United States v. Tyson

829 F. Supp. 368, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12390, 1993 WL 335103
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Alabama
DecidedAugust 17, 1993
DocketCr. No. 93-69-S
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 829 F. Supp. 368 (United States v. Tyson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Tyson, 829 F. Supp. 368, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12390, 1993 WL 335103 (M.D. Ala. 1993).

Opinion

ORDER

MYRON H. THOMPSON, Chief Judge.

The government charged defendant Henry L. Tyson, Jr. with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol at Ft. Rucker, Alabama, a federal military base, in violation of § 32-5A-191(a)(l) & (2) of the 1975 Alabama Code, which is applicable in this federal prosecution pursuant to the Federal Assimilative Crimes Act, 18 U.S.C.A. § 13. After Tyson’s arrest, a military police officer at Ft. Rucker measured Tyson’s blood alcohol content using a breath test machine [370]*370called the Intoxilizer 5000. According to the officer, the test showed that Tyson’s blood alcohol content was, at least, 0.17%. At trial, Tyson made several novel objections which the court orally and summarily overruled. The court believes that, now that a jury has convicted Tyson, the reasons for the court’s rulings should be set forth in more detail.

I.

First, Tyson objected to the admission of the breath test results because the provisions of § 32-5A-194 and § 32-5-192 of the 1975 Alabama Code were not followed. Section 32-5A-194(a)(l) provides that breath tests must be “performed according to methods approved by the department of forensic sciences and by an individual possessing a valid permit issued by the department of forensic sciences for this purpose.” The section further provides that the state shall not approve permits “for any law enforcement officer other than a member of the state highway patrol, a sheriff or his deputies, a city policeman or laboratory personnel employed by the department of forensic sciences.” Tyson argues that, because the military police officer who administered the breath test is not a member of one of the law enforcement agencies specified in the statute, the officer cannot possess a valid permit.

Section 32-5-192(a) provides that “The law enforcement agency by which such officer is employed shall designate which ... tests shall be administered.” Tyson argues that the use of the Intoxilizer 5000 was not designated by an appropriate law enforcement agency.

According to the Fourth and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeals, the Assimilative Crimes Act, 18 U.S.C.A. § 13, assimilates state substantive law but does not generally assimilate state procedures: United States v. Bosser, 866 F.2d 315, 317 (9th Cir.1989); United States v. Wilmer, 799 F.2d 495, 500 (9th Cir.1986), cert. denied, 481 U.S. 1004, 107 S.Ct. 1626, 95 L.Ed.2d 200 (1987); United States v. Jenkins, 780 F.2d 472, 475 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, 476 U.S. 1161, 106 S.Ct. 2283, 90 L.Ed.2d 724 (1986); Kay v. United States, 255 F.2d 476, 479 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, 358 U.S. 825, 79 S.Ct. 42, 3 L.Ed.2d 65 (1958). This principle, however, attempts to offer only a broad guideline regarding the assimilation of state procedures and does not mean “that every state rule that can be characterized as ‘procedural’ must be ignored in [Assimilative Crimes Act] proceedings,” Bosser, 866 F.2d at 317. Rather, in determining whether a particular state rule should be assimilated, a court must look beyond labels and carefully and independently assess the nature of the rule at issue.

Applying this principle, the Ninth Circuit concluded in Wilmer that criminal proceedings in federal courts are governed by the Federal Rules of Evidence. 799 F.2d at 500. In reaching this conclusion, the appellate court relied on Rules 1 and 26 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. Rule 1 provides that “These rules govern the procedure in all criminal proceedings in the courts of the United States.” Rule 26 provides that in criminal trials “the testimony of witnesses shall be taken orally in open court, unless otherwise provided by an Act of Congress or by these rules, the Federal Rules of Evidence, or other rules adopted by the Supreme Court.” Rule 26, according to the Advisory Committee Notes, “contemplates a uniform body of rules of evidence to govern in criminal trials in the Federal courts.” And more specifically, the Rule contemplates that, in the absence of a federal statute, federal courts should apply federal rules of evidence in federal criminal proceedings. The Rule’s Advisory Committee Notes provide:

“[Rule 26] is based on Funk v. United States, 290 U.S. 371, 54 S.Ct. 212, 78 L.Ed. 369, 93 A.L.R. 1136, and Wolfle v. United States, 291 U.S. 7, 54 S.Ct. 279, 78 L.Ed. 617, which indicated that in the absence of statute the Federal courts in criminal cases are not bound by the State law of evidence.... ”

The Wilmer court held that, because the Assimilative Crimes Act is silent as to the rules of evidence which are applicable in prosecutions under the Act, Rule 26 requires that federal courts apply the Federal Rules of Evidence. 799 F.2d at 500. See also United States v. DeWater, 846 F.2d 528, 530 (9th Cir.1988) (“the purpose of the Assimila[371]*371tive Crimes Act is to afford the federal government an opportunity to adopt state penal laws to meet federal ends; the prosecution of various crimes on federal enclaves. Using federal rules of evidence and procedure and case law promotes the uniform disposition of criminal matters in the federal system”).

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has written that “Only those portions of state law defining the elements of an offense and proscribing punishment are automatically assimilated into federal law by the Federal Assimilative Crimes Act; other provisions of state law relating to the prosecution are assimilated only if they do not conflict with federal laws on the point.” United States v. Garner, 874 F.2d 1510, 1512 (11th Cir.1989). Gamer is consistent with WilmePs holding that, in the absence of a federal statute, the Federal Rules of Evidence apply to federal criminal proceedings. As shown above, the application of state evidentiary rules would conflict with Rules 1 and 26 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.

The provisions from § 32-5A-194(a)(l) and § 32-5-92(a) of the Alabama Code upon which Tyson relies are clearly procedural and evidentiary in nature.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
829 F. Supp. 368, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12390, 1993 WL 335103, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-tyson-almd-1993.