## I N T H E C O U R T O F C R I M I N A L A P P E A L S

O F T E X A S

N O

. P D

- 0 8 1 9

- 1 2

R O B E R T R A N D A L L K R A U S E

, A p p e l l a n t

v

.

T H E S T A T E O F T E X A S

O N S T A T E ’ S P E T I T I O N F O R D I S C R E T I O N A R Y R E V I E W

F R O M T H E F O U R T E E N T H C O U R T O F A P P E A L S

H A R R I S C O U N T Y

P R IC E

, J

. , f

i l e d a d i s s e n t i n g o p i n i o n i n w h i c h W O M A C K

, J

. , j o i n e d

.

D I S S E N T I N G O P I N I O N

R a c h e l L o p e z w a s n o t a p h y s i c i a n

, c h e m i s t

, r e g i s t e r e d p r o f e s s i o n a l n u r s e

, o r l i c e n s e d

v o c a t i o n a l n u r s e

. I f s h e w a s a u t h o r i z e d t o d r a w t h e a p p e l l a n t ’ s b l o o d u n d e r t h e s t a t u t e

, i t

c o u l d o n l y b e b y v i r t u e o f h e r s t a t u s a s a “ q u a l i f i e d t e c h n i c i a n

. ” T h e s t a t u t e d o e s n o t d e f i n e 1

1

See T E X

. T R A N S P

. C O D E § 724.017(a) (“O nly a phy sician, qualifi ed t ec h n ician, chemist,

reg istered profe ssional nurse, or licensed vocational nurse may take a blood specimen at the reque st

or orde r of a

peac e off icer under this cha

pter.” ).KRAUSE — 2

t h i s t e r m

, b u t i t d o e s e x p r e s s l y p r o v i d e t h a t i t “ d o e s n o t i n c l u d e e m e r g e n c y m e d i c a l s e r v i c e s

p e r s o n n e l

. ” L o p e z r e c e i v e d h e r t r a i n i n g i n b l o o d e x t r a c t i o n i n h e r c a p a c i t y a s a n E m e r g e n c y

2

M e d i c a l T e c h n i c i a n

- I n t e r m e d i a t e ( E M T

- I )

. I n s o f a r a s t h e r e c o r d r e v e a l s

, s h e h a s n o t r a i n i n g 3

t o d r a w b l o o d i n a n y o t h e r c a p a c i t y

. T h u s

, w h i l e L o p e z m a y b e p e r f e c t l y c o m p e t e n t t o d o 4

s o

, I a g r e e w i t h t h e c o u r t o f a p p e a l s t h a t t h e s t a t u t e p l a i n l y e x c l u d e s h e r f r o m d r a w i n g b l o o d

f o r p u r p o s e s o f C h a p t e r 7 2 4 o f t h e T r a n s p o r t a t i o n C o d e

. 5

E v e n s o

, t h e C o u r t h o l d s t o d a y t h a t t h e c o u r t o f a p p e a l s e r r e d t o r e l y o n t h i s p l a i n

l a n g u a g e f

r o m t h e s t a t u t e b e c a u s e L o p e z ’ s e x p e r i e n c e i n d r a w i n g b l o o d

, a n d t h e h o s p i t a l

2

See T E X

. T R A N S P

. C O D E § 724.017(c) (“I n this section, ‘qualified techn i ci an ’ d oes not

include eme rg ency

medical se rvice s personne l.”).

3

The trial c ourt expressly

found that, “[a]s an EMT-I , [L opez] is trained to dra w blood[.] ”

4

As J udg e J ohnson points out in her concur ring opinion, the Texas H ealth and Safety Code

specific ally define s “eme rg ency medica l service s personne l” to include “eme rg ency medical

t ec h nicians—intermedia

te.” Concurring Opinion at 2 (citing T E X

. H E A L T H & S A F E T Y C O D E §

773.003(10)( C)). Thus, L opez unquestionably constituted “eme rg ency medical service s personne l”

in contemplation of the Transpor tation Code provision at issue here

. The S t at e did not contend

otherwise in the court of appea ls, declining to arg ue “that the statutory phrase ‘eme rg ency medical

service s personne l’ cannot encompa ss a licensed ‘eme rg ency medical technicia n-intermedia te’ such

as L opez.” Krause v. State

, 368 S.W .3d 863, 866 (Tex. App.—Houston [14 Dist.] 2012. “Rather

, t h

t h e State contends that an emer g ency medical technicia n who works in a hospital and reg ularly

perf orms blood draw s should not be classified as ‘eme rg en cy medical service s personne l’ for

purposes of” the Tra

nsportation Code. Id . For the re asons that follow, I disag ree

.

