Lanoue v. Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement

751 So. 2d 94, 1999 Fla. App. LEXIS 17308, 1999 WL 1259989
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedDecember 29, 1999
Docket99-260
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 751 So. 2d 94 (Lanoue v. Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lanoue v. Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement, 751 So. 2d 94, 1999 Fla. App. LEXIS 17308, 1999 WL 1259989 (Fla. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

751 So.2d 94 (1999)

Gary LANOUE, Appellant,
v.
FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT, Appellee.

No. 99-260.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District.

December 29, 1999.
Rehearing Denied January 27, 2000.

*95 Diane D. Tremore and Chris H. Bentley, of Rose, Sundstrom & Bentley, LLP, Tallahassee, for Appellant.

Joseph S. White and Richard D. Courtemanche, Jr., of Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Tallahassee, for Appellee.

KAHN, J.

In this case, Gary Lanoue appeals an order entered by an administrative law judge (ALJ) dismissing, for lack of standing, his petition challenging rules and policies of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for further proceedings.

On February 17, 1998, a police officer stopped Lanoue, who was operating a motor vehicle. The officer arrested Lanoue and, as a result of that arrest, administered a test, pursuant to the implied consent law contained in chapter 316, Florida Statutes, to determine the amount of alcohol in Lanoue's breath. Lanoue gave two breath samples, each of which indicated a breath-alcohol level of 0.09g/210L. Lanoue was charged with the offense of driving under the influence (DUI) and required to give a cash appearance bond. As a result of his DUI charge, Lanoue's driver's license was administratively suspended for *96 six months. Lanoue pled not guilty to the charge and is currently awaiting trial.

In October 1998, Lanoue filed a petition challenging Rule 11D-8.002(1), Rule 118.006(2), and FDLE/ATP Form 16, adopted by reference in Rule 11D-8.003(7), as invalid exercises of delegated legislative authority. These rules implement the implied consent law. Specifically, Rule 118.002(1) provides a definition for "acceptable range" as it relates to the calibration of breath-testing machines:

Acceptable range—Shall mean the observed values must fall within the following ranges at each alcohol target concentration: 0.05 g/210L range is 0.045— 0.055 g/210L; 0.08 g/210L range is 0.075—0.085 g/210L; 0.20 g/210L range is 0.190—0.210 g/210L.

Rule 11D-8.006(2) concerns the alcohol reference solution (ARS) used to inspect the breath-testing machines:

The agency must use alcohol reference solution and/or alcohol stock solution prepared by the Department, or alcohol reference solution and/or alcohol stock solution from a source approved by the Department.

Rule 11D-8.003(7) concerns inspection procedures and incorporates by reference FDLE/ATP Form 16:

When conducting an evaluation for approval of breath test instruments in accordance with this rule, the Department shall conduct a minimum of 50 tests at each concentration for acceptable range, precision, and alcohol-free reading in accordance with the Inspection Procedures FDLE/ATP Form 16 January, 1997, which is approved by the Department and is incorporated by reference.

Lanoue's petition also challenged non-rule policies and statements utilized by FDLE regarding the means, methods, and criteria for analyzing and approving the source of the ARS used to calibrate the breath-testing machines. The petition alleged that these statements and policies had not been adopted or proposed as rules, contrary to section 120.54(1)(a).

Formal hearings took place before the ALJ in November 1998. In an order rendered December 24, 1998, the ALJ found that Lanoue lacked standing to raise the claims set forth in his petition. Specifically, the ALJ, after making extensive factual findings regarding the FDLE's procedures in calibrating breath-testing machines, found that Lanoue had not established a real and sufficiently immediate injury in fact, nor had he shown that he was substantially affected by the challenged rules and policies. In so finding, the ALJ presumed the validity of the challenged rules and then determined that any error in calibrating the breath-testing machines did not affect Lanoue because his recorded breath-alcohol level exceeded the range of variation under the rules even assuming that a low-level ARS was used to calibrate a high-reading machine. We find that the ALJ erred in concluding that Lanoue did not have standing to challenge the existing rules.

Section 120.56(1), Florida Statutes (1997), sets forth the procedures for challenging the validity of a rule or a proposed rule. Section 120.56(1)(a) provides that "[a]ny person substantially affected by a rule or a proposed rule may seek an administrative determination of the invalidity of the rule on the ground that the rule is an invalid exercise of delegated legislative authority." "In order to meet the substantially affected test ..., the petitioner must establish: (1) a real and sufficiently immediate injury in fact; and (2) `that the alleged interest is arguably within the zone of interest to be protected or regulated.'" Ward v. Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund, 651 So.2d 1236, 1237 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995) (quoting All Risk Corp. of Fla. v. State, Dep't of Labor & Employment Sec., 413 So.2d 1200, 1202 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982)); see Cole Vision Corp. v. Department of Bus. & Prof. Reg., 688 So.2d 404, 407 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997) ("A petitioner who establishes a substantial injury *97 in fact that is within the `zone of interest to be protected or regulated' by the promulgating statute or other related statutes meets the standing requirement."); Televisual Communications, Inc. v. State, Dep't of Labor & Employ. Sec., 667 So.2d 372, 374 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995) ("The hearing officer correctly noted that to demonstrate that it is substantially affected by a proposed rule, a party must establish that, as a consequence of the proposed rule, it will suffer injury in fact and that the injury is within the zone of interest to be regulated or protected.").

As explained in more detail below, contrary to the ALJ's determination, Lanoue satisfied both elements of the "substantially affected" test. He suffered a real and sufficiently immediate injury in fact because he was administered a breath test pursuant to the applicable statutes and rules, and he has been charged with a criminal offense (DUI), for which the results of a breath test indicating 0.08 or higher (as his did) constitute prima facie evidence of guilt. Further, this injury is within the zone of interest to be regulated by those statutes and rules.

"To satisfy the sufficiently real and immediate injury in fact element the injury must not be based on pure speculation or conjecture." Ward, 651 So.2d at 1237. Section 316.193(1)(c), Florida Statutes (1997), provides that "[a] person is guilty of the offense of driving under the influence... if the person is driving or in actual physical control of a vehicle within this state and ... [t]he person has a breath-alcohol level of 0.08 or more grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath." In this case, Lanoue was arrested and, pursuant to the implied consent law, administered a breath test to determine the amount of alcohol in his breath. He provided two samples, each of which indicated a breath-alcohol level of 0.09 g/210 L. As a result, Lanoue was charged with DUI. If convicted, Lanoue faces a possible fine of no more than $500 and imprisonment for not more than 6 months (assuming this would be his first conviction).

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Bluebook (online)
751 So. 2d 94, 1999 Fla. App. LEXIS 17308, 1999 WL 1259989, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lanoue-v-florida-dept-of-law-enforcement-fladistctapp-1999.