Frensemeier v. State

849 N.E.2d 157, 2006 Ind. App. LEXIS 1098, 2006 WL 1569771
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 9, 2006
Docket60A04-0510-CR-570
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 849 N.E.2d 157 (Frensemeier v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Frensemeier v. State, 849 N.E.2d 157, 2006 Ind. App. LEXIS 1098, 2006 WL 1569771 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinions

OPINION

BAKER, Judge.

Appellant-defendant Lloyd Frensemeier brings this interlocutory appeal challenging the denial of his motion to suppress. Specifically, Frensemeier argues that the police officers acted improperly in ordering hospital personnel to draw blood from him when a sheriffs deputy believed that he had operated a vehicle while intoxicated because the deputy smelled alcohol on his [160]*160breath and noticed that his eyes were bloodshot at the scene of an accident. Concluding that the results of the blood tests are admissible in a prosecution against Frensemeier for driving while intoxicated, we affirm the trial court’s denial of the motion to suppress.

FACTS

On December 12, 2004, at approximately 4:80 a.m., Owen County Deputy Sheriff Phillip White was dispatched to the scene of a two-car accident on U.S. 231, approximately four miles south of Spencer.1 When Deputy White arrived on the scene, there were two cars in the northbound lane and an elderly man was pinned inside one of the vehicles. Frensemeier was the driver of the other vehicle, and an ambulance was summoned. Frensemeier told Deputy White that he had consumed “a couple of beers” two hours before the accident at a party at Indiana State University. Appellant’s App. p. 13. Deputy White observed that Frensemeier smelled of alcohol, had bloodshot eyes, and that his manual dexterity was slow. Frensemeier told Deputy White that he may have fallen asleep at the wheel just prior to the accident. However, Deputy White did not administer any field sobriety tests and made no further assessment of Frensemeier’s physical dexterity. Also, because Deputy White’s battery was dead in his portable breath machine, no preliminary breath test was administered. Deputy White noticed that Frensemeier’s speech was clear, and he did not think that Fren-semeier was “really drunk.” Appellant’s App. p. 60.

Frensemeier was transported to Bloom-ington Hospital, where it was determined that he had sustained a shoulder injury in the accident. Believing that Frensemeier might have been driving while intoxicated in light of the suspected signs of intoxication that were observed, Deputy White ordered a reserve deputy to have hospital personnel draw Frensemeier’s blood for testing. That test revealed a blood alcohol content of .17%.

As a result of this incident, Frensemeier was charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a class A misdemeanor. Thereafter, Frensemeier filed a motion to suppress the blood test evidence, alleging that there was no probable cause or exigent circumstances that justified the blood draw. In essence, Frensemeier maintained that the drawing of his blood violated the provisions of Article One section 11 of the Indiana Constitution and the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Following a hearing, the trial court denied Frensemeier’s motion to suppress on August 11, 2005. The trial court subsequently certified its order for interlocutory appeal, and we accepted jurisdiction on November 21, 2005.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

I. Standard of Review

Before proceeding to the merits of Fren-semeier’s claim, we note that our standard of review regarding the denial of a motion to suppress evidence is similar to other sufficiency issues. Ammons v. State, 770 N.E.2d 927, 930 (Ind.Ct.App.2002). We determine whether substantial evidence of probative value exists to support the trial court’s denial of the motion. Id. We will not reweigh the evidence, and we consider only the evidence most favorable to the trial court’s ruling along with any uncon-[161]*161troverted evidence to the contrary. Smith v. State, 780 N.E.2d 1214, 1216 (Ind.Ct.App.2003).

II. Warrantless Blood Testing

A Fourth Amendment Analysis— Generally

In general, the Fourth Amendment prohibits warrantless searches. Edwards v. State, 762 N.E.2d 128, 132 (Ind.Ct.App.2002). If the search is conducted without a warrant, the burden is upon the State to prove that, at the time of the search, an exception to the warrant requirement existed. Id. That is, searches conducted without a warrant are per se unreasonable subject to a few well-delineated exceptions. Johnson v. State, 766 N.E.2d 426, 432 (Ind.Ct.App.2002). A warrantless search of one’s person ordinarily must also be supported by probable cause. Conwell v. State, 714 N.E.2d 764, 766 (Ind.Ct.App.1999).

One well-recognized exception to the warrant requirement2 is when police have probable cause for the search and exigent circumstances exist rendering obtaining a warrant impractical. Moore v. State, 827 N.E.2d 631, 637 (Ind.Ct.App.2005), trans. denied. One such exigent circumstance that justifies a warrantless search occurs when incriminating evidence is in jeopardy of being destroyed or removed unless immediate action is taken. Id.

It is clear that the taking of a blood sample is an intrusion meant to be limited by the constitutional protections that are afforded an individual under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as well as Article One, section 11 of the Indiana Constitution. Clark v. State, 175 Ind.App. 391, 372 N.E.2d 185, 189 (1978). The seminal case concerning the nonconsensual and warrantless law enforcement seizure of a blood sample from a driver involved in a motor vehicle accident is Schmerber v. California, 384 U.S. 757, 86 S.Ct. 1826, 16 L.Ed.2d 908 (1966).

In Schmerber, the Supreme Court began by noting that the “compulsory administration of ... blood test[s] ... plainly constitute searches of ‘persons’ ” within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment. Id. at 767, 86 S.Ct. 1826. The Court held that the warrantless and nonconsensual taking of the defendant’s blood constituted a reasonable search and seizure incident to the defendant’s arrest under the Fourth Amendment for four reasons: (1) the officer “plainly” had probable cause that the defendant had been operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, giving rise to probable cause that the testing of the defendant’s blood would reveal the presence of alcohol; (2) the rapid diminishment of blood alcohol content after drinking stops justified proceeding with the search without first obtaining a warrant; (3) the blood test was a reasonable method of measuring the defendant’s blood alcohol level; and (4) the test was performed in a reasonable manner. Id. at 768-72, 86 S.Ct. 1826.

The Supreme Court offered the following strongly-worded caveats, however. First:

The interests in human dignity and privacy which the Fourth Amendment protects forbids any [intrusions beyond the body’s surface] on the mere chance that desired evidence might be obtained.

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Frensemeier v. State
849 N.E.2d 157 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2006)

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Bluebook (online)
849 N.E.2d 157, 2006 Ind. App. LEXIS 1098, 2006 WL 1569771, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/frensemeier-v-state-indctapp-2006.