5

Krause

, supra

, at 866-70. I ndeed

, i f it wer e not the case that at least some emer g ency

medical service s personne l are competent to draw blood for Chapter 724 purposes, there would have

been no need for t h e L egi s l at ure expressly to exclude them from this function, since it would

presumably

have be en clea

r that they

could neve r constitute “qua lified technic ians” unde r Section

724.017(a)

.KRAUSE — 3

s e t t i n g i n w h i c h s h e h a d d o n e s o f o r h e r s i x y e a r s o f e m p l o y m e n t t h e r e

, r e n d e r e d h e r “ a d e

f a c t o p h l e b o t o m i s t ”

— a n d p h l e b o t o m i s t s h a v e b e e n h e l d t o s a t i s f y t h e c r i t e r i a f

o r a “ q u a l i f

i e d

t e c h n i c i a n ” u n d e r t h e s t a t u t e

. B u t t h e r e w a s n o e v i d e n c e t h a t L o p e z h a d b e e n t r a i n e d o r 6

c e r t i f i e d s p e c i f

i c a l l y a s a p h l e b o t o m i s t

. S u p p o s e t h a t

, a s p a r t o f h e r s i x y e a r s ’ e m p l o y m e n t 7

a t t h e h o s p i t a l

, L o p e z h a d b e e n s e r v i n g a s a d e f a c t o n u r s e

, c h e m i s t

, o r e v e n p h y s i c i a n

. I d o

n o t t h i n k i t l i k e l y t h e C o u r t w o u l d h o l d t h a t s h e w a s a u t h o r i z e d t o d r a w b l o o d f o r C h a p t e r

7 2 4 p u r p o s e s i n a n y o f t h o s e c a p a c i t i e s

. I t i s n o t c l e a r t o m e w h y a d e f a c t o p h l e b o t o m i s t

s h o u l d c o u n t a s a “ q u a l i f i e d t e c h n i c i a n ”

— e s p e c i a l l y o n e w h o r e c e i v e d h e r t r a i n i n g i n t h e

e x t r a c t i o n o f b l o o d o n l y a s a n E M T

- I

, g i v e n t h a t e m e r g e n c y m e d i c a l s e r v i c e s p e r s o n n e l a r e

6

See M aj o ri t y Op inion at 6-8 (citing Cavazos v. State

, 969 S.W .2d 454, 456 (Tex.

App.—Corpus Christi 1998, pet. ref ’d) (the State mus t s h o w t h at a particula r “phlebotomist” is

“qualifie d” to draw blood in order to satisfy Section 724.017(a) ); Torres v. State

, 109 S.W .3d 602,

605 (Tex. App.—For

th Worth 2003, no pet.) (ce rtified phlebotomist is a “qualifie d technicia n” for

purposes of Section 724.017(a) ); State v. Bin g h a m

, 921 S.W .2d 494, 495-96 (Tex. App.—Waco

1996, pet. re f’ d ) (witness was a “qualifie d technicia n” for Chapter 724 purposes by virtue of

testimony that she wa s a traine d and experienc ed phlebotomist).

I t is telling that, in its articula tion of the standard by which we conduct statutory construction,

the Court makes no mention of the principle that, while eff ectua ting leg islative intent is the ultimate

g oal, the literal lang uag e of the statute, when plain, is the best indicator of that intent. E.g.

, Tapps

v. State , 294 S.W .3d 175, 177 (Tex. Crim. App. 2009). See Majority Opinion at 6.

