director must establish by a preponderance of the evidence that: (1) the police had probable cause to arrest petitioner for driving while intoxicated, and (2) at the time of arrest the driver’s blood alcohol content was at least .10 percent. White v. Director of Revenue, 946 S.W.2d 277, 279 (Mo.App. W.D.1997). ‘When the Director makes a prima facie case, the burden then shifts to the driver to rebut the prima facie case by a preponderance of the evidence.” Guccione v. Director of Revenue, 988 S.W.2d 649, 652 (Mo.App. E.D.1999).

The Director came forward with uncontroverted evidence that Francis was arrested upon probable cause for driving while intoxicated.

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Related

Clark v. Director of Revenue
132 S.W.3d 272 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2004)
Verdoorn v. Director of Revenue
119 S.W.3d 543 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 2003)
Dixon v. Director of Revenue
118 S.W.3d 302 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2003)

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Bluebook (online)
85 S.W.3d 56, 2002 Mo. App. LEXIS 1555, 2002 WL 1543575, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/francis-v-director-of-revenue-moctapp-2002.