State of Arizona v. Cooperman

282 P.3d 446, 230 Ariz. 245, 641 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 14, 2012 WL 3324227, 2012 Ariz. App. LEXIS 134
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arizona
DecidedAugust 14, 2012
Docket2 CA-CV 2011-0197
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 282 P.3d 446 (State of Arizona v. Cooperman) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State of Arizona v. Cooperman, 282 P.3d 446, 230 Ariz. 245, 641 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 14, 2012 WL 3324227, 2012 Ariz. App. LEXIS 134 (Ark. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

VÁSQUEZ, Presiding Judge.

¶ 1 In Guthrie v. Jones, 202 Ariz. 273, ¶ 2, 43 P.3d 601, 602 (App.2002), this court held that evidence regarding breath-to-blood partition ratios 1 is inadmissible in a prosecution for di’iving or being in actual physical control of a vehicle with an alcohol concentration of .08 or more within two hours of driving, in violation of A.R.S. § 28-1381(A)(2). However, we also held that when the state uses breath-test results to establish a presumption of intoxication in a prosecution for driving under the influence of an intoxicant (DUI) while impaired to the slightest degree, see § 28-1381(A)(1) and (G), the defendant may introduce partition-ratio evidence to rebut the presumption. Id. ¶ 14.

¶ 2 In this ease involving a prosecution under both § 28-1381(A)(1) and (A)(2), the state filed a motion in limine to preclude Joseph Cooperman from introducing at his trial in the Tucson City Court partition-ratio evidence contesting the accuracy of the Intoxilyzer 8000 breath tests. The city court denied the state’s motion, and the state filed a special action challenging that ruling in the superior court. The state now appeals from the superior court’s denial of relief. Relying on Guthrie, the state contends the superior court abused its discretion by affirming the city court’s ruling. For the reasons stated below, we affirm.

Factual and Procedural Background

¶ 3 On June 20, 2010, a Tucson police officer cited and arrested Cooperman for DUI while impaired to the slightest degree, in violation of § 28 — 1381(A)(1), and, based on the results of duplicate Intoxilyzer breath tests, for driving or being in actual physical control of a vehicle with an alcohol concentration of .08 or more within two hours of driving, in violation of § 28-1381(A)(2).

¶ 4 Before trial, the state moved to preclude Cooperman from presenting evidence of partition ratios, breath and body temperatures, breathing patterns, and radio frequency interference (RFI) 2 to contest the accuracy of his breath-test results. At an evidentiary hearing on the motion, the city court heard conflicting testimony from the state’s expert, Michael Sloneker, and the defendant’s expert, Chester Flaxmayer, concerning the effect of using partition ratios and other physiological variables on the accuracy of breath tests. The court issued a thorough, five-page ruling denying the state’s motion, but granting an instruction *248 limiting the relevancy of the partition-ratio evidence to the (A)(1) charge.

¶ 5 The state then filed a petition for special action with the superior court. The respondent judge accepted jurisdiction but denied relief, affirming the city court’s ruling. The state filed this appeal. We have jurisdiction pursuant to A.R.S. §§ 12-120.21(A)(1), 12-2101(A)(1), and Rule 8(a), Ariz. R.P. Spec. Actions.

Discussion

¶ 6 Under Arizona’s statutory scheme, a defendant accused of drinking and driving or being in actual control of a vehicle can be charged with multiple DUI-related offenses. See A.R.S. §§ 28-1381 through 28-1383. Under § 28-1381(A)(1), the state must prove the defendant was driving or in actual physical control of a vehicle “[wjhile under the influence of intoxicating liquor ... if the person is impaired to the slightest degree.” And, for a violation of § 28-1381(A)(2), the state must prove the defendant had “an alcohol concentration of .08 or more within two hours of driving or being in actual physical control of the vehicle.” Cooperman was charged under both subsections.

¶ 7 Arizona’s implied consent law, A.R.S. § 28-1321(A), provides that any person operating a motor vehicle in this state and arrested for DUI “gives consent ... to a test or tests of [his] blood, breath, urine or other bodily substance for the purpose of determining alcohol concentration.” If the test shows the defendant’s alcohol concentration within two hours of the time of driving or being in actual physical control was .08 or more, “it may be presumed that the defendant was under the influence of intoxicating liquor” for purposes of the (A)(1) offense. 3 § 28-1381(G)(3). The presumption, however, does not preclude the introduction of “any other competent evidence bearing on the question of whether or not the defendant was under the influence of intoxicating liquor.” § 28-1381(H).

¶ 8 “Alcohol in the breath does not cause impairment; impairment results when aleo-hol enters the body, is absorbed into the bloodstream, and is transported to the central nervous system and the brain.” Guthrie, 202 Ariz. 273, ¶ 5, 43 P.3d at 602. “[B]reath alcohol readings nonetheless indicate blood alcohol levels, and ... the percentage of alcohol in 100 milliliters of blood could be equated to the percentage of alcohol in 210 liters of breath.” Id. ¶¶ 5-6. Accordingly, our legislature adopted a 2,100:1 ratio of breath-to-blood alcohol. Id. ¶ 6. The 2,100:1 partition ratio is “an estimation” and varies among individuals based on several factors, including: body temperature, breathing patterns, blood consistency, and environmental factors. Id. ¶¶ 7-8. Evidence of such variability, nevertheless, is admissible only in certain circumstances.

¶ 9 For example, in Guthrie, this court held partition-ratio evidence is inadmissible in a prosecution under § 28-1381(A)(2). 202 Ariz. 273, ¶ 10, 43 P.3d at 603. Section 28-1381(A)(2) prohibits a person from driving or physically controlling a vehicle if the person has an “alcohol concentration” of .08 or more. And A.R.S. § 28-101(2) defines alcohol concentration, when expressed as a percentage, as either “[t]he number of grams of alcohol per one hundred milliliters of blood,” or “[t]he number of grams of alcohol per two hundred ten liters of breath.” “The statutes thus permit[ ] either a breath alcohol reading or a blood alcohol reading to establish the element of alcohol concentration without regard to the question how the former might be converted to the latter.” Guthrie, 202 Ariz. 273, ¶ 10, 43 P.3d at 603. Accordingly, in Guthrie, we reasoned that the accuracy of the 2,100:1 partition ratio was irrelevant in a prosecution under (A)(2) because “it [i]s illegal to drive or physically control a vehicle if, according to a test within two hours, the number of grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath exceeded [.08].” Id. However, we also held that, in a prosecution under (A)(1), where the state uses the defendant’s breath-test results to establish a presumption of intoxication pursuant to § 28-1381(G), the defendant may introduce evidence challeng *249

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

Related

State v. Bryant
Court of Appeals of Arizona, 2025
State of Arizona v. Bhajanpal Chopra
387 P.3d 1282 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 2016)
State v. Jay Alton Roach
337 P.3d 1280 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 2014)
People v. Vangelder
312 P.3d 1045 (California Supreme Court, 2013)
Cv-12-0319-Pr State of Arizona v. Joseph Cooperman
306 P.3d 4 (Arizona Supreme Court, 2013)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
282 P.3d 446, 230 Ariz. 245, 641 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 14, 2012 WL 3324227, 2012 Ariz. App. LEXIS 134, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-of-arizona-v-cooperman-arizctapp-2012.