7

There was testimony in Bingham that phlebotomis ts a r e n o t s u b je c t to licensing require ments

in Texas. 921 S.W .2d at 496. I nsofar as my rese arc h reve als, that is still the case

. But see T E X

. C I V

. P R A C

. & R E M

. C O D E § 104.001 (providing for indemnity by the State under cer tain circ umstances

to “a phlebotomist licensed in this state

. . .”). Neve rtheless, phlebotomy is a discre t e discipline,

subject to formal classroom training by acc redited instit utions, minimum supervised clinical

experience

, and an exam for cer tification. See

, e.g

. , A M E R I C A N S O C I E T Y O F P H L E B O T O M Y

T E C H N I C I A N S

, Phlebotomy Ce r ti fi c a ti o n ( la s t v is it e d M a

y 6

, 2 0 1 3 )

, h tt

p ://aspt.org/phlebotomy .html.

There is no evidence in the rec ord that L opez satisfied any of these c riteria.KRAUSE — 4

e x p r e s s l y e x c e p t e d f

r o m t h e c a t e g o r y o f “ q u a l i f i e d t e c h n i c i a n

. ”

I d o n o t m e a n t o s u g g e s t t h a t

, h a d t h e e v i d e n c e s h o w n t h a t L o p e z w a s b o t h a n E M T

- I

a n d a c e r t i f

i e d p h l e b o t o m i s t

, t h e a p p e l l a n t ’ s m o t i o n t o s u p p r e s s s h o u l d s t i l l h a v e b e e n

g r a n t e d

. N o t a t a l l

. T h a t t h e t e r m “ q u a l i f i e d t e c h n i c i a n ” m a y n o t b e c o n s t r u e d t o “ i n c l u d e

e m e r g e n c y m e d i c a l s e r v i c e s p e r s o n n e l ” d o e s n o t n e c e s s a r i l y m e a n t h a t s o m e o n e w h o i s

t r a i n e d a s b o t h a n E M T

- I a n d a c e r t i f i e d p h l e b o t o m i s t m a y n o t d r a w b l o o d u n d e r C h a p t e r

7 2 4

. A t b e s t

, S e c t i o n 7 2 4

. 0 1 7 ( c ) i s a m b i g u o u s w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h i s p a r t i c u l a r q u e s t i o n

, a n d

I v e r y m u c h d o u b t t h a t t h e L e g i s l a t u r e w o u l d w i s h u s t o c o n s t r u e i t t o r u l e o u t a c e r t i f i e d

p h l e b o t o m i s t w h o a l s o j u s t h a p p e n e d t o b e a n E M T

- I

. B u t t h e S t a t e d i d n o t e s t a b l i s h t h a t

L o p e z w a s a c t u a l l y t r a i n e d a s a p h l e b o t o m i s t

, p e r s e

, a n d I a m n o m o r e i n c l i n e d t o t h i n k t h a t

t h e L e g i s l a t u r e i n t e n d e d t o a u t h o r i z e C h a p t e r 7 2 4 b l o o d d r a w s f r o m d e f a c t o p h l e b o t o m i s t s

t h a n f r o m d e f a c t o d o c t o r s

, c h e m i s t s

, o r n u r s e s

.

I s u s p e c t t h a t t h e C o u r t i s i n f l u e n c e d i n i t s c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f t h i s c a s e b y w h a t i t r e g a r d s

a s t h e e v i d e n t p u r p o s e b e h i n d S e c t i o n 7 2 4

. 0 1 7 ( c )

. T h e L e g i s l a t u r e h a s e x p r e s s l y p r o v i d e d

t h a t “ [ t ] h e b l o o d s p e c i m e n m u s t b e t a k e n i n a s a n i t a r y p l a c e

. ” O b v i o u s l y

, t h e L e g i s l a t u r e 8

d i d n o t p r e f

e r f o r C h a p t e r 7 2 4 b l o o d d r a w s t o b e c o n d u c t e d a m i d s t t h e c h a o s a n d

q u e s t i o n a b l e c l e a n l i n e s s o f a r o a d s i d e a c c i d e n t s c e n e

, i n t h e b a c k o f a b a r r e l i n g a m b u l a n c e

,

o r

, a s i n S t a t e v

. L a i r d

, o n t h e f i l t h y f l o o r o f a f

i r e s t a t i o n

— c o n d i t i o n s u n d e r w h i c h 9

8

T E X

. T R A N S P

. C O D E § 724.017(a)

.

