Hinson v. State

2016 Ark. App. 166, 485 S.W.3d 725, 2016 Ark. App. LEXIS 167
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arkansas
DecidedMarch 9, 2016
DocketCR-15-627
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 2016 Ark. App. 166 (Hinson v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hinson v. State, 2016 Ark. App. 166, 485 S.W.3d 725, 2016 Ark. App. LEXIS 167 (Ark. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

CLIFF HOOFMAN, Judge

|! Mack Hinson appeals after he was convicted of negligent homicide by a Pulaski County jury and sentenced to serve 180 months’ imprisonment. On appeal, appellant’s sole contention is that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress the results of a blood-alcohol test because of a warrantless blood draw. We affirm.

Hinson was charged by felony information with negligent homicide. It is undisputed that he was involved in a three-vehicle accident that resulted in one fatality. His 2012 Toyota Prius came into contact with a Dodge 2500 Ram, driven by Chad Mitchell, as they were traveling in the same direction with appellant’s vehicle in the outside lane of the road. Appellant disputed at trial the allegation that he drove into Mitchell’s lane and hit Mitchell’s vehicle first, thereby causing the accident. After the two vehicles came into contact with one another, Mitchell’s vehicle crossed into the center lane and directly hit Narjis Meti’s Mazda in a head-on collision, resulting in Meti’s death. Although appellant initially left the scene in |2his vehicle, he later parked his vehicle in a nearby lot, approximately a thousand feet away, and walked back to the scene of the accident approximately thirty minutes after it had occurred. Appellant gave a blood sample at the scene after he spoke with Officer Ralph Breshears, who was at the scene to investigate the fatal accident.

On November 13, 2013, appellant filed a motion to suppress evidence, alleging that the blood sample and the results of the blood-alcohol test should be suppressed. The State filed a response, arguing that appellant consented to give a blood sample and that the test was ordered in accordance with Arkansas Code Annotated section 5-65-208 (Supp. 2015). A hearing was held on June 5,2014.

At the hearing, Officer Breshears.testi-fied that the accident occurred at approximately 7:00 p.m. on October 21, 2012, near the intersection of Cantrell Road and Sam Peck Road in Little Rock, Arkansas. After appellant had approached him on the scene and informed him that he was involved in the accident, Officer Breshears told him that Meti had been killed as a result of the accident. , Officer Breshears further explained that state law requires that he collect a blood sample from everyone involved in the' accident. At that point, appellant said, “Yes, whatever I can do to help.” A blood sample was collected at the scene by a paramedic, Richard Dearing. Officer Breshears testified that he had the blood sample taken at the scene because he felt that it would be inconvenient for him to place appellant in a police car and then transport appellant to the hospital. Additionally, Officer Breshears’s partner had already left the scene to secure a blood sample from Mitchell, who had already been transported to the hospital after sustaining injuries as a result of the accident. He further indicated that he 13felt that it was important to collect the blood samples because section 5-65-208 required him to do so within four hours. Although he subsequently testified that section 5-65-208 did not specifically require a test to be conducted within four hours, he stated that he tried to collect a sample within four hours because of the time it takes someone to metabolize any alcohol in his or her system.

On cross-examination, Officer Breshears admitted that appellant did not appear to be intoxicated at the scene of the accident. Additionally, he admitted that he did not obtain a search warrant to collect a blood sample, that he did not advise appellant that he had a right to refuse a blood test, and that he did not advise appellant that he had a right to additional testing pursuant to Arkansas Code Annotated section 5-65-204 (Supp. 2015).

■ Dearing testified at the hearing that he was a paramedic and that he collected appellant’s blood sample at the accident scene. He explained that appellant did not refuse the blood draw but instead consented to the test. Appellant testified that he did not refuse to give a blood sample because he did not feel that he had any right •to do so,.as he felt the test was mandatory. Appellant further indicated that Officer Breshears did not explain that he had any right to refuse a blood test or that he had any right to additional testing.

Appellant’s counsel orally argued at the hearing that the results of the blood test should have been excluded because section 5-65-204(d) requires law enforcement to advise a defendant of the right to additional testing. Additionally, he argued that law enforcement violated his Fourth Amendment right in collecting appellant’s blood without a warrant. He argued that appellant’s consent was not voluntary and that exigent circumstances did not exist. I ¿The trial court specifically found that there were exigent circumstances in this case because section 5-65-208 requires that the sample be taken “as soon as practical,” which would be before the alcohol metabolized. The trial court further ruled that law enforcement complied with section 5-65-208 and that law .enforcement was not required to read any rights to appellant. Thus, the trial court denied the motion to suppress.

Appellant filed a motion to reconsider the denial of his motion to suppress on August 25, 2014. He. cited to several cases from other jurisdictions in support of his contention that the blood sample should be suppressed. Additionally, he argued that the officer failed to comply with Arkansas Rule of Criminal Procedure 12.3(b) (2015) because a paramedic drew appellant’s blood instead of a physician or a licensed nurse.

A hearing on his motion for reconsideration was held on-November 13, 2014. Appellant’s counsel argued that appellant’s consent was invalid because he did not have the right to refuse- or withdraw his consent under section 5-65-208. Additionally, he argued that the results should have been suppressed because law enforcement failed to comply with Arkansas Rule of Criminal Procedure Í2.S by having a doctor or nurse collect the blood sample. The trial court summarily denied appellant’s motion.

■ Immediately preceding the jury trial on December 9, -2014, appellant renewed his previous motion to suppress, which the trial court immediately denied. Counsel further argued that Rule 12.3 had not been followed, and the trial court reiterated that his motion was denied. Finally, he argued that section 5-65-208 should be ruled unconstitutional because it mandated a blood draw without a search warrant, but the trial court, again, orally denied | sall of his arguments. After a jury trial, appellant was convicted of- negligent homicide and sentenced to serve 180 months’ imprisonment. This timely appeal followed.

On appeal, appellant has abandoned the majority of the arguments he raised before the' trial court, including his arguments that law enforcement failed to comply with Rule 12.3 and section 6-65-204(d) and that section 5-65-208 is unconstitutional. Additionally, appellant does not contest the sufficiency of the evidence. We do not consider an argument, even a constitutional one, when the appellant presents no citation to authority or convincing argument in its support, and it is not apparent without further research that the argument is well taken. Menne v. State, 2012 Ark. 37, 386 S.W.3d 451. Moreover, this court has been resolute in stating that we will not make a party’s argument for that party or raise an issue sua sponte unless it involves the trial court’s jurisdiction. Id.

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Bluebook (online)
2016 Ark. App. 166, 485 S.W.3d 725, 2016 Ark. App. LEXIS 167, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hinson-v-state-arkctapp-2016.