Short v. Iowa Department of Transportation

447 N.W.2d 576, 1989 Iowa App. LEXIS 292, 1989 WL 134177
CourtCourt of Appeals of Iowa
DecidedAugust 23, 1989
Docket88-1888
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 447 N.W.2d 576 (Short v. Iowa Department of Transportation) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Short v. Iowa Department of Transportation, 447 N.W.2d 576, 1989 Iowa App. LEXIS 292, 1989 WL 134177 (iowactapp 1989).

Opinion

HAYDEN, Judge.

Respondent Iowa Department of Transportation appeals the decision of the district court which overturned respondent's revocation of petitioner’s driver’s license.

Petitioner Michael Edward Short, Jr., was involved in a motor vehicle accident at approximately 12:19 a.m. on December 5, 1987. At approximately 12:50 a.m. a preliminary breath screening test was administered to Mr. Short after he failed field sobriety tests. The breath test indicated an alcohol concentration of .10 or more. Mr. Short was then arrested for violation of Iowa Code section 321J.2 by Deputy Stout and taken into custody.

At the Polk County Jail, Mr. Short, accompanied by Deputy Stout, was taken into the restroom where he washed his face and rinsed his mouth. Deputy Stout waited *577 fifteen minutes prior to administering a breath test. Mr. Short requested to speak to an attorney and was allowed a phone call. Defendant placed a call to Pat Wah-lert at his home in Winterset and asked her to contact his lawyer, Joel Bittner, and have him come to the jail.

After the phone call, Deputy Stout requested a breath sample. Mr. Short said he wouldn’t do anything until his attorney arrived. Deputy Stout told Mr. Short an attorney was not allowed in the secured area of the jail and thus, Short wouldn’t be able to talk with his attorney in person, but Mr. Short could consult with him on the telephone. Mr. Short declined to telephone his attorney. He told the deputy he had already called his attorney and he was going to come down to the jail. Mr. Short told Deputy Stout he would wait until his attorney arrived to decide whether or not to take the test.

Deputy Stout treated Mr. Short’s decision to wait until he could personally talk to his attorney as a refusal to submit to chemical testing. He instituted implied consent procedures, in spite of the fact that at least forty-five minutes remained of the statutory two-hour period for chemical testing.

Mr. Bittner phoned the Polk County Jail a few minutes after 2:00 a.m. to confirm his client’s arrest and was told Mr. Short had already refused to submit to chemical testing. Because of this, Mr. Bittner, who lived only five minutes from the jail and could have gotten there well within the two-hour period, did not make the trip to the jail.

The Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) revoked Mr. Short’s driver’s license. The district court overturned the revocation. The court concluded there was not substantial evidence to support the agency’s finding Mr. Short refused to submit to a test. The court noted a person arrested for OWI has a limited right to a private consultation with an attorney. Also, Mr. Short was cooperative except for his assertion of this right. The district court determined defendant could, in fact, have consulted with counsel within the two-hour statutory period.

The DOT has appealed the district court order overturning the revocation. The DOT contends there was substantial evidence Mr. Short was afforded a reasonable opportunity to consult with counsel before invocation of the implied consent procedures and Mr. Short’s actions were tantamount to a refusal to submit to chemical testing.

This case arises out of the Iowa Administrative Procedure Act, therefore our scope of review is limited to the correction of errors of law. Iowa Code § 17A.20; Carpenter v. Iowa Department of Job Service, 401 N.W.2d 242, 244 (Iowa App.1986). (All references to Iowa Code are to 1987 Code.) In reviewing the district court’s decision, we are concerned with whether the district court correctly applied the law. That determination is made by applying the standard of section 17A.19(8) to the agency decision to determine if this court’s conclusions are the same as those of the district court. Carpenter, 401 N.W.2d at 244 (quoting Jackson County Public Hospital v. Public Employment Relations Board, 280 N.W.2d 426, 429-30 (Iowa 1979). If so, we will affirm. Ferguson v. State Dep’t of Transportation, 424 N.W.2d 464, 465 (Iowa 1988). If our conclusions, are not in agreement with those of the district court, we may be required to reverse. Id.

We, like the district court, are bound by the agency’s fact findings if those findings are supported by substantial evidence. Evidence is substantial if a reasonable person would find it adequate for reaching a decision. Peoples Memorial Hospital v. Iowa Civil Rights Comm’n, 322 N.W.2d 87, 91 (Iowa 1982).

I. The DOT contends there is substantial evidence to support the agency decision Mr. Short was afforded a reasonable opportunity to consult with counsel prior to the invocation of the implied consent procedures. 1

*578 Iowa Code section 17A.19(8)(f) provides for relief from agency action in a contested case if substantial rights of the petitioner have been prejudiced because the action is unsupported by substantial evidence when the record is viewed as a whole. Substantial evidence is evidence which a reasonable person would find adequate to reach the given conclusion. Meads v. Iowa Department of Social Services, 366 N.W.2d 555, 558 (Iowa 1985); Office of Consumer Advocate v. Iowa State Commerce Comm’n, 432 N.W.2d 148, 154 (Iowa 1988). The possibility of drawing two inconsistent conclusions from the evidence does not mean the agency’s findings are not supported by substantial evidence. Meads v. Iowa Dep 't of Social Services, 366 N.W.2d at 558.

The question for our determination on appeal is whether there is substantial evidence in the record viewed as a whole to support the agency’s decision.

A person arrested for OWI has a limited statutory right to counsel before being required to submit or refuse a chemical test. State v. Vietor, 261 N.W.2d 828 (Iowa 1978). The right to counsel is limited to situations which will not materially interfere with the taking of a test within the time specified in the implied consent statute (321J). Id. at 832. This right to counsel is usually satisfied by allowing the arrested individual to make a telephone call. Ferguson v. Iowa Dep’t of Transportation, Motor Vehicle Div., 424 N.W.2d 464, 466 (Iowa 1988), citing State v. Vietor, 261 N.W.2d at 831-32.

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447 N.W.2d 576, 1989 Iowa App. LEXIS 292, 1989 WL 134177, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/short-v-iowa-department-of-transportation-iowactapp-1989.