State v. Herman

324 P.3d 1134, 50 Kan. App. 2d 316, 2014 WL 1998716, 2014 Kan. App. LEXIS 33
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kansas
DecidedMay 16, 2014
DocketNo. 108,902
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 324 P.3d 1134 (State v. Herman) 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. Herman, 324 P.3d 1134, 50 Kan. App. 2d 316, 2014 WL 1998716, 2014 Kan. App. LEXIS 33 (kanctapp 2014).

Opinion

Larson, J.:

The State of Kansas appeals on a question reserved the district court’s determination that Sherry Herman’s 2004 conviction under Mo. Rev. Stat. (2003) § 577.010 for driving while intoxicated could not be counted as a prior conviction under Kansas law in determining foe penalty for Herman’s current conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) under K.S.A. 2010 Supp. 8-1567.

Herman cross-appeals the district court’s ruling on the suppression motion she filed, which was denied. She also argues foe district court erred in refusing to apply foe “look-back” provisions of K.S.A. 2011 Supp. 8-1567(j)(3) to her case and, therefore, improperly included a 1991 diversion for DUI in the sentence/penalty determination for her current DUI conviction.

We deny the State’s appeal because the question reserved is not an issue of statewide interest important to the correct and uniform administration of criminal law in Kansas.

We accept jurisdiction of Herman’s cross-appeal but hold probable cause existed to arrest Herman for violation of K.S.A. 2010 Supp. 8-1567. And, the district court correctly refused to give retroactive effect to the provisions of K.S.A. 2011 Supp. 8-1567(j)(3) limiting prior convictions to those occurring on or after July 1, 2001.

Factual Background and Legal Proceedings

At approximately 1:30 a.m. on March 11, 2011, Kansas City Police Officer Kenneth Garrett observed a vehicle speeding on Kaw Drive. Pulling behind the vehicle, Garrett clocked the vehicle moving at 62 mph in a 45-mph zone. He also observed the vehicle drift from side to side within its lane, although the vehicle did not leave [319]*319the lane of traffic. Garrett activated his emergency lights to stop the vehicle. The vehicle traveled an additional 2 or 3 blocks before stopping, but Garrett attributed the driver’s delay as an attempt to find a safe place to stop.

After the vehicle stopped, Garrett contacted the driver, later identified as Herman; he noted that Herman’s eyes were glazed, bloodshot, and wateiy. When asked for her license and registration, Herman acted slowly and uncertainly. Garrett asked Herman whether she had been drinking and she admitted that she had consumed one drink. Garrett detected a strong odor of alcohol from Herman’s person when she spoke. Herman’s speech was thick and slurred.

Garrett requested Herman to exit her car. She complied with difficulty. Garrett performed the horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN) test on Herman. Garrett asked Herman to perform the one-leg-stand test. Herman declined, stating that she would be unable to perform the test because she was not coordinated. Garrett decided not to pursue the walk-and-turn test because there was no good line to use, Herman was wearing high heels, and she claimed to lack coordination. Garrett then asked Herman to submit to a preliminary breath test (PBT), advising her that she could refuse but would then be subject to a fine and arrest. Herman took the PBT. The results indicated a breath-alcohol concentration above .08. Garrett arrested Herman for DUI.

Before driving to tire jail, Garrett went to Herman’s vehicle to retrieve her purse and discovered a QuikTrip cup containing a mixed drink and a half-full bottle of vodka. Garrett transported Herman to tire Wyandotte County Jail where he reviewed the implied consent advisory with her, conducted the 20-minute deprivation period, and properly administered the Intoxilyzer breath test. The test result demonstrated a breath-alcohol concentration of .128 grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath.

The State charged Plerman with DUI (fourth or subsequent, nongrid, nonperson felony), transportation of an open container, and speeding.

Herman moved to suppress the results of both the PBT and the Intoxilyzer evidentiary breath test. After a hearing, the district [320]*320court suppressed the PBT results but found sufficient evidence to support probable cause to arrest for DUI and, therefore, refused to suppress the evidentiary breath test results.

The case went to a bench trial on the evidence presented at the preliminary hearing, the videos of the traffic stop, and the eviden-tiary breath test at the jail. The district court convicted Herman of all three charges.

At sentencing on October 11,2012, the State presented evidence of three prior alcohol-related convictions; a 1991 diversion from a Kansas DUI charge (No. 91 TR 1118), a 1996 municipal court of Kansas City, Kansas, conviction of DUI citation (No. 2091621), and a 2004 State of Missouri conviction for driving while intoxicated in violation of Mo. Rev. Stat. § 577.010 (No. 03 CR 84580). Herman challenged by prior motion, responded to by the State, the inclusion of these three prior convictions as a part of her criminal history.

The district court excluded the 1996 municipal court conviction because Herman was clearly not represented by legal counsel during the legal proceedings. The court also excluded the 2004 Missouri conviction for driving while intoxicated, holding Mo. Rev. Stat. § 577.010 was not a comparable offense to the Kansas DUI statute, K.S.A. 2010 Supp. 8-1567. The court rejected Herman’s request for retroactive application of K.S.A. 2011 Supp. 8-1567(j)(3) and included the 1991 DUI diversion in her criminal history “prior convictions” calculation.

Accordingly, after excluding the 1996 and 2004 convictions, the district court concluded that Herman’s current DUI conviction should be counted as her second, a class A, nonperson misdemeanor under K.S.A. 2010 Supp. 8-1567(e). The court imposed 12 months’ probation, including 20 days’ jail time and a $1,500 fine. Herman was ordered to pay a $200 fine for transporting an open container and a $100 fine for speeding.

On October 22, 2012, the State filed a notice of appeal based on a question reserved pursuant to K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 22-3602(b)(3). Previously, upon learning of the court’s ruling on the prior convictions issue, the State informed the court and the defendant that it intended to appeal.

[321]*321The State’s notice of appeal also states it appeals “from a final order of the lower court made on October 11, 2012, granting the defendant’s motion objecting to the use of a prior Missouri DUI conviction in determining whether the defendant would be sentenced as a first, second, third, fourth or subsequent offender under K.S.A. 8-1567.” This ruling is in effect the same legal question as that appealed from by the State as a question reserved under K.S.A. 2013 Supp.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
324 P.3d 1134, 50 Kan. App. 2d 316, 2014 WL 1998716, 2014 Kan. App. LEXIS 33, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-herman-kanctapp-2014.