State v. Schmidt

19 A.3d 457, 206 N.J. 71, 2011 N.J. LEXIS 619
CourtSupreme Court of New Jersey
DecidedMay 26, 2011
Docket066538
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 19 A.3d 457 (State v. Schmidt) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of New Jersey primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Schmidt, 19 A.3d 457, 206 N.J. 71, 2011 N.J. LEXIS 619 (N.J. 2011).

Opinions

Justice RIVERA-SOTO

delivered the opinion of the Court.

Arrested as a repeat offender for driving while intoxicated, defendant Aaron P. Schmidt was read the standard warnings that must be provided before the administration of a breath-based blood alcohol test. Defendant consented to the administration of the breath test. Although defendant was instructed that, in order to produce valid results, he needed to provide a long, continuous breath, he twice failed to do so. The police then advised defendant that his failure to provide the required volume and length of breath would be considered a refusal to take the test. For the third consecutive time, defendant failed to do as instructed and, as he was warned, he was charged with refusal to provide “samples of his breath for the purpose of making chemical tests to deter[73]*73mine the content of alcohol in his blood[,]” in violation of N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.2(a).

Defendant was tried on a stipulated record consisting exclusively of the police report and the statement originally generated by the Motor Vehicle Commission that was read to defendant by the police. He argued that, despite his agreement to provide the required breath samples, his failure to provide the required length and volume of breath necessary for a valid reading was the functional equivalent of an initial refusal, which should have triggered the police’s obligation to read to defendant an additional statement. Rejecting that argument, the municipal court found defendant guilty of refusal and imposed a sentence that it stayed pending defendant’s appeal. At a trial de novo before the Law Division, defendant repeated his earlier argument; that effort too was unsuccessful. However, defendant’s arguments found a more receptive audience before the Appellate Division, which concluded that “the instruction [contained in the additional statement] was required under the ... conditional or ambiguous circumstances of this case[,]” State v. Schmidt, 414 N.J.Super. 194, 203, 997 A.2d 1092 (App.Div.2010), and that the failure to meet that requirement mandated overturning defendant’s conviction and sentence.

We disagree. Those who are required to provide a breath sample in order to determine whether they have operated a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor are statutorily entitled to “[a] standard statement, prepared by the chief administrator [of the Motor Vehicle Commission, which] shall be read by the police officer to the person under arrest.” N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.2(e).1 That statement, prepared by the Executive Branch, [74]*74differentiates between those who consent to providing the required breath sample and all others, and it requires that an additional statement “be read aloud only if, after all other warnings have been provided, a person detained for driving while intoxicated either conditionally consents or ambiguously declines to provide a breath sample.” State v. Spell, 196 N.J. 537, 539, 959 A.2d 1209 (2008). Because defendant consented to provide the required sample of his breath yet, despite warnings, failed to do so, he remained among those who have consented and, hence, was not entitled to any additional readings.

I.

In the early morning hours of November 29, 2007, Sergeant Morgan of the Woolwich Township Police Department observed defendant at the wheel of his vehicle, approaching in the opposite direction; defendant was swerving, alternately crossing over the shoulder line into the shoulder and then weaving to cross over the dividing double-yellow lines between the east- and westbound traffic lanes. Sgt. Morgan gave chase, and defendant stopped. While advising defendant of the reason he had been stopped and requesting that defendant produce his driver’s license, vehicle registration and proof of insurance, Sgt. Morgan reported that he “immediately could smell a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from [defendant’s] breath. [Defendant] appeared to be intoxicated and impaired, as his speech was slow and slurred and his eyes were bloodshot.” When asked where he had come from, defendant admitted that he was returning from a bar. The police asked defendant to undergo the standard field sobriety test. However, defendant replied that, because he had a physical handicap, he would be unable to perform that test. The police nevertheless asked that defendant try to complete it; he made some attempts but ultimately stated “he was not going to do the test.” Defendant then “was advised he was under arrest, handcuffed, placed in the rear of [Sgt. Morgan’s] patrol ear, and transported to police headquarters.” Sgt. Morgan noted that, “[w]hile en[ ]route [75]*75to headquarters, my patrol car filled with a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage, as [defendant] begged me to cut him a break and let him go home.”

At police headquarters, defendant was read his Miranda2 warnings and “the standard statement for operators of a motor vehicle.”3 The Standard Statement explains why a defendant has been arrested; that the law requires that the defendant provide the required breath samples; that a record of the taking of samples will be made and a copy provided to the defendant upon request; that the Miranda warnings earlier provided do not apply to the taking of breath samples and that the defendant has no right to have anyone else present during the procedure; that the defendant has the right, at his own expense, to perform independent testing of the samples; that if the defendant refuses to provide the samples, he will be issued a separate summons for the refusal; that any ambiguous or conditional response also will be treated as a refusal; that certain minimum penalties apply for refusal; and that, again, defendant is required by law to provide the required samples.

The Standard Statement further provides that, if a defendant “remains silent; or states, or otherwise indicates, that he/she refuses to answer on the grounds that he/she has a right to remain silent, or wishes to consult an attorney, physician, or any other person; or if the response is ambiguous or conditional, in any respect whatsoever,” the police officer administering the test shall read the following additional statement:

I previously informed you that the warnings given to you concerning your right to remain silent and your right to consult with an attorney, do not apply to the taking of breath samples and do not give you a right to refuse to give, or to delay giving, samples of your breath for the purpose of making chemical tests to [76]*76determine the content of alcohol in your blood. Your prior response, silence, or lack of response, is unacceptable. If you do not agree, unconditionally, to provide breath samples now, then you will be issued a separate summons charging you with refusing to submit to the taking of samples of your breath for the purpose of making chemical tests to determine the content of alcohol in your blood.
Once again, I ask you, will you submit to giving samples of your breath?
[New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission Standard Statement for Operators of a Motor Vehicle—N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.2(e) (rev. & eff. April 26, 2004) (Additional Statement).]

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
19 A.3d 457, 206 N.J. 71, 2011 N.J. LEXIS 619, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-schmidt-nj-2011.