Miller v. State ex rel. Wyoming Department of Transportation

2012 WY 115, 283 P.3d 1153, 2012 WL 3764755, 2012 Wyo. LEXIS 121
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 31, 2012
DocketNo. S-12-0033
StatusPublished

This text of 2012 WY 115 (Miller v. State ex rel. Wyoming Department of Transportation) 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
Miller v. State ex rel. Wyoming Department of Transportation, 2012 WY 115, 283 P.3d 1153, 2012 WL 3764755, 2012 Wyo. LEXIS 121 (Wyo. 2012).

Opinion

HILL, Justice.

[T1] Ricky D. Miller challenges a hearing examiner's order upholding his per se driver's license suspension. Miller claims that his breath test was invalid because the test operator was not properly certified. We affirm.

ISSUE

[¶2] Miller presents one issue:

1. Was the Office of Administrative Hearing's conclusions of law in error when it upheld the Wyoming Department of Transportation's "per se" suspension of [Miller's] driver's license when the chemical breath test was performed by an operator who was no longer certified to perform a breath test analysis in accordance with W.S. § 31-6-105(a) and Wyoming Department of Health Rules and Regulations?

FACTS

[¶38] On October 15, 2010 a Guernsey police officer arrested Ricky D. Miller for driving under the influence (DUI). At the Platte County Detention Center Miller submitted to a breath test on an Intoximeter EC/IR machine. Corporal Mandy Karr of the Platte County Sheriff's Department performed the test, which showed that Miller's blood alcohol content was .25%, well over the legal limit of 08%. On the operation checklist for the test, Corporal Karr indicated that she was currently certified by the State of Wyoming as an operator. On November 15, 2010 the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) advised Miller that his driver's license would be suspended for 90 days, whereafter he requested a contested case hearing.

[¶4] The Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) held a contested case hearing on February 3, 2011. At the hearing and in post-hearing briefing, Miller challenged the validity of his breath test, arguing that Corporal Karr did not have a valid operator's permit because she did not perform the tests required to maintain her certification. The OAH rejected Miller's argument, stating:

[1155]*1155The evidence in this case is not in dispute. Corporal Karr obtained her certification as an EC/IR operator on December 17, 2009; she performed one test in January 2010 and did not perform a test in February, March or April 2010. Under the DOH Rules, Corporal Karr should have been decertified. However, DOH did not receive a request to decertify Corporal Karr and pursuant to DOH's Rules Ch. 4, § 3, the permit shall be considered valid until the agency deems otherwise and provides notice of decertification. Since DOH did not determine Corporal Karr should be decertified and did not notify her that her permit was invalid, Corporal Karr's permit to perform chemical testing remained valid. The proposed suspension action should therefore be upheld.

The district court affirmed the OAH decision, and this appeal followed.

[¶5] Prior to this appeal, in April of 2011, Miller sent a letter to the Department of Health (DOH) requesting that Corporal Karr be retroactively decertified. Miller v. Wyo. Dep't of Health, 2012 WY 65, 275 P.3d 1257 (Wyo.2012). The DOH did not respond, and Miller subsequently filed a petition for review of agency inaction. The district court denied the petition stating that Miller lacked standing and the matter was not ripe for review. Miller appealed to this Court, and in an opinion published May 9, 2012, this Court affirmed the district court. We stated in our ruling:

It is apparent that WDOH's Rules and Regulations for Chemical Analysis for Alcohol Testing, ch. 4, §§ 2()(A) and 3 are not entirely consistent regarding whether the Department has a mandatory requirement to revoke certification for failure to properly maintain certification. And further adding to the uncertainty is § 4 that states that once an officer is initially certified, his permit "shall be considered valid until the state agency deems otherwise, and so notifies the permittee[ ]." Nevertheless, the question the district court was faced with is: When it "accepts all facts stated in the complaint as being true and views them in the light most favorable to the [petitioner]," is it "certain from the face of the [petition] that the [petitioner] cannot assert any facts which would entitle him to relief?" Herrig [v. Herrigl, 844 P.2d [487] at 490 [ (1992) ] (citations omitted). In this case, in order to remedy Miller's and Gonzalez's injury, then, the district court would have had to order the Department to decertify the officers' permits retroactive to the dates their respective certifications lapsed.
While there is uncertainty in the WDOH's Rules and Regulations for Chemical Analysis for Alcohol Testing regarding when and under what circumstances the Department has an obligation to revoke an officer's permit to perform chemical tests for failure to properly maintain his certification, we agree with the Department that there is "no authority to decertify officers retroactively, which is the only remedy that would provide the relief sought by Miller and Gonzalez."

Miller, ¶¶ 38-39, 275 P.3d at 1265 (emphasis in original).

STANDARD OF REVIEW

[¶6] In Vasco v. State, 2011 WY 100, ¶ 9, 253 P.3d 515, 517 (Wyo.2011) we said:

We accord no deference to a district court decision reviewing an administrative agency order. Batten v. Wyo. Dep't of Transp. Drivers License Div., 2007 WY 173, ¶ 6, 170 P.3d 1236, 1239 (Wyo.2007). Instead, we review the case as if it came directly from the administrative agency. Id. As provided by Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 16-3-114(c)@M)(E) (LexisNexis 2009), we apply the substantial evidence standard when reviewing an agency's evidentiary findings. When the burdened party prevailed before the agency, we will determine if substantial evidence exists to support the finding for that party by considering whether there is relevant evidence in the entire record which a reasonable mind might accept in support of the agency's conclusions. Schouboe v. Wyo. Dep't of Transp., 2010 WY 119, ¶ 5, 238 P.3d 1246, 1248 (Wyo.2010), quoting Dale v. S & S Builders, LLC, 2008 WY 84, 188 P.8d 554 (Wyo.2008).

[1156]*1156DISCUSSION

[T7] In his only issue, Miller argues that his breath test was invalid because Corporal Karr's operator permit was not valid. Miller submits that the evidence established, and the OAH found, that Corporal Karr did not properly maintain her certification and should have been decertified. Miller agrees that the OAH does not have the authority to decertify an operator because that specific task is vested with the DOH. Nevertheless, Miller contends that the OAH has the authority to determine that a test was invalid because it was not conducted in compliance with the applicable statutes and rules.

[¶8] Relying on cases from other jurisdictions, Miller argues that the OAH's authority includes determining whether the operator was certified and when a test is not performed by a certified operator, the law requires that the test be presumed invalid.

[¶9] In order to reach our decision, we begin by looking at the applicable Wyoming statutes and rules that govern this appeal. First, Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 31-5-288 (LexisNexis 2011) states in pertinent part:

§ 31-5-233. Driving or having control of vehicle while under influence of intoxicating liquor or controlled substances; penalties.
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(k) Chemical analysis of a person's blood, breath or urine to determine alcohol concentration or controlled substance content shall be performed in accordance with W.S. 31-6-105(a).

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Related

Schouboe v. Wyoming Department of Transportation
2010 WY 119 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2010)
Vasco v. State, Department of Transportation
2011 WY 100 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2011)
Miller v. Wyoming Department of Health
2012 WY 65 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2012)
Worker's Compensation Claim of Dale v. S & S Builders, LLC
2008 WY 84 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2008)
Bryant v. STATE EX REL. DEPT. OF TRANSP.
2002 WY 140 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2002)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2012 WY 115, 283 P.3d 1153, 2012 WL 3764755, 2012 Wyo. LEXIS 121, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/miller-v-state-ex-rel-wyoming-department-of-transportation-wyo-2012.