State v. Tho Ngoc Nguyen

1997 SD 47, 563 N.W.2d 120, 1997 S.D. LEXIS 49
CourtSouth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedApril 30, 1997
DocketNone
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 1997 SD 47 (State v. Tho Ngoc Nguyen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering South Dakota Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Tho Ngoc Nguyen, 1997 SD 47, 563 N.W.2d 120, 1997 S.D. LEXIS 49 (S.D. 1997).

Opinions

GILBERTSON, Justice.

[¶ 1.] Tho Nguyen (Nguyen) appeals judgment and sentencing from his conviction of vehicular homicide. We affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURE

[¶ 2.] On December 12, 1995, at approximately 5:30 a.m., two vehicles hit head-on near an intersection on the edge of Sioux Falls. The driver of one car, Laurence Metz, was pronounced dead on arrival at a local hospital. The driver of the other vehicle, Nguyen, was taken to the hospital for treatment of injuries.

[¶ 3.] Weather and road conditions were generally clear, and the collision occurred in a well-lit area of Rice Street just east of Interstate 229. Both cars were traveling with their headlights on. Eyewitness and expert testimony established that Nguyen’s vehicle abruptly crossed the center line into the path of Metz’s vehicle, causing the collision. Sixteen unopened cans of beer in a 24-can “suitcase” container were found in the back seat of Nguyen’s vehicle, and one of the cans had been damaged, spilling half of its contents inside the car. No empty beer cans were found in the vehicle or at the crash scene. The odor of an alcoholic beverage was detected in the car and on Nguyen’s breath.

[¶4.] A police officer was instructed to follow Nguyen’s ambulance to the hospital for the purpose of collecting a blood sample for blood alcohol analysis. The city’s crime scene response van arrived at the crash site approximately 6:30 a.m., after all the ambulances and fire trucks had left. The scene was secured for several hours while investigators collected evidence.

[¶ 5.] Nguyen, who is a Vietnamese immigrant, had difficulties with the English language which limited his communication with emergency medical personnel and police.

[122]*122Approximately one hour after Nguyen arrived at the hospital for treatment, a nurse withdrew a sample of Nguyen’s blood. It is undisputed that the blood draw was requested by the officer and was taken for law enforcement purposes, not medical treatment. It also is undisputed that at the time his blood was drawn, Nguyen was not advised of his right to refuse the blood draw (implied consent warning), was not asked for his consent to withdraw his blood, and was not told he was under arrest. No interpreter was present in the emergency room or at the time of the blood draw. An interpreter was present later that morning when police questioned Nguyen in his hospital room about the accident and informed him he was under arrest.1

[¶ 6.] Two tests were conducted on the blood sample. One yielded a blood alcohol level of .1314 percent, and the other a reading of .1262 percent. A motion to suppress the blood evidence was made during trial, and heard outside the presence of the jury. The trial court denied Nguyen’s motion to suppress the blood alcohol test results, but prohibited the prosecution from mentioning the statutory presumptions contained in SDCL 32-23-7.2 Nguyen was convicted of vehicular homicide, and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

[¶7.] Nguyen appeals his conviction, raising the following issues:

1.Whether the blood alcohol test results were properly admitted where the Defendant’s consent was not obtained pri- or to the test and the implied consent warning was not read to the Defendant prior to the taking of the sample?
2. Whether the blood sample was taken pursuant to a lawful arrest as defined by SDCL 32-23-10?
3. Whether, in the absence of the blood alcohol results, there was sufficient evidence for conviction of the Defendant on the charge of vehicular homicide?

ANALYSIS AND DECISION

[¶ 8.] 1. Whether the blood alcohol test results were properly admitted where the Defendant’s consent was not obtained prior to the test and the implied consent warning was not read to the Defendant prior to the taking of the sample?

[¶ 9.] We review the trial court’s ruling on a motion to suppress under an abuse of discretion standard. State v. McGarrett, 535 N.W.2d 765, 767 (S.D.1995); State v. Almond, 511 N.W.2d 572, 574 (S.D.1994); State v. Johnson, 509 N.W.2d 681, 683 (S.D.1993). An abuse of discretion occurs only if no judicial mind, in view of the law and the circumstances of the particular ease, could reasonably have reached the same conclusion. Schuldies v. Millar, 1996 SD 120, ¶ 8, 555 N.W.2d 90, 95. Evidentiary rulings made by the trial court are presumed correct. State v. Oster, 495 N.W.2d 305, 309 (S.D.1993).

[¶ 10.] It is well settled that a state may, within constitutional limits, force an individual to submit to a test of bodily fluids, [123]*123so long as the sample taken is 1) incident to a lawful arrest, 2) taken by a reliable and accepted method, 3) in a medically approved, reasonable manner, and 4) with probable cause to believe the evidence sought, exists. Schmerber v. California, 384 U.S. 757, 86 S.Ct. 1826, 16 L.Ed.2d 908 (1966); see also South Dakota v. Neville, 459 U.S. 553, 103 S.Ct. 916, 74 L.Ed.2d 748 (1983).

[¶ 11.] The Legislature has extended an additional protection to motor vehicle operators through the implied consent statute by providing drivers with a qualified right to refuse the withdrawal of their blood for a determination of alcohol content. State v. Hartman, 256 N.W.2d 131, 135 (S.D.1977). Because the implied consent right is a creature of statute, it is subject to the rules of statutory interpretation.

[¶ 12.] Matters of statutory construction present questions of law which we review de novo. State v. Karp, 527 N.W.2d 912, 913 (S.D.1995). “A statute is passed as a whole and not in parts or sections and is animated by one general purpose and intent.” 2A Sutherland, Statutes and Statutory Construction, § 46.05 (5th ed 1992). When we determine the intent of a statute, we look at the statute as a whole, as well as enactments relating to the same subject. Kayser v. S.D. State Elec. Comm’n, 512 N.W.2d 746, 747 (S.D.1994) (citation omitted).

[¶ 13.] The implied consent statute, SDCL 32-23-10, provides:

Any person who operates any vehicle in this state is considered to have given his consent to the withdrawal of blood or other bodily substance and chemical analysis of his blood, breath or other bodily substance to determine the amount of alcohol in his blood and to determine the presence of marijuana or any controlled drug or substance.

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State v. Tho Ngoc Nguyen
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Bluebook (online)
1997 SD 47, 563 N.W.2d 120, 1997 S.D. LEXIS 49, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-tho-ngoc-nguyen-sd-1997.