9

38 S.W .3d 707 (Tex. App.—Austin 2000, pet. ref ’d).KRAUSE — 5

e m e r g e n c y m e d i c a l s e r v i c e p e r s o n n e l a r e s o m e t i m e s c o n s t r a i n e d b y e x i g e n c y t o o p e r a t e

.

B u t

, t h e C o u r t s e e m s t o r e a s o n

, b e c a u s e o f L o p e z ’ s a p p a r e n t c o m p e t e n c e a n d t h e f a c t t h a t

a l l o f h e r b l o o d d r a w s t a k e p l a c e i n t h e r e l a t i v e l y t r a n q u i l a n d a n t i s e p t i c e n v i r o n m e n t o f a

h o s p i t a l

, s h e m a y b e f

o u n d t o f i t t h e d e f i n i t i o n o f “ q u a l i f

i e d t e c h n i c i a n

, ” n o t w i t h s t a n d i n g

S e c t i o n 7 2 4

. 0 1 7 ( c ) ’ s e x p r e s s e x c l u s i o n o f e m e r g e n c y m e d i c a l s e r v i c e s p e r s o n n e l f r o m t h a t

d e f i n i t i o n

. L i k e t h e c o u r t o f a p p e a l s

, I r e j e c t t h i s r e a s o n i n g

. A s s u m i n g t h a t a s s u r i n g s a f e t y 1 0

a n d s a n i t a t i o n w a s i n d e e d t h e i m p e t u s f o r t h e L e g i s l a t u r e ’ s e x p r e s s e x c l u s i o n o f e m e r g e n c y

m e d i c a l s e r v i c e s p e r s o n n e l f r o m t h e d e f

i n i t i o n o f “ q u a l i f

i e d t e c h n i c i a n

, ” i t w a s c e r t a i n l y

w i t h i n t h e l e g i s l a t i v e p r e r o g a t i v e t o t a k e a c a t e g o r i c a l v i e w o f t h e m a t t e r a n d p a i n t w i t h a

b r u s h t h a t w a s b r o a d e r t h a n s t r i c t l y n e c e s s a r y t o a c h i e v e i t s o b j e c t i v e

. T h a t i s w h a t S e c t i o n

7 2 4

. 0 1 7 ( c ) p l a i n l y d o e s ; i t c a t e g o r i c a l l y p r o h i b i t s E M T

- I s f r o m d r a w i n g b l o o d

, t h o u g h m a n y

o f t h e m a r e c o m p e t e n t t o d o s o a n d c a n o f t e n g e t i t d o n e u n d e r c o n d i t i o n s t h a t a r e p e r f e c t l y

s a f e a n d s a n i t a r y

. T h e C o u r t m a y p r e f e r a l i g h t e r t o u c h

, b u t t h a t i s n o t f o r u s t o s a y w h e n t h e

l a n g u a g e o f a s t a t u t e i s a s p l a i n

— a n d p l a i n l y c a t e g o r i c a l

— a s t h i s o n e

. 1 1

U n d e r S e c t i o n 7 2 4

. 0 1 7 ( c )

, e m e r g e n c y m e d i c a l t e c h n i c i a n s q u a e m e r g e n c y m e d i c a l

t e c h n i c i a n s m a y n o t e x t r a c t b l o o d f o r p u r p o s e s o f C h a p t e r 7 2 4 o f t h e T r a n s p o r t a t i o n C o d e

.

B e c a u s e t h a t w a s t h e o n l y c a p a c i t y i n w h i c h L o p e z w a s t r a i n e d t o p e r f o r m b l o o d d r a w s

, s h e

1 0

Krause

, supra , at 869.

1 1

See Tapps

, supra

, at 177 (unambig uous statutes must be understood to mean what they say

, and it is not for revie wing courts to add or subtract f rom their cle ar la

ng uag e).KRAUSE — 6

i s p l a i n l y e x c l u d e d f

r o m s e r v i n g i n t h a t f

u n c t i o n

. I w o u l d t h e r e f o r e a f f i r m t h e j u d g m e n t o f

t h e c o u r t o f a p p e a l s

. B e c a u s e t h e C o u r t d o e s n o t

, I r e s p e c t f u l l y d i s s e n t

.

F I L E D : M a y 8

, 2 0 1 3

P U B L I S H