State v. Almond

811 P.2d 529, 15 Kan. App. 2d 585, 1991 Kan. App. LEXIS 366
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kansas
DecidedMay 24, 1991
Docket65,429
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 811 P.2d 529 (State v. Almond) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Almond, 811 P.2d 529, 15 Kan. App. 2d 585, 1991 Kan. App. LEXIS 366 (kanctapp 1991).

Opinion

Rees, J.:

This is a direct appeal by the defendant Dwight L. Almond from his conviction of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol (K.S.A. 1990 Supp. 8-1567).

We are called upon to decide whether the trial court erred in denying Almond’s motion to suppress (1) his statement that he had been drinking the night of the accident and (2) the result of his breathalyzer test. We find no reversible error and affirm.

Almond was involved in a one-car accident. Officer Royer arrived to investigate the accident. While they were both sitting in Royer’s police car, Royer took from Almond the information needed for the required accident report. Royer noticed a faint odor of alcohol on Almond’s breath. Almond frequently repeated himself and was slow in answering Royer’s questions. Royer asked Almond if he had been drinking. Almond replied affirmatively; he said he had had his last drink at 9:00 p.m., one and one-half hours before the accident. Royer placed Almond under arrest and *586 took him to the police station. He was given a breathalyzer test. It resulted in a reading greater than .10. Almond was then given the Miranda warning.

Almond complains that he was in custody and interrogated by Royer without receiving the Miranda warning and that it was as a result of the interrogation that he admitted he had been drinking; therefore, his admission should have been suppressed. He also complains that the result of the breathalyzer test should have been suppressed because he was not given the Miranda warning prior to the test. Because neither Almond’s statement nor the result of the breathalyzer test was the product of “custodial interrogation” which triggers the need for a Miranda warning, we disagree with Almond’s arguments.

In State v. Price, 233 Kan. 706, 712, 664 P.2d 869 (1983), the Supreme Court stated: “The Miranda warning is required where there is a custodial interrogation of the defendant by police officers. Miranda recognized, however, that general on-the-scene questioning of citizens in the factfinding process does not constitute custodial interrogation requiring a Miranda warning.”

Almond argues that his situation is different from that in Price because Royer’s questioning was already at the accusatory stage and not routine investigation such as in Price. We are not persuaded. The defendant in Price was questioned in a patrol car to get general information necessary to complete the accident report form. The defendant told the officer that he had been drinking prior to the accident and had fallen asleep while he was driving. Price, 233 Kan. at 707. Almond does not convince us that his case must be distinguished from Price.

Cases from other jurisdictions similarly hold that inquiry during the investigation of an accident does not rise to the level of custodial interrogation which requires the Miranda warning. See State v. Seagle, 96 N.C. App. 318, 385 S.E.2d 532 (1989); Stalls v. Penny, 62 N.C. App. 511, 302 S.E.2d 912 (1983).

In Berkemer v. McCarty, 468 U.S. 420, 82 L. Ed. 2d 317, 104 S. Ct. 3138 (1984), a defendant stopped in a traffic stop was asked if he had been drinking; the defendant replied he had been drinking beer and had smoked marijuana. He was placed under arrest after the trooper observed the defendant’s slurred speech *587 and staggering manner. 468 U.S. at 423. The United States Supreme Court stated:

“[W]e find nothing in the record that indicates that respondent should have been given Miranda warnings at any time prior to the time [the trooper] placed him under arrest. . . . [No] aspects of the interaction of [the trooper] and respondent support the contention that respondent was exposed to ‘custodial interrogation’ at the scene of the stop. . . .
“We conclude, in short, that respondent was not taken into custody for the purposes of Miranda until [the trooper] arrested him. Consequently, the statements respondent made prior to that point were admissible against him.” 468 U.S. at 441-42.

Furthermore, in an accident situation such as Almond’s, the driver has a statutory duty to provide information to an officer who also has a duty to investigate and make a report. K.S.A. 1990 Supp. 8-1604; 8-1611; 8-1612.

According to the rules of Price, Almond’s inculpatory statement made during Royer’s inquiry for completion of the accident form was admissible.

We turn to Almond’s complaint that his breathalyzer test result should have been suppressed because the test was requested and administered before the Miranda warning was given. We disagree. We have held that an officer’s request that a person submit to a breathalyzer test is not custodial interrogation. State v. Leroy, 15 Kan. App. 2d 68, 72, 803 P.2d 577 (1990). As an officer’s request to submit to a blood alcohol test does not solicit the communication of personal beliefs or knowledge of facts, defendant did not have a Fifth Amendment light to counsel. Leroy, 15 Kan. App. 2d at 71. Almond is mistake a in asserting that he had a right to counsel before he submitted to a breathalyzer test.

The trial court did not err in denying the motion to suppress Almond’s statement or the result of the breathalyzer test because there was no violation of Miranda rules.

Almond’s next complaint is that the State did not provide an adequate foundation for the admission of the result of his breath test. Specifically, he questions (1) whether the Intoxilyzer 5000 was operated correctly; (2) whether Royer properly followed the testing procedure; (3) whether the certification of the Intoxilyzer 5000 was properly authenticated; and (4) whether the State failed *588 to show the breath test met the statutory definition of alcohol concentration.

Royer testified that he had not read the manufacturer’s directions for the Intoxilyzer 5000. Therefore, Almond argues, Royer could not know how to operate the machine.

“Whether an adequate evidentiary foundation was laid is a question of fact for the trial court and largely rests in its discretion.” State v. Lieurance, 14 Kan. App. 2d 87, 91, 782 P.2d 1246 (1989), rev. denied 246 Kan. 769 (1990).

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Bluebook (online)
811 P.2d 529, 15 Kan. App. 2d 585, 1991 Kan. App. LEXIS 366, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-almond-kanctapp-1991.