State v. Wick

24 P.3d 158, 28 Kan. App. 2d 888, 2001 Kan. App. LEXIS 311
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kansas
DecidedApril 20, 2001
DocketNo. 85,462
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 24 P.3d 158 (State v. Wick) 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. Wick, 24 P.3d 158, 28 Kan. App. 2d 888, 2001 Kan. App. LEXIS 311 (kanctapp 2001).

Opinion

Rulon, C.J.:

The State of Kansas filed an interlocutory appeal arguing that the district court erred in suppressing the results of defendant Jody Daniel Wick’s blood alcohol test because the defendant was not properly advised of the law governing implied consent. We reverse and remand for further proceedings.

Factual Background

In the early morning hours of January 29,1999, Officers Swartz and Sanders were dispatched to the scene of a one-vehicle acci[889]*889dent. The officers arrived at the scene moments later and noted a vehicle had struck a tree and the front end was demolished.

One of the occupants of the vehicle, Christian Muck, had been thrown from the car and was lying, unmoving, on the passenger side of the vehicle. Officer Sanders began to administer first-aid to Muck until the paramedics arrived. The defendant, who subsequently identified himself as the driver of the vehicle, was extremely agitated, pacing back and forth and talking to himself about killing his friend.

As Officer Swartz attempted to calm the defendant, she noticed the smell of alcohol. Swartz questioned the defendant whether he had been drinking. The defendant responded he had had a beer. The defendant further admitted to Swartz he had driven too fast around the comer and hit the tree.

After the arrival of the paramedics, Officer Swartz discontinued the questioning while Muck was rushed to the hospital and the defendant was examined by the paramedics. Although the paramedics did not find any injuries which required hospitalization, they recommended a doctor examine the defendant to be certain he sustained no hidden injuries. Swartz accompanied the defendant to the hospital.

After learning the defendant had not suffered any severe injuries, Swartz read the defendant an implied consent advisory and placed a form with the advisory printed on it in the defendant’s pocket. The parties dispute which version of the implied consent advisory was actually read to the defendant. Eventually, the defendant consented to a blood test. The results from that test ultimately showed the defendant possessed a blood alcohol concentration of .10.

When Muck died from his injuries sustained in the accident, the State charged the defendant with involuntary manslaughter while operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration exceeding .08, in violation of K.S.A. 1998 Supp. 21-3442.

After a preliminary hearing, the defendant moved to suppress the results of his blood test on the grounds he was not read the implied consent advisory applicable to persons under the age of 21.

[890]*890The prosecution recalled Officer Swartz. After listening to the testimony, the district court was unconvinced the officer had read the defendant the implied consent advisory applicable to persons under 21 years of age and granted the defendant’s motion to suppress the results of the blood test. The prosecution filed this interlocutory appeal.

The Suppression

The State argues the district court erred in suppressing the results of the blood test on two bases. First, the State contends the district court held the prosecution to a higher burden of proof than demanded by law and the district court erroneously held the officer had failed to read the implied consent advisory applicable to minors.

In the alternative, the State argues that even if the district court properly found the consent form for minors was not read, the court erred as a matter of law because the officer read the general implied consent advisory and the results of the blood test indicated a blood alcohol level exceeding .10.

Our review of the suppression of evidence involves a mixed question of fact and law. The district court’s determination of the facts underlying the suppression question are entitled to deference, and the record on appeal is reviewed solely for substantial competent evidence to support the district court’s findings. The suppression question, however, is a question of law subject to unlimited review. See State v. DeMarco, 263 Kan. 727, Syl. ¶ 1, 952 P.2d 1276 (1998); State v. Vandiver, 257 Kan. 53, 58, 891 P.2d 350 (1995).

Initially, the State contends the district court imposed an improper standard of proof by requiring the prosecution to prove by “clear and convincing evidence” that the proper implied consent advisory was issued.

Our search revealed no case in any jurisdiction which has specifically established the prosecution’s burden of proof when a defendant challenges the procedure applied in obtaining a breath or blood alcohol test. However, cases dealing with challenges to procedures involving constitutional protections have generally been held to a preponderance of the evidence standard. See Lego v. [891]*891Twomey, 404 U.S. 477, 489, 30 L. Ed. 2d 618, 92 S. Ct. 619 (1972) (ruling that the Constitution mandates only that the government prove the voluntariness of a confession to a preponderance of the evidence); State v. McClain, 258 Kan. 176, 181-82, 899 P.2d 993 (1995) (discussing State v. Garcia, 250 Kan. 310, 315-17, 827 P.2d 727 [1992], and applying a preponderance of the evidence standard to the State’s proof that a stop of a defendant’s vehicle was valid); State v. Ruden, 245 Kan. 95, 105-06, 774 P.2d 972 (1989) (holding that the State’s burden to prove a consent to search was by a preponderance of the evidence).

We conclude that a higher burden of proof is not required of the government in establishing the defendant was read the applicable implied consent advisory.

In suppressing the evidence, the district court specifically held that due to the lack of documentation and the conflicting testimony, the evidence did not indicate which form was read to the defendant. If the record as a whole supports such a finding, the State would have failed to establish its burden of proof by a preponderance of the evidence, and this court may properly affirm the district court’s conclusion. See State v. Corrigan, 10 Kan. App. 2d 55, 59-60, 691 P.2d 1311 (1984), rev. denied 237 Kan. 888 (1985).

Our review of this record shows the testimony regarding the implied consent advisory during the prefiminaiy hearing was vague. At times, the arresting officer testified she read the implied consent advisory from the DC-27 form, which contained only the general implied consent advisory. Contrarily, the officer testified she never carried DC-27 forms with her on patrol and she read the implied consent advisory from a smaller sheet of paper with all the implied consent advisory notices printed on it, which is then given to the person under suspicion of DUI. The officer testified the actual DC-27 or DC-28 would be completed at the station later, and either given or mailed to the defendant after a test conclusively showed that the defendant’s blood alcohol concentration exceeded .08.

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Bluebook (online)
24 P.3d 158, 28 Kan. App. 2d 888, 2001 Kan. App. LEXIS 311, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-wick-kanctapp-2001.