Thomas v. Motor Vehicle Administration

13 A.3d 1256, 418 Md. 280, 2011 Md. LEXIS 77
CourtCourt of Appeals of Maryland
DecidedFebruary 24, 2011
DocketNo. 31
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 13 A.3d 1256 (Thomas v. Motor Vehicle Administration) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Maryland primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Thomas v. Motor Vehicle Administration, 13 A.3d 1256, 418 Md. 280, 2011 Md. LEXIS 77 (Md. 2011).

Opinion

ADKINS, J.

Again we are asked to interpret the legislation imposing administrative sanctions on drivers for refusal to submit to a test to determine alcohol concentration. See Md.Code (1977, 2009 RepLVoL), Section 16-205.1 of the Transportation Article (“TA”). Our interpretation is guided by the legislative intent to enhance public safety with prompt removal of drunk drivers from the road.

Upon being detained on suspicion of drunk driving, Petitioner Matthew C. Thomas was asked to submit to a preliminary breath test pursuant to TA Section 16-205.2. He was then advised of his rights with regard to a alcohol concentration test (“chemical breath test”) by oral recitation of a standard Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (“MVA”) form. Thomas refused to take any breath test and was arrested. An Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) later suspended Thomas’s driver’s license for his refusal of the chemical breath test, and the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County affirmed that decision.

On appeal, Thomas argues that he had been improperly advised of his rights because the officer had never offered Thomas the chemical breath test and had not arrested or formally charged Thomas prior to his refusal. Thomas claims that this procedure was unduly misleading, and thus his license should not have been suspended. We granted Thomas’s Petition for Writ of Certiorari1 to consider the following questions:

[285]*285A. As a matter of first impression, does Maryland Annotated Code, Transportation § 16-205.1(b) require an officer to arrest, take into custody, and/or charge a person with a violation of the traffic law before effectively satisfying the officer’s duty to fully advise a person of the administrative sanctions for refusal of a § 16-205.1 chemical breath test as a matter of law?
B. Whether the Petitioner was not “fully advised” of the administrative sanctions for refusing a chemical breath test and was mislead where Petitioner was requested to submit to a preliminary breath test by an officer at the scene of a traffic stop, Petitioner initially agreed to the preliminary breath test and the officer immediately began reading the DR-15 advice of rights form at the scene of the traffic stop?
C. Whether the denial of a MVA subpoena request for a police officer by an Administrative Law Judge[,] where the documentary evidence constituting the testimony of the absent officer is conflicting on its face[,] requires resolution of the conflicting testimony in favor of Petitioner and dismissal of the MVA’s case?

We shall hold that Thomas was properly advised of his rights, and thus affirm the judgment of the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County.

FACTS AND LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

On a late evening in March, Private Nemser and another police officer of the Hyatsville Police Department responded to a complaint that a person driving a silver Mustang was speeding and blaring loud music. After arriving at the location, Nemser observed a silver Mustang and pulled behind it. Thomas, the driver of that vehicle, then accelerated quickly, spinning the car’s tires. Nemser initiated a traffic stop and his fellow officer approached the vehicle and ordered Thomas out. Thomas struggled to exit his vehicle, and Nemser noticed that he had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, and a strong odor of alcohol on his breath. The other officer observed a nearly empty pint bottle of Jack Daniels Whiskey sitting in [286]*286Thomas’s cup holder. Thomas was unable to maintain his balance well enough to perform any Field Sobriety Tests.

Nemser asked Thomas to take a preliminary breath test, and Thomas agreed. Nemser then began to advise Thomas of his rights by reading to him from the DR-15 Advice of Rights Form. This form sets forth a driver’s rights with regard to the chemical breath test, a test that is wholly separate from the preliminary breath test. Compare TA § 16-205.1 (chemical breath test)2 with TA § 16-205.2 (preliminary breath test).3 The very first paragraph of the DR-15 provides as follows:

You have been stopped or detained and reasonable grounds exist to believe that you have been driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle under circumstances requiring that you be asked to submit to a test under § 16-205.1 of the Maryland Vehicle Law. In this situation, the law deems that you have consented to take a test to measure the alcohol concentration or drug or controlled dangerous substance content in your system. You may refuse to submit to the test(s), unless you were in a motor vehicle accident resulting in the death of or life-threatening injury to another person.

The remainder of the DR-15 form sets forth the consequences for refusing to submit to the Section 16-205.1 chemical test.4 [287]*287A refusal results in suspension of the driver’s license. See TA § 16-205.1(b)(l)(i)(3). The preliminary breath test, on the other hand, has no adverse consequences for refusal. See TA § 16-205.2(d).

As Nemser was reading from the DR-15, Thomas informed the officer that he would not sign any paperwork or take a breath test.5 Nemser signed the DR-15, certifying that he [288]*288advised Thomas of his rights pursuant to the form, and in the place for the driver’s signature, Nemser wrote “REFUSED.” Nemser also checked the box indicating that the driver refused the chemical breath test. He then took Thomas into custody and placed him in the front seat of his marked police car. Before they departed for the police station, however, Thomas urinated in the front seat and Nemser immediately removed him. Nemser then issued four traffic citations to Thomas, and, to prevent further damage to the vehicle, released Thomas to walk to his home, which was approximately 100 yards away.

Three months after that night, Thomas appeared for his administrative hearing.6 At the hearing, the ALJ accepted into evidence Nemser’s DR-15A Order of Suspension, DR-15 Advice of Rights Form, Officer’s Alcohol Influence Report, and Thomas’s driving record. Although Nemser was not present at the hearing to testify, he had summarized the night’s events in his Alcohol Influence Report, part of which provided:

THOMAS continually asked why he was stopped. When he was told that he was driving his vehicle, he stated “My car is parked in front of my house.” He was unaware that he was sitting ten feet away from his vehicle. THOMAS was staggering around until we had him sit on the curb. I asked him if he would like to take a preliminary breath test and he said yes. While reading the DR-15 to THOMAS, he informed me that he would not sign any paperwork or take a breath test. I took THOMAS into custody and placed him in the front seat of my marked [car] and prepared to transport him to the [police station]. Just before I began [289]*289driving THOMAS looked at me and stated “I just fucked you!” I asked him what did he mean by that. He repeated again, “I just fucked you!” I told him that I didn’t understand what he meant. He then stated “I just pissed all over your front seat.” I immediately removed him from the vehicle in order to prevent further damage to the seat [and issued him four citations].

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Related

Motor Vehicle Administration v. Lipella
48 A.3d 803 (Court of Appeals of Maryland, 2012)

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Bluebook (online)
13 A.3d 1256, 418 Md. 280, 2011 Md. LEXIS 77, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/thomas-v-motor-vehicle-administration-md-2011.