Title: Zietz v. Hjelle

State: north-dakota

Issuer: North Dakota Supreme Court

Document:

395 N.W.2d 572 (1986) Gary C. ZIETZ, Petitioner and Appellee, v. Walter R. HJELLE, North Dakota State Highway Commissioner, Respondent and Appellant. Civ. No. 11215. Supreme Court of North Dakota. October 28, 1986. Lundberg, Nodland, Lucas & Schulz, Bismarck, for petitioner and appellee; argued by Irvin B. Nodland. Robert E. Lane, Asst. Atty. Gen., Bismarck, for respondent and appellant. ERICKSTAD, Chief Justice. The North Dakota Highway Commissioner appeals from a district court judgment reversing an administrative suspension of Gary C. Zietz's driver's license pursuant to Chapter 39-20, N.D.C.C. We reverse. On September 13, 1985, at approximately 1:16 a.m., Zietz was driving a motor vehicle in Minot when he was involved in a pedestrian-automobile accident. Zietz stopped after the accident but when he was unable to locate the injured pedestrian he proceeded a short distance to his house and had his wife call the police at approximately 1:19 a.m. Meanwhile, the police had received a report from another source that an individual was seen lying on the highway. Officer Black brought Zietz back to the scene of the accident at approximately 1:35 a.m. where Officers Narum and Rosenquist questioned Zietz. Officers Narum and Rosenquist testified at the administrative hearing that they detected the odor of alcohol on Zietz's breath and that his speech was slurred. Zietz admitted that he was driving the vehicle that struck the pedestrian and that he had had several drinks between 9 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. that evening but that he had not consumed any alcoholic beverages after *573 12:30 a.m. Zietz was requested to perform a field sobriety test, and Officer Narum described Zietz's performance on that test at the administrative hearing: The officers arrested Zietz for operating a motor vehicle in violation of Section 39-08-01, N.D.C.C.,[1] at approximately 1:45 a.m., and he was taken to a local hospital where a blood sample indicating a blood alcohol concentration of .16 percent by weight was taken at approximately 2:04 a.m. The arresting officer took possession of Zietz's driver's license pursuant to Section 39-20-03.1, N.D.C.C., and thereafter Zietz requested and received an administrative hearing pursuant to Section 39-20-05, N.D.C.C. After hearing the evidence presented, the administrative hearing officer made the following findings of fact, conclusions of law, and decision: The district court reversed the hearing officer's decision, and the Commissioner has appealed. An administrative hearing for the suspension of a driver's license is civil in nature and is limited in scope by Section 39-20-05(2), N.D.C.C., to the following issues: An appeal from a district court judgment involving a license suspension by the Commissioner under Section 39-20-04 or 39-20-04.1, N.D.C.C., is governed by the Administrative Agencies Practice Act [Ch. 28-32, N.D.C.C.], and, in reviewing the evidence, we look to the record compiled before the hearing officer and not the findings of the district court. Dodds v. North Dakota State Highway Comm'r, supra. In Dodds, supra, 354 N.W.2d at 168-169, we said: In the instant case, the district court's memorandum opinion provided: Both parties interpret that language to mean that the district court concluded that the arresting officer did not have probable cause to believe that Zietz had been driving a motor vehicle in violation of Section 39-08-01, N.D.C.C. The Commissioner asserts that the arresting officer had probable cause to believe Zietz was driving a motor vehicle in violation of Section 39-08-01, N.D.C.C. Zietz contends that evidence of being under the influence at 1:45 a.m. was not sufficient to establish that he was under the influence at the time of the accident, about 1:16 a.m., and therefore the arresting officer did not have probable cause to believe that he was driving a motor vehicle in violation of Section 39-08-01, N.D.C.C. The term "reasonable grounds" as used in Section 39-20-05, N.D.C.C., is synonymous with the term "probable cause". Moser v. North Dakota Highway Comm'r, 369 N.W.2d 650 (N.D.1985); Witte v. Hjelle, 234 N.W.2d 16 (N.D.1975). In Witte v. Hjelle, supra, 234 N.W.2d at 20, we stated that probable cause exists when the facts and circumstances within a police officer's knowledge and of which he had reasonable trustworthy information are sufficient to warrant a person of reasonable caution to believe that an offense has been or is being committed. See also City of Langdon v. Delvo, 390 N.W.2d 51 (N.D. 1986); Moser v. North Dakota State Highway Comm'r, supra. In Witte v. Hjelle, supra, 234 N.W.2d at 20, we quoted with approval from Brinegar v. United States, 338 U.S. 160, 69 S. Ct. 1302, 93 L. Ed. 1879 *575 (1949), the following