Whalen v. Municipal Court

274 Cal. App. 2d 809, 79 Cal. Rptr. 523, 1969 Cal. App. LEXIS 2117
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJuly 16, 1969
DocketCiv. 33494
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 274 Cal. App. 2d 809 (Whalen v. Municipal Court) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Whalen v. Municipal Court, 274 Cal. App. 2d 809, 79 Cal. Rptr. 523, 1969 Cal. App. LEXIS 2117 (Cal. Ct. App. 1969).

Opinion

*810 WEIGHT, J.

On October 30, 1967, defendant James Lawrence Whalen was charged in the Municipal Court, Alhambra Judicial District, with a violation of section 23102 of the Vehicle Code, driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor. On January 30, 1968, defendant at a hearing termed a “pre-trial” hearing in said municipal court moved to suppress evidence obtained in field sobriety tests. The motion was denied and the defendant filed a writ of prohibition in the superior court to restrain the municipal court from proceeding with the trial. The superior court denied the writ on March 27, 1968, and defendant appeals from the order of denial. A stay was granted by the superior court preventing the cause from proceeding to trial.

Statement op Facts

On October 29,1967, defendant was observed driving on the Long Beach Freeway and was stopped by police officers for questioning as to whether he was operating a motor vehicle under the influence of intoxicating liquor. On at least two occasions he was advised of his rights under Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 [16 L.E.2d 694, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 10 A.L.R.3d 974], Defendant testified at the special pretrial hearing that upon being advised of his constitutional rights, he demanded that he be permitted to call an attorney. The arresting officer testified that no such request was made until after the defendant had been taken to the station for booking. Certain well known field sobriety tests such as walking heel to toe on an imaginary line, the finger to nose test, and several balance exercises were administered to the defendant near the scene where he had been stopped. The officer first performed each test and then asked the defendant to repeat the particular procedure! There was no oral communication in connection with the tests other than the giving of instructions by the officer. Upon the completion of the examination the officer formed the opinion that the defendant was under the influence of intoxicating liquor, and defendant was placed under arrest and was taken in the police vehicle to the station. Both the defendant and the arresting officer testified that at the station the defendant demanded that he be permitted to telephone his attorney. Some hours elapsed before, he completed such a call. Defendant was advised of the requirements of section 13353 of the Vehicle Code (the implied consent provisions) and was given an option as to which of the three specified tests—chemical blood, breath or urine—he preferred to take. He first indicated a willingness to submit a sample of *811 urine for analysis. The offer was withdrawn and defendant indicated a willingness to submit a breath sample. However, he demanded a wait of 30 minutes and also requested that his attorney be present at the time the sample was to be taken. As a result no chemical test was administered.

Defendant’s Contentions

Defendant contends that the evidence obtained from the field sobriety tests should be suppressed because it violates both the privilege against self-incrimination of the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution and the right to counsel as guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment. These contentions are interrelated and must be considered together.

Our initial inquiry must be directed to. whether the evidence secured as a result of field sobriety tests is the type which the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States is designed to protect. As stated in Miranda v. Arizona, supra, 384 U.S. at page 439 [16 L.Ed.2d at p. 704], " [W]e deal with the admissibility of statements obtained from an individual who is subjected to custodial police interrogation and the necessity for procedures which assure that the individual is accorded his privilege under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution not to be compelled to incriminate himself.” (Italics added.) When discussing the type of evidence which the Fifth Amendment protects, courts have repeatedly distinguished between “testimonial” and “physical” evidence. (See Schmerber v. California, 384 U.S. 757 [16 L.Ed.2d 908, 86 S.Ct. 1826], involving chemical blood tests; People v. Ellis, 65 Cal.2d 529 [55 Cal.Rptr. 385, 421 P.2d 393], involving voice identification; People v. Sudduth, 65 Cal.2d 543 [55 Cal.Rptr. 393, 421 P.2d 401], involving breathalyzer test; People v. Graves, 64 Cal.2d 208 [49 Cal.Rptr. 386, 411 P.2d 114], involving handwriting exemplars.)

In Schmerber v. California, supra, the defendant was forced to subject himself to a blood test against his will to determine if he had been driving an automobile while under the influence of intoxicating liquor. The United States Supreme Court stated at pages 764, 765 [16 L.Ed.2d at pp. 916-917] ; “The distinction which has emerged, often expressed in different ways, is that the privilege [against self-in crimination] is a bar against compelling ‘communications’ or ‘testimony,’ but that compulsion which makes a suspect or accused the source of ‘real or physical evidence' does not violate it. . . . Since the blood test evidence, although an *812 incriminating product of compulsion, was neither petitioner’s testimony nor evidence relating to some communicative act or writing by the petitioner, it was not inadmissible on privilege grounds. ’ ’

We adopt the rationale of Schmerber v. California, supra, for it is apparent that if evidence obtained over a defendant’s objection from a blood test is not covered by the Fifth Amendment, assuredly evidence obtained by an officer in observing a defendant perform the simple physical exercises required in a field sobriety test does not fall within the' protection of the privilege.

An additional and compelling reason with respect to this issue is clearly stated by Mr. Chief Justice Traynor in People v. Sudduth, supra, at page 546: “ In a day when excessive loss of life and property is caused by inebriated drivers, an imperative need exists for a fair, efficient, and accurate system of detection, enforcement and, hence, prevention. [Citation.]. ... A wrongful refusal to cooperate with law enforcement officers does not qualify for such protection [against comment on a failure to submit to a breathalyzer test]. A refusal that might operate to suppress evidence of intoxication, which disappears rapidly with the passage of time [citation], should not be encouraged as a device to escape prosecution. ’ ’

The second portion of defendant’s contention that there was a violation of his right to counsel as guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States by reason of the fact that an attorney was not present at the time the field tests were administered is wholly without merit.

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Bluebook (online)
274 Cal. App. 2d 809, 79 Cal. Rptr. 523, 1969 Cal. App. LEXIS 2117, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/whalen-v-municipal-court-calctapp-1969.