Michaels v. STATE EX REL. DEPT. OF TRANSP.

2012 WY 33, 271 P.3d 1003, 2012 WL 695547
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 6, 2012
DocketS-11-0156
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 2012 WY 33 (Michaels v. STATE EX REL. DEPT. OF TRANSP.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Michaels v. STATE EX REL. DEPT. OF TRANSP., 2012 WY 33, 271 P.3d 1003, 2012 WL 695547 (Wyo. 2012).

Opinion

271 P.3d 1003 (2012)
2012 WY 33

In the Matter of the Wyoming Department of Transportation Driver's License Action Involving Brady L. MICHAELS, Licensee, Appellant (Petitioner),
v.
STATE of Wyoming, ex. rel., DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, Appellee (Respondent).

No. S-11-0156.

Supreme Court of Wyoming.

March 6, 2012.

*1004 Representing Appellant: Donna D. Domonkos, Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Representing Appellee: Gregory A. Phillips, Wyoming Attorney General; Robin Sessions Cooley, Deputy Attorney General; Douglas J. Moench, Senior Assistant Attorney General; Donna A. Murray, Senior Assistant Attorney General.

Before KITE, C.J., and GOLDEN, HILL, VOIGT, and BURKE, JJ.

KITE, Chief Justice.

[¶ 1] Brady L. Michaels was arrested for driving while under the influence of alcohol in violation of Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 31-5-233(b) (LexisNexis 2009). The Wyoming Department of Transportation (the State) notified him that it was suspending his driver's license for ninety days. Mr. Michaels requested an administrative hearing. After the hearing, the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) upheld the suspension.

[¶ 2] Mr. Michaels appealed the suspension to the district court, which affirmed the OAH decision. He then appealed to this Court, claiming § 31-5-233(b) prohibits drinking and driving, his condition at the time of his arrest was the result of a diabetic ketoacidosis state not the result of drinking alcohol, therefore, the State did not meet its burden of proving that probable cause existed to believe he violated the statute.

[¶ 3] We hold as a matter of law that § 31-5-233(b) was intended to apply when a person drives or is in actual control of a motor vehicle after consuming alcohol beyond the legal limit or to a degree rendering him incapable of safely driving. Therefore, the *1005 OAH's ruling that § 31-5-233(b) does not distinguish between alcohol concentration caused by consuming alcoholic beverages and alcohol concentration caused by some other factor is incorrect. However, we also hold that the State met its burden of proving that probable cause existed at the time of the arrest to believe that Mr. Michaels had violated § 31-5-233(b), and we affirm the OAH's order upholding the suspension of his driver's license.

ISSUES

[¶ 4] The issues Mr. Michaels presents for this Court's determination are whether the OAH decision is in accordance with the law and, if so, whether it was supported by substantial evidence.

FACTS

[¶ 5] On the evening of April 16, 2010, Wyoming Highway Patrol Trooper Rodney Miears was patrolling on U.S. Highway 20 in Big Horn County, Wyoming. At approximately 6 p.m., he observed a vehicle approaching him at a high rate of speed. His radar showed the vehicle was traveling 96 miles per hour in the posted 65 mile per hour zone. Trooper Miears pursued the vehicle, activating his flashing lights as he approached, and the vehicle pulled over. Trooper Miears pulled up behind the vehicle, got out of his patrol car and approached the driver's side window. He informed the occupant that he had stopped him for speeding. He requested a driver's license, proof of insurance and registration. According to the trooper's report, the occupant, Mr. Michaels, was difficult to understand, slurred his words and had watery, blood-shot eyes.

[¶ 6] Trooper Miears returned to his patrol car to fill out a citation for speeding. Mr. Michaels got out of his vehicle and approached the patrol car twice. The second time, Trooper Miears asked him if he had been drinking. Mr. Michaels responded, "no." Trooper Miears asked, "You haven't?" and Mr. Michaels again said, "no." Trooper Miears told him to get back in his vehicle. A few minutes later, Mr. Michaels got out of his vehicle again. A second trooper who arrived at the scene asked Mr. Michaels to stay in his vehicle, but Mr. Michaels continued to walk toward Trooper Miears' patrol car.

[¶ 7] The second trooper advised Mr. Michaels that Trooper Miears was going to have him perform field sobriety tests. Trooper Miears told Mr. Michaels that he could smell the odor of alcohol coming from him. He then had Mr. Michaels perform the sobriety tests, including the horizontal gaze nystagmus, walk and turn and one leg stand. Mr. Michaels failed the tests. The trooper administered a portable breath test which showed an alcohol concentration of .17%. A second test showed a .16% alcohol concentration. Trooper Miears arrested Mr. Michaels for driving while under the influence of alcohol in violation of § 31-5-233(b), which prohibits a person from driving if he has an alcohol concentration of 0.08% or more. He placed Mr. Michaels in the patrol car, gave him the implied consent advisement required under Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 31-6-102 (LexisNexis 2009) and transported him to the Big Horn County jail. A third breath test given at the jail still showed a .16% alcohol concentration. Upon being advised of his right to have additional tests performed at his own expense, Mr. Michaels requested to be taken to the hospital for a blood test.[1] Trooper Miears also provided Mr. Michaels with written notice that his driver's license was being suspended for ninety days.

[¶ 8] Mr. Michaels subsequently made a written request for a contested case hearing before the OAH. A hearing was convened. As a preliminary matter, Mr. Michaels stated he would stipulate that Trooper Miears had probable cause to stop him for speeding, but *1006 contested whether probable cause existed to arrest him for violating § 31-5-233(b). For its case, the State relied on the certified record. Mr. Michaels called three witnesses: his physician, Dr. Joel Pull, who testified that Mr. Michaels suffered from Type I Diabetes and he believed Mr. Michaels was in a ketoacidosis[2] state on the night of his arrest, not under the influence of alcohol; his wife, Kristy Michaels, who testified that her husband quit drinking alcohol after he was diagnosed with Diabetes in 2009 and she did not observe him drinking nor did he smell like alcohol on the day of his arrest; and a co-worker, Nate Mattison, who also testified that Mr. Michaels had quit drinking and did not appear to be intoxicated on the day he was arrested. Mr. Michaels also testified that he had not consumed alcohol on the day he was arrested.

[¶ 9] After the hearing, the OAH issued its order upholding the suspension of Mr. Michaels' driver's license. In pertinent part, the OAH found and concluded as follows:

17. The evidence in this case clearly established Michaels was stopped for speeding 96 mph in a 65 mph zone. This is a traffic violation and provided probable cause to initiate a traffic stop.
18. The evidence in this case established Trooper Miears observed that Michaels had bloodshot and watery eyes, slurred speech, poor balance, the smell of an alcoholic beverage coming from his person and that Michaels was behaving erratically. This is probable cause to continue detention and determine if Michaels was under the influence. The record is clear that Michaels was not asked the preliminary questions concerning medical and physical conditions prior to submitting to field sobriety maneuvers. As such, Trooper Miears was not aware Michaels was a diabetic until after Michaels had been arrested, booked into jail and submitted to a breath test. The evidence is also clear that Michaels was in a ketoacidosis state at the time the field sobriety maneuvers were administered and at the time chemical testing was performed. A person in a ketoacidosis state may exhibit signs of poor balance and slurred speech.

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Bluebook (online)
2012 WY 33, 271 P.3d 1003, 2012 WL 695547, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/michaels-v-state-ex-rel-dept-of-transp-wyo-2012.