standard for determining probable cause: In Moser v. North Dakota State Highway Comm'r, supra, we concluded that an arresting officer had reasonable grounds to believe that Moser had been driving a motor vehicle in violation of Section 39-08-01, N.D.C.C. In that case the arresting officer did not see Moser driving the motor vehicle involved in a rollover, and no one was present at the accident scene when the arresting officer arrived. However, Moser arrived at the scene ten minutes later and admitted he was the driver of the vehicle and had been drinking beer and lost control of the vehicle. We noted that the arresting officer indicated that he could smell alcohol on Moser's breath and that Moser's eyes were bloodshot. We stated that that evidence "coupled with the lack of any suggestion of another cause of the accident,... [was] `sufficient to warrant a man of reasonable caution in believing'" that the offense of driving in violation of Section 39-08-01, N.D.C.C., had been committed. In the instant case, Zietz admitted that he was driving the car when the accident occurred; that he had several drinks between 9 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. that evening but that he had not consumed any alcoholic beverages after 12:30 a.m.; and that he had not consumed any alcoholic beverages after the accident. The hearing officer found that Zietz performed "poorly" on the field tests and that finding is entitled to deference. Dodds, supra. There is nothing in the record to indicate that Zietz's rate of consumption of alcohol between 9 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. was in an irregular manner, or that he had consumed several drinks shortly before 12:30 a.m.[2] In the absence of any such evidence and applying the practical, nontechnical rule of probable cause, we conclude that the admissions by Zietz coupled with the arresting officer's observation that Zietz's speech was slurred and the results of the field sobriety test were sufficient to warrant a person of reasonable caution to believe that the offense of driving in violation of Section 39-08-01, N.D.C.C., had been committed. The district court judgment is reversed and the decision of the hearing officer is reinstated. VANDE WALLE, GIERKE and MESCHKE, JJ., concur. LEVINE, Justice, specially concurring. While I agree with most of the rationale and with the result of the majority opinion, I believe the majority leans too heavily on the Moser case to support its conclusion. In Moser there was no suggestion of another cause for the accident which occurred. In the instant case there is an obvious suggestion of another cause for the accident which occurredthe possible negligence of the pedestrian. Notwithstanding this distinction, I agree that the police officer here had probable cause to believe there had been a violation of NDCC § 39-08-01. Zietz argues that we cannot take judicial notice of the rate of elimination of alcohol from the blood system and because there was no such evidence there was no probable cause to believe that Zietz was under the influence when he drove his vehicle some thirty minutes earlier. Even if there were logic to this argument, I accept the *576 wisdom of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.: "The life of the law has not been logic; it has been experience." I find myself unable to disregard experience and common sense which tell me that one who has not drunk for sixty minutes or so, but smells of alcohol, has slurred speech, and fails a field sobriety test, and who was admittedly driving some thirty minutes earlier, could reasonably be held to have been driving while under the influence. Besides, logic and experience are not mutually exclusive. An argument that pits the one against the other must fail for that reason alone. [1] Section 39-08-01, N.D.C.C., provides: "1. A person may not drive any vehicle upon a highway or upon public or private areas to which the public has a right of access for vehicular use in this state if any of the following apply: "a. That person has a blood alcohol concentration of at least ten one-hundredths of one percent by weight at the time of the performance of a chemical test within two hours after the driving. "b. That person is under the influence of intoxicating liquor." [2] See Tarantino, Defending Drinking Drivers, § 201 (1986), for a discussion of the rate of absorption of alcohol into the blood system and the rate of elimination of alcohol from the blood system. In this respect the Legislature has specifically stated that a person may not drive a vehicle on a public highway or private area to which the public has a right of access if that person has a blood alcohol concentration of at least ten one-hundredths of one percent by weight on a chemical test performed within two hours after the driving. Section 39-08-01(1)(a), N.D.C.C.