Wiggins v. State

817 N.E.2d 652, 2004 Ind. App. LEXIS 2250, 2004 WL 2601066
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 17, 2004
DocketNo. 43A03-0312-CR-498
StatusPublished

This text of 817 N.E.2d 652 (Wiggins v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wiggins v. State, 817 N.E.2d 652, 2004 Ind. App. LEXIS 2250, 2004 WL 2601066 (Ind. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

[654]*654OPINION

MATHIAS, Judge.1

Michael Wiggins ("Wiggins") was convicted of Class C felony operating while intoxicated causing death2 and Class D felony operating while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury 3 in Kosciusko Superi- or Court. Wiggins appeals and raises the following dispositive issue, which we restate as: Whether the trial court abused its discretion when it admitted the results of Wiggins' urine toxicology test into evidence. Concluding that the investigating police officer did not have probable cause to believe that Wiggins was intoxicated when he ordered the test, we reverse.

Facts and Procedural History

On August 4, 2002, at approximately 1:45 p.m., Wiggins, driving northbound on State Road 13 in North Webster, Indiana, slowed and began to make a left-hand turn into a gas station. As Wiggins turned left and began to cross the southbound lane, he struck a motorcycle driven by Terry Wilson ("Terry"). Terry's eleven-year old nephew, D.W., was a passenger on the motoreycle. Both Terry and D.W. were thrown from the motorcycle during the collision. Terry suffered serious head injuries as a result of the accident and died later that same day. D.W. suffered serious injuries to his left leg and thigh. Wiggins injured his left wrist in the accident.

Kosciusko County Sheriffs Deputy Jon Tyler ("Deputy Tyler") responded to the accident seene. While speaking with Wiggins, Deputy Tyler did not observe any physical signs of intoxication, but had difficulty ascertaining Wiggins' physical condition because he was receiving medical treatment at the time. Deputy Tyler requested Wiggins' license, which Wiggins removed from his wallet and gave to Tyler. Deputy Tyler also retrieved Wiggins' vehicle registration from his car. There was a discrepancy between the addresses on Wiggins' license .and registration, and therefore, Deputy Tyler asked Wiggins which address was correct. Tr. p. 15. Deputy Tyler noted that Wiggins "had some confusion as to which one was correct." Id. When questioned about the accident, Wiggins told Deputy Tyler that he did not see the motorcycle and it "must have come off the side street." Tr. p. 18.

Wiggins was then taken to Kosciusko Community Hospital for medical treatment. Without requesting permission or advising Wiggins in any way and without claiming on a hospital request form that he had probable cause to do so, Deputy Tyler asked the hospital staff to obtain blood and urine samples from Wiggins, and the Kos-clusko Community Hospital staff complied. The standard operating procedure of the Sheriff's Department at that time was to request a blood draw from any driver involved in an accident resulting in death or serious bodily injury. Tests performed on Wiggins' urine revealed a positive result for marijuana metabolites.

(On November 20, 2002, Wiggins was charged with two counts of Class C felony operating while intoxicated causing death, two counts of Class D felony operating while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury and one count of Class D felony criminal recklessness causing serious bodily injury.[655]*6554 On October 15, 2008, Wiggins filed a motion to suppress the results of the urine toxicology test

on the basis that the specimens in question were taken from the defendant without his consent, that the specimens were taken from the defendant, on the state's instructions, without probable cause, that the specimens were not taken in accordance with Indiana statutes, and that pursuant to the 4th Amendment of the United States Constitution, the non-consensual taking of such specimen from a defendant, without either warrant or probable cause, constitutes an illegal and unconstitutional search [of] the defendant herein.

Appellant's App. p. 26. The trial court denied Wiggins' motion and also denied his motion to certify the trial court's ruling for interlocutory appeal.

A jury trial commenced on November 5, 20083. The State proceeded to trial on Counts I and III, which alleged that Wiggins operated a motor vehicle with a schedule I or II controlled substance or its metabolite in his body causing the death of Terry Wilson (Count I) and causing serious bodily injury to D.W. (Count III). Appellant's App. p. 12. The remaining counts were dismissed on the State's own motion. At trial, Wiggins renewed his objection to the admission of the results of his urine toxicology test, but his objection was overruled.

The jury found Wiggins guilty on both counts, and on December 1, 2008, the sentencing hearing was held. Wiggins was sentenced to serve consecutive terms of eight years for his Class C felony operating while intoxicated causing death convietion and three years for his Class D felony operating while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury conviction. The trial court also ordered Wigging' driver's license and driving privileges suspended for two consecutive terms of five years5 Wiggins now appeals. Additional facts will be provided as necessary.

Discussion and Decision

Wiggins argues that the trial court abused its discretion when it admitted the results of his urine toxicology test into evidence. "The evidentiary rulings of a trial court are afforded great deference and are reversed on appeal only upon a showing of an abuse of discretion." Reynolds v. State, 797 N.E.2d 864, 867 (Ind.Ct.App.2003). An abuse of discretion occurs if a trial court's decision is clearly against the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances before it. Pickens v. State, 764 N.E.2d 295, 297 (Ind.Ct.App.2002), trans. denied.

Additionally, the trial court entered findings of fact and conclusions of law when it denied Wiggins' motion to suppress, and during trial, the court overruled Wiggins' objection to the admission [656]*656of the test results "on the record that's previously been made." Tr. pp. 283-84. When we review a decision entered with findings and conclusions, we must first determine whether the evidence supports the findings and second, whether the findings support the judgment. Hannoy v. State, 789 N.E.2d 977, 981 (Ind.Ct.App.2003), aff'd on reh'g, trans. denied. Findings of fact are clearly erroneous only when the record lacks any evidence to support them. Id.

The Fourth Amendment generally prohibits warrantless searches and seizures. Id. at 982. "Searches conducted without a warrant are per se unreasonable subject to a few well-delineated exceptions." Id. When a search is conducted without a warrant, the State bears the burden of proving that an exception to the warrant requirement existed at the time of the search. Id.

Indiana Code chapter 9-80-7 provides that persons who operate motor vehicles impliedly consent to submit to a portable breath test or chemical test as a condition of operating a vehicle in Indiana. See Ind.Code § 9-30-7-2 (1992 & Supp. 2003). However, there is no language in chapter 9-80-7 that authorizes an officer to forcibly take a blood sample if actual consent to a chemical test is not obtained. See Hannoy, 789 N.E.2d at 983.

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

Related

Schmerber v. California
384 U.S. 757 (Supreme Court, 1966)
Schlesinger v. State
811 N.E.2d 964 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2004)
Hannoy v. State
793 N.E.2d 1109 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2003)
Duncan v. State
799 N.E.2d 538 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2003)
Pickens v. State
764 N.E.2d 295 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2002)
Reynolds v. State
797 N.E.2d 864 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2003)
Hannoy v. State
789 N.E.2d 977 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2003)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
817 N.E.2d 652, 2004 Ind. App. LEXIS 2250, 2004 WL 2601066, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wiggins-v-state-indctapp-2004.