State v. Wright

441 N.W.2d 364, 1989 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 160, 1989 WL 52273
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedMay 17, 1989
Docket87-1347
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 441 N.W.2d 364 (State v. Wright) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Wright, 441 N.W.2d 364, 1989 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 160, 1989 WL 52273 (iowa 1989).

Opinions

McGIVERIN, Chief Justice.

Defendant, Larry Lee Wright, appeals his conviction of operating while intoxicated (OWI), in violation of Iowa Code section 321J.2. On appeal, defendant alleges that the results of his breath test were erroneously admitted into evidence at trial. We vacate the decision of the court of appeals, and affirm the judgment of the district court.

I. Background Facts and Proceedings. On December 26, 1986, Richard McLaud and Darryl Hunter, reserve peace officers for the city of Center Point, Iowa, observed a vehicle traveling within the city limits in excess of the speed limit. While in pursuit of this vehicle, the officers also observed it leave and then reenter the roadway. The driver of the vehicle, defendant, was thereafter detained and asked to produce his driver’s license. Defendant did so with some difficulty; initially he produced a department store credit card. He also exhibited other signs of insobriety.

A number of field sobriety tests were then administered. Defendant was unable to successfully complete these tests. The officers then radioed deputy Michael Cline of the Linn County sheriffs department. Upon arrival at the scene, deputy Cline administered to defendant a preliminary breath test, which registered positive for the presence of alcohol. Deputy Cline and officers McLaud and Hunter formed the opinion that reasonable grounds existed to believe defendant was under the influence of alcohol. See Iowa Code § 321 J. 6(1).

Defendant was then transported to the Linn County jail. Defendant ultimately provided a breath sample, which was found to contain an “alcohol concentration,” as defined in Iowa Code section 321 J. 1(1), of .212. (A person commits the offense of operating while intoxicated if the person operates a motor vehicle while having an alcohol concentration of .10 or more. Iowa Code § 321J.2(l)(b).) The breath sample was obtained by officer McLaud pursuant to the implied consent test procedures of Iowa Code section 321J.6. Before asking for the breath sample, officer McLaud read the implied consent form to defendant and advised him that he could refuse the test.

In his pretrial motion to suppress, defendant contended officer McLaud was not a “peace officer,” as defined in section 321 J. 1(7), and therefore was not authorized to invoke the implied consent test procedures of section 321J.6. After the district court overruled this motion, the case was [366]*366submitted for trial to the court by stipulation into evidence of the minutes of testimony. The district court found defendant guilty, and he appealed.

We transferred the case to the court of appeals, which reversed defendant’s conviction. We then granted the State’s application for further review.

II. Preservation of error. The State contends that by stipulating to trial based on the minutes of testimony, defendant has failed to preserve error regarding the admission of the breath test results into evidence.

The rule is well settled that “an adverse ruling on a pretrial suppression motion will suffice to preserve error for appellate review even though there is no attendant trial objection to the controverted material when offered in evidence.” State v. Hilpipre, 242 N.W.2d 306, 309 (Iowa 1976); see also State v. Whitsel, 339 N.W.2d 149, 152 (Iowa 1983). We discern no reason why the rule should not apply with equal force under the present record concerning a trial on stipulated evidence. Therefore, any error regarding admission of the breath test evidence was adequately preserved.

III. Authority of officer McLaud. One of the requirements of section 321J.6 is that the breath test “shall be administered at the written request of a peace officer.” Section 321J.1(7) provides:

7. “Peace officer” means:
a. A member of the highway patrol.
b. A police officer under civil service as provided in chapter 400.
c. A sheriff.
d. A regular deputy sheriff who has had formal police training.
e. Any other law enforcement officer who has satisfactorily completed an approved course relating to motor vehicle operators under the influence of alcoholic beverages at the Iowa law enforcement academy or a law enforcement training program approved by the department of public safety.

(Emphasis added.)

Defendant contends officer McLaud was not a “law enforcement officer,” as provided by paragraph (e), because the Center Point reserve police force allegedly was not properly established or supervised, as required by Iowa Code chapter 80D.

A. Establishment of reserve force. Defendant contends the State failed to introduce any evidence the city council approved the establishment of a reserve force.

Iowa Code section 80D.1 provides in pertinent part:

The governing body of a city, county, or the state of Iowa may provide for the establishment of a force of reserve peace officers, and may limit the size of the reserve force_ A reserve peace officer is a volunteer, nonregular, sworn member of a law enforcement agency who serves with or without compensation, has regular police powers while functioning as an agency’s representative and participates on a regular basis in the agency’s activities including those of crime prevention and control, preservation of the peace and enforcement of the law.
This chapter constitutes the only procedure for appointing reserve peace officers.

In June 1986, the Center Point city-council approved the hiring of McLaud and Hunter as reserve officers. Thereafter, the city council consistently authorized paychecks for both officers in accordance with that status.

At the hearing on defendant’s motion to suppress, three city councilmen testified regarding the vote to approve the hiring of officers McLaud and Hunter. Their testimony clearly shows the choice before the council was to hire reserve officers or to hire the Linn County Protection Agency, which employed sheriff’s deputies. By a margin of one vote, the council decided to hire the reserve officers. We believe this decision was sufficient to establish a reserve police force, even though the council apparently never used the word “establish.” The subsequent disbursements of [367]*367paychecks to the officers amply support this conclusion.

B. Supervision of reserve force. Defendant also contends the appointment of Chief Swain did not satisfy the supervisory requirements of chapter 80D, because (1) Chief Swain was not a member of the regular Center Point police force, and (2) officers McLaud and Hunter did not serve “under the direction” of Chief Swain or a regular Center Point peace officer.

Section 80D.9 provides for the supervision of reserve peace officers as follows:

Reserve peace officers shall be subordinate to regular peace officers [and] shall not serve as peace officers unless under the direction of regular peace officers ....

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State of Iowa v. Benjamin Joseph Lyon
862 N.W.2d 391 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 2015)
State v. Brown
589 N.W.2d 69 (Court of Appeals of Iowa, 1998)
State v. O'BRYAN
522 N.W.2d 103 (Court of Appeals of Iowa, 1994)
State v. Driscoll
455 N.W.2d 916 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1990)
State v. Wright
441 N.W.2d 364 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1989)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
441 N.W.2d 364, 1989 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 160, 1989 WL 52273, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-wright-iowa-1989.