State v. Ryce

368 P.3d 342, 303 Kan. 899, 2016 Kan. LEXIS 107
CourtSupreme Court of Kansas
DecidedFebruary 26, 2016
DocketNo. 111,698
StatusPublished
Cited by95 cases

This text of 368 P.3d 342 (State v. Ryce) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court 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. Ryce, 368 P.3d 342, 303 Kan. 899, 2016 Kan. LEXIS 107 (kan 2016).

Opinions

[902]*902The opinion of the court was delivered by

Luckert, J.:

The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and § 15 of the Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights protect against unreasonable searches, which in the criminal context means a search must be conducted pursuant to a warrant or a well-recognized exception to the warrant requirement. One of these well-recognized exceptions—the consent exception—arises when an individual voluntarily agrees to allow a search. Courts have generally recognized a search based on consent cannot proceed once a suspect’s consent is withdrawn because, at that point, the search would no longer be voluntary. See State v. Johnson, 297 Kan. 210, Syl. ¶ 8, 301 P.3d 287 (2013); State v. Edgar, 296 Kan. 513, 527, 294 P.3d 251 (2013).

Premised on this consent exception, Kansas has established a mechanism for the warrantless search of a driving under the influence (DUI) suspects blood, breath, urine, or other bodily substances to determine the alcohol content. Specifically, under K.S.A. 2014 Supp. 8-1001, an individual has, by operating or attempting to operate a vehicle in Kansas, provided implied consent to alcohol or drug testing. This appeal raises a threshold question of whether the general rule regarding the withdrawal of consent applies when a driver impliedly consents to testing under 8-1001(a) in exchange for driving privileges but then refuses to expressly consent to testing when requested by a law enforcement officer. In other words, is implied consent irrevocable?

We hold the general rule allowing an express withdrawal of consent applies to DUI testing under 8-1001: Once a suspect withdraws consent, whether it be express consent or implied under 8-1001(a), a search based on that consent cannot proceed. But this is only a preliminaiy question in this appeal. The ultimate question is whether, when a driver exercises the constitutional right to withdraw consent, Kansas may criminally punish the individual for this choice under the criminal refusal statute, K.S.A. 2014 Supp. 8-1025. We conclude it cannot. Applying the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, we recognize Kansas has compelling interests in combating drunk [903]*903driving and prosecuting DUI offenders. Nevertheless, by criminally punishing a drivers withdrawal of consent, 8-1025 infringes on fundamental rights arising under the Fourth Amendment. K.S.A. 2014 Supp. 8-1025, therefore, must withstand strict scrutiny by being narrowly tailored to serve the States interests. We hold that K.S.A. 2014 Supp. 8-1025 does not meet this test and is facially unconstitutional.

Facts and Procedural History

On December 9, 2012, a Sedgwick County sheriff’s deputy observed a man, later identified as David Lee Ryce, driving a car down a street in reverse. The deputy momentarily lost sight of Ryce but then saw Ryce pull out of a nearby parking lot and drive on the left side of the street. The deputy executed a traffic stop and, upon making contact with Ryce, noticed a strong odor of alcohol and Ryce’s bloodshot and watery eyes. Ryce admitted to the deputy he had enjoyed “a few drinks,” and the deputy noted Ryce’s slow, lethargic, and slurred speech. Ryce told the deputy he did not have his drivers license.

The deputy administered field sobriety tests. Ryce complied but demonstrated impairment throughout the tests. The deputy also learned Ryce’s car registration did not match its tag and that Ryce’s driver’s license was suspended. The deputy arrested Ryce and transported him to the county jail.

At the jail, the deputy gave Ryce the written and oral notice required under Kansas’ implied consent law, specifically the notice defined in K.S.A. 2014 Supp. 8-1001(k), ánd asked Ryce to submit to a breath test to determine the presence of alcohol. The notice informed Ryce, among other things, that a refusal to submit to testing could result in administrative proceedings to suspend Ryce’s driver’s license and could also result in criminal charges. Despite these warnings, Ryce refused to submit to a breath test, and no testing occurred.

The State charged Ryce, who had four prior DUI convictions, with the nonperson felony of refusing to submit to testing for the presence of alcohol or drugs, in violation of 8-1025(a). In addition, the State charged Ryce with three misdemeanors: driving while suspended, driving without a tag, and improper backing.

[904]*904Ryce moved to dismiss the test refusal charge on the grounds that 8-1025 unconstitutionally punished the exercise of his right to withdraw consent to a warrantless search—a right he argues arises under the Fourth Amendment and § 15 of the Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights. He also cited the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The district court ruled, after a hearing, that while a defendant had no right to refuse to submit to a chemical test for alcohol, it was nonetheless unconstitutional to criminalize this refusal. The district court accordingly dismissed the 8-1025 charge and granted the States motion to dismiss the remaining counts without prejudice.

The State appealed the district courts ruling, filing its appeal with this court under K.S.A. 2014 Supp. 22-3601(b)(l) and K.S.A. 2014 Supp. 22-3602(b)(l) (permitting an appeal directly to this court from the district court for cases in which a Kansas statute has been held unconstitutional). We conducted oral argument in Ryces appeal on the same day we heard three other appeals relating to the constitutionality of 8-1025: State v. Wilson, 303 Kan. 973, 368 P.3d 1086 (2016), State v. Nece, 303 Kan. 888, 367 P.3d 1260 (2016), and State v. Wycoff, 303 Kan. 885, 367 P.3d 1258 (2016), all of which are being decided this day.

Analysis

On appeal, the State argues it did not violate Ryces Fourth Amendment rights because the implied consent procedures set out in chapter 8, article 10 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated—primarily those in K.S.A. 2014 Supp. 8-1001—remove, or at least reduce, any privacy expectation in ones blood, breath, urine, or other bodily substances when circumstances exist that permit testing under the statute. The State also argues this court has repeatedly determined that the implied consent procedure creates a constitutionally valid alternative to a search warrant under either the Fourth Amendment or § 15 of the Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights.

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Bluebook (online)
368 P.3d 342, 303 Kan. 899, 2016 Kan. LEXIS 107, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-ryce-kan-2016.