People v. Chikosi

185 Cal. App. 4th 238, 110 Cal. Rptr. 3d 464
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 6, 2010
DocketG041014
StatusPublished

This text of 185 Cal. App. 4th 238 (People v. Chikosi) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Chikosi, 185 Cal. App. 4th 238, 110 Cal. Rptr. 3d 464 (Cal. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

185 Cal.App.4th 238 (2010)

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent,
v.
MARSHALL FRANK CHIKOSI, Defendant and Appellant.

No. G041014.

Court of Appeals of California, Fourth District, Division Three.

May 6, 2010.

*240 Heather R. Rogers and Beatrice Tillman, under appointments by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Gary W. Schons, Assistant Attorney General, Rhonda Cartwright-Ladendorf and Stacy Tyler, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

OPINION

BEDSWORTH, J. —

Appellant was convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol, driving with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent or more, and evading the police. He contends the trial court erred in admitting his Breathalyzer test results, because the prosecution's witnesses relied on hearsay in forming their opinions about the accuracy of those results. We find no error in this regard. Although we modify the judgment to correct an undisputed sentencing error and properly reflect the court's sentencing decision, we affirm the judgment in all other respects.

FACTS

Around midnight, Tustin Police Officer Matthew Nunley noticed appellant driving through a parking lot at a high rate of speed. He shined his spotlight on appellant's car, hoping that would slow him down, but appellant sped up and made his way onto the roadway. Nunley followed, and upon seeing appellant run a red light, he activated his overhead lights and siren. In the mile-long pursuit that followed, appellant ran another red light and reached speeds of 60 to 70 mph before eventually pulling over.

*241 When he did, Nunley stopped behind him and ordered him out of his car. Appellant was slow to comply and unsteady on his feet. He also muttered something about having "already poured the drink." Nunley handcuffed him and placed him in the back of his police car, at which point appellant admitted he had "too much" to drink that night. Consistent with this admission, his breath smelled of booze, his speech was slurred, and his eyes were watery and bloodshot. After finding a half-empty bottle of vodka in appellant's car, Nunley arrested him and took him to the police station.

There, he gave appellant a series of sobriety tests to determine the extent of his impairment. After appellant performed poorly on the tests, Nunley gave him a Breathalyzer test using a machine called the Alco-Sensor IV-XL (Alco-Sensor). Appellant provided two breath samples for the test, and they both yielded a blood-alcohol level of 0.18 percent.

At trial, appellant challenged the accuracy of those readings. More particularly, he challenged the accuracy of the Alco-Sensor machine that Nunley used to test his blood-alcohol level. Nunley testified he is certified to use the Alco-Sensor in the field and also qualified to conduct accuracy tests on the machine. However, he was not involved in testing the accuracy of the particular machine he used in appellant's case. Rather, that machine was tested by Tustin Police Officer Bernie Rowe. Although Rowe did not testify at trial, the court allowed Nunley to rely on the accuracy records that Rowe produced. Based on his review of those records, Nunley opined the machine was working accurately at the time he used it on appellant.

Kari Sterling also testified to the accuracy of the machine. A forensic alcohol analyst at the county's crime lab, she explained the Alco-Sensor operates using fuel cell technology. When alcohol is introduced into the cell, a chemical reaction occurs. That reaction releases electricity, which is converted by the instrument into a blood-alcohol reading.

Sterling said that, by law, the Alco-Sensor machines must be tested for accuracy at least once every 10 days. This is done by placing an air sample with a known alcohol value in the machine. If the machine reads the sample within 0.01 percent of that value, the machine is deemed to be accurate. If it does not read the sample within that range, the machine will automatically "lock out" and become inoperable. When that occurs, the machine is taken out of service and has to be recalibrated before it can be used again.

Sterling said accuracy records are kept for each machine and are made at or near the time the machines are tested. The accuracy records are kept in a database at the crime lab, and there are also handwritten maintenance logs that correspond to the electronic files. To generate an accuracy record, all the *242 tester has to do is enter his name and the value of the alcohol sample into the machine, and the machine will automatically conduct the test and produce a result; no human analysis is involved in the process.

