Jacob T. Kingma v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)

Indiana Court of Appeals·Decided January 6, 2020·No. 19A-CR-1661·Published

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), this Memorandum Decision shall not be FILED regarded as precedent or cited before any Jan 06 2020, 8:55 am

court except for the purpose of establishing the defense of res judicata, collateral CLERK Indiana Supreme Court

estoppel, or the law of the case. Court of Appeals and Tax Court

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE Richard D. Martin Curtis T. Hill, Jr. Frankfort, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana Evan Matthew Comer

Deputy Attorney General

Indianapolis, Indiana

IN THE

COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

Jacob T. Kingma, January 6, 2020 Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No.

19A-CR-1661

v. Appeal from the Clinton Superior Court

State of Indiana, The Honorable Donald E. Currie, Appellee-Plaintiff. Judge Pro Tempore Trial Court Cause No.

12D01-1808-F6-1199

Mathias, Judge.

[1] The driving privileges of Jacob Kingma (“Kingma”) were administratively suspended for two years because he refused to submit to a chemical test—a

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-CR-1661 | January 6, 2020 Page 1 of 19 blood draw—after being stopped on suspicion of Operating While Intoxicated (“OWI”), in violation of Indiana’s Implied Consent Law. Kingma filed a motion for judicial review of the suspension and a subsequent motion to correct error, which were both denied. Kingma now appeals, presenting for our review whether he established by a preponderance of the evidence that the blood draw offered to him was illusory because it was made outside a hospital and because he was not transported to a hospital.

[2] We affirm.1

Facts and Procedural History [3] After the events recounted infra, Officer Marisol Lopez (“Officer Lopez”) of the

Clinton County Sheriff’s Department tendered a probable cause affidavit to the Clinton County prosecutor’s office declaring that Kingma refused a chemical test. See Ind. Code § 9-30-6-7.2 The affidavit triggered proceedings that resulted in the two-year administrative suspension of Kingma’s driving privileges. See I.C. §§ 9-30-6-9 through 10. Kingma then sought judicial review of his suspension. The facts are as follows.

1 We heard oral argument at Knox Community High School in Starke County on December 9, 2019. We thank the school’s administration, faculty, guests, and students for their hospitality. We also thank counsel for their oral advocacy and for participating in the subsequent discussion with students. 2 The statute provides in pertinent part: “If a person refuses to submit to a chemical test after having been advised that the refusal will result in the suspension of driving privileges . . . the arresting officer shall . . . [s]ubmit a probable cause affidavit to the prosecuting attorney of the county in which the alleged offense occurred.” I.C. § 9-30-6-7(b)(2).

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-CR-1661 | January 6, 2020 Page 2 of 19

[4] Kingma was the subject of a traffic stop for failure to use a turn signal in Frankfort, Indiana, on the night of August 30, 2018. A K-9 unit gave a positive alert for drugs inside Kingma’s stopped vehicle, and Officer Lopez, the responding officer, detected a strong odor of marijuana coming from Kingma. Kingma exhibited signs of intoxication, including bloodshot and glassy eyes and poor balance. Accordingly, Officer Lopez initiated an OWI investigation and administered three standardized field sobriety tests: the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (“HGN”) test, Nine Step Walk test, and One Leg Stand test. Kingma passed the HGN test but failed the other two tests, leading Officer Lopez to conclude that Kingma was exhibiting obvious signs of impairment.

[5] At this point in her investigation, Officer Lopez read Kingma his Miranda rights. When asked, Kingma admitted to having recently smoked marijuana. Officer Lopez then informed him that she wanted to conduct further testing and subsequently read Kingma an Implied Consent advisement from a department- issued card.3 The advisement informed Kingma that Officer Lopez’s observations led her to believe he had operated a vehicle while intoxicated and that he had the opportunity to submit to a chemical test. The advisement also

3 The exact wording of the Implied Consent advisement that Officer Lopez recited to Kingma is not included in the record on appeal, but in her testimony, Officer Lopez summarized the content of the advisement she gave. Tr. pp. 19–21. A standard Implied Consent advisement is as follows: “I have probable cause to believe that you have operated a vehicle while intoxicated. I must now offer you the opportunity to submit to a chemical test and inform you that your refusal to submit to a chemical test will result in the suspension of your driving privileges for one year. If you have at least one previous conviction for operating a vehicle while intoxicated, your refusal to submit to a chemical test will result in a suspension for two years. Will you now take a chemical test?” State v. Schulze, 16 N.E.3d 441, 442–43 (Ind. Ct. App. 2014).

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-CR-1661 | January 6, 2020 Page 3 of 19 warned that refusal to submit to the chemical test would result in the suspension of his driver’s license for one to two years. Because Officer Lopez suspected Kingma was under the influence of illegal drugs, she explained to him that a blood draw was in order. Kingma did not agree to a blood draw. He was then restrained and transported to the Clinton County Sheriff’s Department, which is also the county’s jail. Upon arriving at the jail, Officer Lopez again read Kingma the same Implied Consent advisement and informed him that she wanted him to undergo a blood draw. Kingma again declined to agree to the blood draw.

[6] The next day, August 31, 2018, the State charged Kingma with Level 6 felony OWI endangering a person and filed a notice of intent to seek enhanced penalty for OWI based on Kingma’s prior conviction for the same offense. 4 A probable cause affidavit was filed with the recommendation that Kingma’s driving privileges be suspended immediately for failure to submit to a chemical test, and on September 5, a two-year administrative suspension took effect. Appellant’s App. pp. 2, 12.

[7] On April 8, 2019, Kingma filed two motions. One was to suppress the evidence obtained during the traffic stop—namely, the results of the field sobriety tests— based on Officer Lopez’s alleged failure to obtain Kingma’s knowing and voluntary consent to the search. And he also filed a motion for judicial review

4 Kingma was convicted of OWI endangering a person under cause number 12D01-1701-CM-072 on August 7, 2017, in Clinton Superior Court. Appellant’s App. p. 9.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-CR-1661 | January 6, 2020 Page 4 of 19 of two issues: whether Officer Lopez had probable cause to request that Kingma submit to a chemical test, and whether Kingma knowingly and intentionally refused to submit to the test after being given a non-illusory offer. The trial court held a hearing on Kingma’s motions on May 31; Officer Lopez testified at that time. The trial court issued an order denying both motions in which it concluded: that suppression of the field sobriety test results was not warranted; that Officer Lopez had probable cause to believe Kingma was impaired; and that Officer Lopez’s offer of a chemical test was not illusory. In support of its conclusions, the trial court stated in part:

9. Indiana law allows for an officer, upon determination of probable cause to request chemical tests of breath, blood or urine or any combination, or all three tests.

10. Indiana law does not require an officer to advise defendants of how or where a test will be performed, only that any such request for testing not be “illusory.”

11. Officer Lopez testified that had Kingma consented to the blood test she was requesting, that she would have transported Kingma to the Frankfort hospital located approximately 1 [one] mile from the Clinton County jail.

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