Smith v. Director of Revenue

260 S.W.3d 896, 2008 Mo. App. LEXIS 1144, 2008 WL 3916474
Missouri Court of Appeals·Decided August 27, 2008·No. 28837·Published·Cited by 5 cases

Opinion

GARY W. LYNCH, Chief Judge.

Following a bench trial, Appellant Randal L. Smith appeals the trial court’s judgment affirming the revocation of his driving privileges pursuant to section 577.041, 1 for refusing to submit to chemical testing following his arrest for driving while intoxicated. We affirm the trial court’s judgment.

Factual and Procedural Background

Viewing the facts developed at trial in the light most favorable to the trial court’s judgment, as we must, Jarrell v. Director of Revenue, 41 S.W.3d 42, 46 (Mo.App.2001), the following transpired.

On November 17, 2006, Smith was stopped in Mountain View after Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper Logan Elliott observed that Smith “almost traveled off the right side of the roadway[]” and failed to signal for a right-hand turn. "When trooper Elliott approached Smith’s vehicle, he saw beer cans in the back and noticed that Smith’s “eyes were bloodshot and watery, and he just kind of was staring.” He also detected “a fairly strong odor of intoxicants coming from” the vehicle. When the trooper inquired how much Smith had to drink, Smith responded that he did not know.

Elliott requested that Smith perform field sobriety tests, which included the horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN) test, walk-and-turn, reciting portions of the alphabet, counting, and a portable breath test. Prior to administering the tests, he questioned Smith regarding any physical conditions which would limit his ability to perform the tests, and Smith indicated there were none. On the HGN test, Elliott observed no smooth pursuit in both eyes, “a distinct nystagmus at maximum deviation,” and an “onset of nystagmus before 45 degrees.” In performing the walk-and-turn test, Smith started before he was instructed, did not touch heel-to-toe, used his arms for balance, and “made an improper turn.” When Elliott requested that Smith recite the alphabet from B to M, Smith recited the correct sequence, but was “very slow and it was slurred when he did it.” In counting backward from 101 to 86, Smith was accurate but was again slow, and his speech was slurred. Smith submitted to the portable breath test but was unable to blow correctly on three attempts. A fourth attempt resulted in a sufficient sample and *899 indicated that Smith “was positive for alcohol.”

On the basis of Smith’s poor performance on the field sobriety tests, Elliott determined that Smith was impaired, and Smith was arrested for driving while intoxicated and transported to the Mountain View Police Department. Smith had been asked to remove the chewing tobacco he had in his mouth, and upon arrival at the police station, Elliott instructed Smith to rinse with water. Smith rinsed three times, and Elliott inspected Smith’s mouth to verify there was no tobacco remaining. Elliott informed Smith of his rights under Miranda 2 and requested that Smith take a breath test for alcohol. Elliott initially testified that he then read “Missouri’s Consent [sic] Law” to Smith “word-for-word.” Upon further questioning he elaborated that this included informing Smith that “if he refused to take the test, his driver’s license would be immediately revoked for one year” and that “evidence of his refusal to take the test may be used against him in a — in a prosecution in a court of law.” During the mandated fifteen-minute observation period, Elliott interviewed Smith and asked what he had had to drink, how much, and whether he had smoked any marijuana or ingested any drugs. Smith answered that he had consumed “maybe” five beers and answered in the negative regarding marijuana and drug use. After the fifteen-minute period had run, Elliott requested that Smith submit to a breathalyzer test. Further, Elliott testified that he told Smith that “if he didn’t give a good sample, it would be deemed as a refusal[.]”

Smith indicated he was willing to submit. Elliott directed Smith “to take a deep breath, seal [his] lips around the tube, [and] blow until [he was] completely out of air.” However, Smith blew a short, hard breath and then stopped. Elliott again told Smith that he had to take a deep breath and blow until he was out of air. Smith “did it again, and then he quickly stopped. And he did that four times total.” The breathalyzer produced a reading of “invalid sample.” Smith told Elliott he “did the best [he] could.” Elliott testified he believed Smith was intentionally “trying to defeat it[,]” marked Smith as having refused, and did not attempt to administer a second breathalyzer test. At that point, Elliott read to Smith “Missouri’s Implied Consent Law a second time” and requested that Smith give him a blood sample.

Initially, Smith agreed. However, as they were getting ready to go to the hospital, Smith told Elliott he had changed his mind. At that point, Elliott proceeded to complete the paperwork for Smith’s refusal to submit, and when Smith asked Elliott what was going to happen, Elliott explained that his license would be revoked for one year. Smith told him, “Well, I didn’t understand that.... I want to go ahead and give a blood sample now.” However, Elliott then explained that once Smith refused, the “law says none shall be given.” Elliott reported that Smith had refused both the breathalyzer and the blood test. Following Elliott’s report, Smith’s driving privileges were revoked for a period of one year. Smith petitioned for review in the trial court, and a hearing was held August 21, 2007.

At trial, trooper Elliott was questioned at length regarding his interpretation of the DataMaster breathalyzer’s reading of “invalid sample.” Elliott testified that he understood that an “invalid sample” reading indicated “that he didn’t blow a long enough breath in there.” However, upon further examination, Elliott stated that he *900 did not know. On redirect, .he testified: “If they give an invalid sample, it’s deemed a refusal.” Elliott explained that his conclusion that Smith refused to take the breath test “was an obvious one,” in that he had administered “several of those tests, and it’s obvious when somebody’s wanting to give a sample and when they’re not.”

Smith called Dr. Terry Martinez to testify. The trial court found Dr. Martinez to be “a well credentialed expert in the fields of pharmacology and toxicology.” Martinez explained that the DataMaster breathalyzer utilized by trooper Elliott in this case is designed to measure carbon hydroxyl groups present in lower alveolar air from the lungs. The instrument is designed to check for five factors to ensure it is measuring lower alveolar air:

It’ll look for, number one, that you blow at least one-and-a-half liters of air; number two, that you’ll deliver at least — blow at a rate of at least one-and-a-half liters per minute; number three, it looks for a rate of rise of alcohol; number four, it looks for a plateau in the amount of alcohol; and, number five, it looks for a fall at the end of the — of your breath, meaning you’re running out of air.
And then it takes a sample. If it doesn’t see all five things, it won’t take the sample.

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Smith v. Director of Revenue, 260 S.W.3d 896, 2008 Mo. App. LEXIS 1144, 2008 WL 3916474 (Mo. Ct. App. 2008).

260 S.W.3d 896 (Smith v. Director of Revenue) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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