Opinion ID: 4562197
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Scope of Administrative Suspension Hearing

Text: In furtherance of the goals described above, the General Assembly has statutorily prescribed the permissible scope of an administrative hearing challenging the suspension of a driver's license. The statute contemplates an expeditious civil review but also guards against an automatic or rote elimination of this [important] interest. S.C. Dep't of Motor Vehicles v. McCarson, 391 S.C. 136, 148, 705 S.E.2d 425, 431 (2011). As with the penalties imposed, the General Assembly has differentiated the scope of the review based on whether the motorist submitted to— or refused to submit to—testing. Section 56-5-2951(F) sets forth the permissible scope of the suspension hearing in cases where a motorist has refused to submit to testing as follows: (F) A contested case hearing must be held after the request for the hearing is received by the [OMVH]. The scope of the hearing is limited to whether the person: (1) was lawfully arrested or detained; (2) was given a written copy of and verbally informed of the rights enumerated in Section 56-5-2950; [and] (3) refused to submit to a test pursuant to Section 56-5-2950 . . . . S.C. Code Ann. § 56-5-2951(F)(1)-(3) (2018) (emphasis added). There has been no dispute as to the first two factors to support the suspension: Sanders was properly arrested and he was informed of his implied consent rights. Therefore, the suspension hearing turned on the third factor, refusal to submit to a test pursuant to the implied consent statute. See id. § 56-5-2951(F)(3); see also City of Columbia v. Moore, 318 S.C. 292, 296, 457 S.E.2d 346, 348 (Ct. App. 1995) (observing the law implies a person's consent to testing, [b]ut this consent is only to chemical tests under the procedure plainly set forth in the statute). The officer was authorized to ask for a blood test if any of the exceptions in section 56-5-2950(A) applied. See S.C. Code Ann. § 56-5-2950(A) (stating an officer need not offer a breath test [i]f the person is physically unable to provide an acceptable breath sample because the person has an injured mouth, is unconscious or dead, or for any other reason considered acceptable by the licensed medical personnel (emphasis added)). The court of appeals determined the record here supported the conclusion that the officer's request for a blood test was authorized because licensed medical personnel determined Sanders was unable to submit to a breath test.