Like Nunley, Sterling reviewed the records of the testing that Rowe conducted on the machine in question. She said those records show the machine was tested one day before, and five days after, appellant's arrest, and on both occasions, the machine tested within the acceptable margin of error of 0.01 percent. She therefore believed the machine was working accurately when Nunley used it on appellant.

I

Because Rowe did not testify, appellant contends the court erred in allowing Nunley and Sterling to rely on his records to establish the reliability of the subject machine. He contends this procedure violated his Sixth Amendment right of confrontation, and therefore the results of his breath test should not have been admitted into evidence. We disagree.

(1) Under the Sixth Amendment, the defendant in a criminal case has the right "to be confronted with the witnesses against him." (U.S. Const., 6th Amend.) That right protects the defendant against the admission of "testimonial" hearsay unless the declarant is unavailable at trial and the defendant has had a prior opportunity to cross-examine him. (Crawford v. Washington (2004) 541 U.S. 36, 53-54 [158 L.Ed.2d 177, 124 S.Ct. 1354].)

Speaking to the issue of when police statements are testimonial for purposes of the Sixth Amendment, the United States Supreme Court in Davis v. Washington (2006) 547 U.S. 813 [165 L.Ed.2d 224, 126 S.Ct. 2266] ruled, "Statements are nontestimonial when made in the course of police interrogation under circumstances objectively indicating that the primary purpose of the interrogation is to enable police assistance to meet an ongoing emergency. They are testimonial when the circumstances objectively indicate that there is no such ongoing emergency, and that the primary purpose of the interrogation is to establish or prove past events potentially relevant to later criminal prosecution." (Id. at p. 822, fn. omitted.)

Just last year, in Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts (2009) 557 U.S. ___ [174 L.Ed.2d 314, 129 S.Ct. 2527] (Melendez-Diaz), the United States Supreme Court determined information contained in lab reports can constitute testimonial hearsay in some circumstances. The reports at issue there were actually "certificates of analysis" showing that a substance found in the defendant's possession had tested positive for cocaine. (Id. at p. ___ [129 S.Ct. at p. 2531].) Because the certificates constituted sworn affidavits and were *243 prepared for the sole purpose of proving the defendant's guilt at trial, the court determined the defendant had the right to confront the analysts who prepared them. (Id. at pp. ___ - ___ [129 S.Ct. at pp.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Crawford v. Washington
541 U.S. 36 (Supreme Court, 2004)
Davis v. Washington
547 U.S. 813 (Supreme Court, 2006)
Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts
557 U.S. 305 (Supreme Court, 2009)
United States v. Bacas
662 F. Supp. 2d 481 (E.D. Virginia, 2009)
People v. Dungo
176 Cal. App. 4th 1388 (California Court of Appeal, 2009)
People v. Rutterschmidt
176 Cal. App. 4th 1047 (California Court of Appeal, 2009)
People v. Lopez
177 Cal. App. 4th 202 (California Court of Appeal, 2009)
People v. Bowman
182 Cal. App. 4th 1616 (California Court of Appeal, 2010)
People v. Benitez
182 Cal. App. 4th 194 (California Court of Appeal, 2010)
People v. Forshay
39 Cal. App. 4th 686 (California Court of Appeal, 1995)
People v. Martinez
67 Cal. Rptr. 3d 670 (California Court of Appeal, 2007)
People v. Gibson
27 Cal. App. 4th 1466 (California Court of Appeal, 1994)
People v. Geier
161 P.3d 104 (California Supreme Court, 2007)
People v. Mitchell
26 P.3d 1040 (California Supreme Court, 2001)
State v. Bergin
217 P.3d 1087 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2009)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
185 Cal. App. 4th 238, 110 Cal. Rptr. 3d 464, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-chikosi-calctapp-2010.