Quimby v. State, Department of Public Safety

351 N.W.2d 629, 1984 Minn. LEXIS 1400
CourtSupreme Court of Minnesota
DecidedJuly 13, 1984
DocketC2-83-1021, C6-83-1068
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 351 N.W.2d 629 (Quimby v. State, Department of Public Safety) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Quimby v. State, Department of Public Safety, 351 N.W.2d 629, 1984 Minn. LEXIS 1400 (Mich. 1984).

Opinion

WAHL, Justice.

These consolidated appeals question the adequacy of the training standards promulgated by the Commissioner of Public Safety for persons administering blood and breath tests and the approval by the Commissioner of training programs for breathalyzer operators as the standards and approval relate to the admissibility of the results of those tests in implied consent hearings. In Case No. C2-83-1021 (Quim-by I), the Olmsted County Court rescinded the proposed revocation of Danny Quim-by’s driver’s license, holding that the result of the breathalyzer test given to Quimby was inadmissible. The court determined that there was insufficient foundation to admit the test results because it found a lack of objective training standards for breathalyzer operators. A thr.ee-judge panel of the Third Judicial District affirmed in a 2-1 decision on the ground that the breathalyzer operator’s qualifications were invalid either because the operator’s training was not qualified for the Commissioner’s required approval or because the Commissioner had not properly approved the training program. The Department of Public Safety (DPS) petitioned this court for permission to appeal. We reverse.

In Case No. C6-83-1068 (Quimby II), the Olmsted County Court sustained the revocation of Quimby’s driver’s license due to a second arrest for a separate incident of driving while under the influence of alcohol. The court held that there was probable cause for Quimby’s arrest and that the result of the blood test given him after his arrest was admissible at the implied consent hearing despite Quimby’s contention of lack of foundation due to the lack of training standards for persons drawing blood samples. A three-judge panel of the Third Judicial District affirmed in a 2-1 decision. We granted permission to appeal and affirm the decision of the appeal panel. QUIMBY I

Quimby was arrested on March 14, 1982, for DWI. He agreed to take a breathalyzer test. Olmsted County Deputy Sheriff Burton Berger administered the test. The test showed that Quimby had .17% alcohol concentration. He was given notice of the proposed revocation of his driver’s license under Minn.Stat. § 169.123, subd. 4 (1982).

Quimby does not argue that the test itself was inaccurate or that Deputy Berger failed to administer it properly. His argument, which was accepted by the county court, is that the test result is inadmissible because the Commissioner failed to adequately comply with a statutory requirement to promulgate training standards for breathalyzer operators. Quimby’s second argument is that the Commissioner never approved the training program undergone by Deputy Berger as required by rule.

1. Training Standards for Persons Administering Breath Tests.

Minnesota Statutes § 169.123, subd. 3 (1982), which was in effect at the time of *631 the events in this case, required that persons administering tests for alcohol concentration be “fully trained in the administration of the tests pursuant to standards promulgated by rule of the commissioner of public safety.” The Commissioner did promulgate a set of rules entitled, Standards of Training for Persons Administering and Interpreting Chemical Tests for Intoxication, 11 MCAR §§ 1.0096-1.013 (1982). Rule 1.0099 provides:

Persons who administer breath tests. Any person, who has satisfactorily completed a course of formal classroom instruction in the use of an instrument specially manufactured to analyze a specimen of breath to determine the alcoholic content of the blood, may administer a breath test at the direction of a peace officer. The course of instruction must be approved by the Commissioner. After completion of the described course such person may be required to periodically demonstrate to the Commissioner or his duly authorized and acting agents, his competence to satisfactorily operate such instrument.

Quimby, questioning neither the adequacy of Deputy Berger’s training or the accuracy of the test results, argues rather that the rule does not set sufficiently specific standards for training. The statute, however, gives broad discretion to the Commissioner in setting standards.

The county court concluded that there should be performance standards or specific training standards, as in DPS Rules Saf Ad 106-108 (1982), the rules governing training of law enforcement officers. In the case of law enforcement, training is provided by a number of institutions with no connection to the DPS, and specific training standards are necessary to ensure uniform and adequate training. In this case, Deputy Berger was originally certified as a breathalyzer operator by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) in 1970 after taking a 40-hour training course. He has been recertified every 1 or 2 years since then after taking refresher courses and successfully passing exams. The training received by Deputy Berger was provided by the BCA, which is part of the DPS and directly under the control of.the Commissioner. We see no need for more specific standards where the training is provided, not by institutions having no connection with the DPS but directly by the Commissioner. We hold that the training standard for breathalyzer operators promulgated by the Commissioner, within the broad discretion accorded by section 169.123, subd. 3, accomplishes the purpose of the statute and does not preclude admission of breathalyzer test results in implied consent hearings.

2. Commissioner Approval of Course of Instruction for Breathalyzer Operators.

Rule 1.0099 requires that the Commissioner approve the course of instruction given to breathalyzer operators. There is no written approval, signed by the Commissioner, of the training program undergone by Deputy Berger. Quimby argues that the lack of explicit approval for this specific program makes the test result inadmissible. We do not agree. Not only was the training program administered under the control of the Commissioner, certification of breathalyzer operators was actually part of the function of the Commissioner’s department. Even if the rule required written approval of the department’s own training program, the individual certification of each operator is sufficient for inferring Commissioner approval of that program. We hold that the lack of explicit approval of the breathalyzer training program undergone by Deputy Berger does not make the result of Quimby’s breath test inadmissible at the implied consent hearing.

The overall aim of the statute and rule for administering breath tests is to ensure that breath test instrument operators are trained to accurately operate the instruments so that evidence of intoxication sufficient to require revocation of drivers’ licenses is reliable. There is no argument here that the test result was inaccurate or that Deputy Berger was not properly *632 trained. So long as the test is accurately-administered, this court recognizes the validity of the analysis performed by the breathalyzer. State, City of St. Louis Park v. Quinn, 289 Minn. 184, 182 N.W.2d 843 (1971). Quimby’s final argument, that the test result is inadmissible because there are no training standards for persons interpreting breathalyzer results, is answered by the fact that no one needs to interpret the test results.

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Bluebook (online)
351 N.W.2d 629, 1984 Minn. LEXIS 1400, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/quimby-v-state-department-of-public-safety-minn-1984.