Isbell v. Miller

797 P.2d 738, 165 Ariz. 199, 68 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 21, 1990 Ariz. App. LEXIS 289
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arizona
DecidedAugust 30, 1990
DocketNo. 1 CA-CV 89-233
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 797 P.2d 738 (Isbell v. Miller) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Isbell v. Miller, 797 P.2d 738, 165 Ariz. 199, 68 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 21, 1990 Ariz. App. LEXIS 289 (Ark. Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

OPINION

VOSS, Judge.

Appellant, Marion William Isbell, III, appeals from the superior court’s affirmance of an administrative order which suspended his driver’s license for driving under the influence of an intoxicating beverage. He raises the following issues for our review.

1) Whether A.R.S. § 28-694 requires an administrative hearing officer (ALJ) to consider extrapolation evidence;
2) if the ALJ is not required to consider extrapolation evidence, whether section 28-694 is unconstitutional because it lacks a rational basis; and
3) whether the ALJ was required to consider the inherent error in breath testing equipment.

Isbell was stopped and arrested for driving while under the influence of an intoxicating beverage on February 16, 1988. He was transported to the police station where, approximately one hour after his arrest, he was given a Breath Intoxilyzer Test. The test indicated that his blood alcohol level (BAC) was .10. The instrument used to test Isbell had received regu[201]*201lar maintenance on February 8, 1988. The maintenance report indicated that there was no differential or a .001 higher reading than the alcohol sample used to calibrate it. The machine was then adjusted. It was serviced again on February 18, 1988. The maintenance report from that service indicates that there was no differential or a .004 lower reading than the alcohol sample used to calibrate it. No adjustments were made. Isbell requested that a sample of his breath be preserved for independent testing, which was done by his expert witness, Lucien Haag.

Haag found Isbell’s breath sample to be .096. Defense counsel submitted a report from Haag at the administrative suspension hearing. It stated the results Haag obtained from his independent testing and extrapolated the test results to the time of driving. The extrapolation results indicated that if Isbell had taken the Breath Intoxilyzer Test contemporaneous with his arrest, his blood alcohol would have been below both the .10 found by the police officer and the .096 found by Haag’s independent testing because Isbell would have been in the alcohol absorptive phase at the time of driving. Haag also stated that the margin of error in forensic alcohol measurements was at least plus or minus 10% and that in the region of .09 and .10 BAC, such a margin of error would translate to plus or minus 0.01 blood alcohol percentage units.

Haag’s report was admitted into evidence at the administrative hearing. The AU did not comment on Haag’s statement that the margin of error in any blood or breath test was at least 10%. However, the AU did find that the police department had established that the Breath Intoxilyzer was working properly both before and after the test. The AU stated that he did not consider the extrapolation evidence provided by Haag because section 28-694 required him to consider the Breath Intoxilyzer Test result, not Isbell’s BAC when he was driving. The AU sustained the suspension of Isbell’s driver’s license.

a. Extrapolation.

The AU correctly disregarded the extrapolation evidence presented by Haag because section 28-694 requires that a driver’s BAC be .10 or more at the time of a test, not at the time he or she was driving. State of Arizona v. Nance, 165 Ariz. 286, 798 P.2d 1295 (1990); Knapp v. Miller, 165 Ariz. 527, 799 P.2d 868 (Ct.App.1990).

In Nance, the respondent was arrested for driving while intoxicated. He submitted to a breath test approximately one hour after his arrest, which resulted in a BAC of .110. The arresting officer served respondent with an order of suspension. Respondent requested an administrative hearing, in which the AU ordered his license suspended. Respondent moved for a rehearing, contending that the state was required to relate the BAC result back to the time of driving. On appeal the superi- or court vacated the order of suspension holding that Desmond v. Superior Court, 161 Ariz. 522, 779 P.2d 1261 (1989) required relation back evidence in suspension proceedings under section 28-694. The supreme court took jurisdiction of the special action because several cases pending in this court presented the same issue, one of those cases being the present case. The issue presented was whether .the BAC test result must be “related back” to the time of driving for purposes of an administrative license suspension proceeding under section 28-694. The court viewed the issue as one of pure statutory construction. It held that the absence of the “at the time of the alleged offense” language in section 28-694 negates a requirement of “relation back” or extrapolation testimony prior to an administrative suspension. Nance, 165 Ariz. at 288, 798 P.2d at 1297. In contrast to section 28-692, section 28-694 provides for license suspension based on BAC at the time of the test, not BAC at the time of actual physical control of a vehicle.

In conclusion the court stated:

We believe A.R.S. § 28-694 mandates a bright-line rule that administrative suspensions are appropriate when the test [202]*202results in a reading of 0.10 or more at the time of the test, without regard to a projected reading at the time of driving. This interpretation rationally serves the legislative purpose of expeditiously suspending the licenses of those with test results of 0.10 or more, rather than waiting until and unless the driver is convicted of DUI.

Id. at 289, 798 P.2d at 1298. Therefore, the AU was not required to consider extrapolation evidence presented by Haag and Is-bell’s license was properly suspended based on his BAC at the time of testing.

Isbell relies on Desmond in arguing that extrapolation evidence to the time of driving is required. In Nance, the supreme court stated that in Desmond the court, “analyzed and applied the ‘at the time of the alleged offense’ language of A.R.S. § 28-692. We held that A.R.S. § 28-692 required ‘relation back’ evidence to establish a prima facie case of DUI ... By contrast, the absence of the ‘at the time of the alleged offense’ language in A.R.S. § 28-694 negates a requirement of ‘relation back’ testimony prior to an administrative suspension.” 165 Ariz. at 288, 798 P.2d at 1297. Since the statute at issue here is section 28-694, which does not contain “at the time of the alleged offense” language found in section 28-692, Isbell’s reliance on Desmond is misplaced.

b. Constitutionality of section 28-6M.

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Related

State Ex Rel. Romley v. Brown
815 P.2d 408 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1991)

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Bluebook (online)
797 P.2d 738, 165 Ariz. 199, 68 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 21, 1990 Ariz. App. LEXIS 289, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/isbell-v-miller-arizctapp-1990.