State v. Krager

810 S.W.2d 450, 1991 Tex. App. LEXIS 1776, 1991 WL 129717
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMay 29, 1991
DocketNo. 04-90-00190-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 810 S.W.2d 450 (State v. Krager) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Krager, 810 S.W.2d 450, 1991 Tex. App. LEXIS 1776, 1991 WL 129717 (Tex. Ct. App. 1991).

Opinion

OPINION

CARR, Justice.

This is a State’s appeal from an order suppressing evidence. Appellee filed a motion in limine in this driving while intoxicated case complaining that the Intoxilyzer result was not admissible because the San Antonio police department’s breath testing program was not properly certified according to the Texas Breath Alcohol Testing Regulations. Appellee argued that the police department should have reapplied for program certification in 1981 when the In-toxilyzer replaced the Breathalyzer in the program. The trial court treated the motion as a motion to suppress the test result. After hearing evidence and argument on the motion at a pretrial hearing, the trial court granted the motion, concluding that [451]*451because there was no reapplication for certification in 1981 the San Antonio police department’s breath testing program was not properly certified and appellee’s test result was inadmissible. The State has appealed from the trial court’s order pursuant to TEX.CODE CRIM.PROC.ANN. art. 44.01(a)(5) (Vernon Supp.1991).

In two points of error the State contends:

(1) The trial court erred in granting the appellee’s motion to suppress evidence because the breath testing program administered by the San Antonio police department is a properly certified breath testing program.
(2) The trial court erred in granting the appellee’s motion to suppress evidence because the trial court is an improper forum for attacking the validity of the breath testing regulations.

Because the second point of error is jurisdictional, we address that issue first.

The State argues that TEX.REV. CIV.STAT. art. 6252-13a, § 12 (Vernon Supp.1991), requires that a determination of the invalidity of any state agency rule promulgated under the Administrative Procedure and Texas Register Act be made in an action for declaratory judgment in a district court of Travis County. However, appellee did not challenge the validity or applicability of an administrative regulation. Rather, appellee contended that the breath testing program of the San Antonio police department was not in compliance with the pertinent regulations. The trial court had jurisdiction to act on appellee’s motion. The State’s second point of error is overruled.

The ultimate issue under the first point of error is whether the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Breath Alcohol Testing Regulations require that an agency reapply for certification of its breath testing program when that agency changes the type of breath testing equipment used in the program. The facts developed in the hearing below are undisputed, and the trial court’s ruling was solely based on an interpretation of the regulations.

Appellee was arrested for driving while intoxicated on March 5, 1988, and was administered a DWI breath test. An information was filed alleging the offense of driving while intoxicated. The trial court conducted an evidentiary hearing on appel-lee’s motion in limine, treated as a motion to suppress.

State trooper Leo Curtis Stewart, a certified breath test operator, testified that he administered the Intoxilyzer test to appel-lee in the San Antonio police department Intoxilyzer room and that he followed all the appropriate Department of Public Safety procedures in conducting the test. The result was 0.16. Stewart used an Intoxilyzer Model 4011 AS-A 92.1

George Alan McDougall, Jr., testified that he is the Bexar County Technical Supervisor for the Scientific Director of the Texas Department of Public Safety. The San Antonio police department’s breath testing program was certified on January 21, 1970. The application for the program certification showed that the instrument to be used was the Breathalyzer Model 900. In 1981, the San Antonio police department changed over from the Breathalyzer to the Intoxilyzer. The two instruments use different techniques. The Intoxilyzer was certified by the Scientific Director on May 11, 1981, however, there was no reapplication for certification of the breath testing program when the police department replaced the Breathalyzer with the Intoxilyzer.

The trial court noted that the Breathalyzer and Intoxilyzer were based on completely different theories and that there were vast differences between the instruments. As we previously noted, the court held that pursuant to 37 TEX.ADMIN.CODE § 19.3(b) a new application should have been made in 1981 when the Intoxilyzer replaced the Breathalyzer. The court concluded that the San Antonio police department’s breath testing program was not [452]*452properly certified, and that appellee’s test result was inadmissible.

The Breath Alcohol Testing Regulations, Tex. Dep’t Public Safety, 37 TEX.ADMIN. CODE §§ 19.1-.72, in effect at the time appellee was administered a breath test provided in part:

§ 19.3 Certification of Techniques, Methods, and Programs.
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(b) Prior to initiating a breath alcohol testing program, an agency or laboratory shall submit an application to the Scientific Director for approval. The application shall show the brand and/or model of the instrument and allied equipment to be used and contain a resume of the technique to be followed. An on-site inspection shall be made by the Scientific Director or a designated representative to assure compliance with the provisions of the application.

Appellee contends § 19.3(b) required the San Antonio police department to reapply for certification of its breath alcohol testing program when the Intoxilyzer was substituted in 1981 for the Breathalyzer in order that the application would show the brand and/or model of the instrument used and a resume of the technique to be followed when using the Intoxilyzer. The State maintains that the regulations do not require a reapplication for certification of the breath testing program and that the test results are admissible so long as the proper predicate is established under Harrell v. State, 725 S.W.2d 208 (Tex.Crim.App.1986).

In Harrell the court was faced with an issue of whether the defendant preserved error by making a timely objection to the admissibility of an Intoxilyzer result. The court stated that the predicate for the admissibility of an Intoxilyzer test is (1) the proper use of a reference sample; (2) the existence of periodic supervision over the machine and operation by one who understands scientific theory of the machine; and (3) proof of the result of the test by a witness or witnesses qualified to translate and interpret such result so as to eliminate hearsay. Id. at 209-210.

The State asserts that the test result in the instant case is admissible since the predicate of Harrell was met. The State points out that Trooper Stewart was certified as an operator and that he conducted the test according to the Department of Public Safety Regulations. Technical Supervisor McDougall periodically supervised the Intoxilyzer, the instrument was certified and was working properly, and the reference sample was proper.

However, TEX.REY.CIY.STAT. art. 6701/ —5, § 3(b), provides:

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Related

Mata v. State
46 S.W.3d 902 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2001)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
810 S.W.2d 450, 1991 Tex. App. LEXIS 1776, 1991 WL 129717, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-krager-texapp-1991.