Opinion ID: 874141
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Yount Is Immune from Miller's Battery Claim Under the ITCA

Text: Civil battery consists of an intentional contact with another person that is either unlawful, harmful, or offensive. Neal v. Neal, 125 Idaho 617, 622, 873 P.2d 871, 876 (1994). Lack of consent is a critical element of battery. Id. Yount asserted in his motion for summary judgment that there was no evidence he acted with malice. All drivers in Idaho impliedly consent to BAC and drug tests upon reasonable suspicion. I.C. § 18-8002(1); State v. Woolery, 116 Idaho 368, 371, 775 P.2d 1210, 1213 (1989). Permissible testing is simply defined as a procedure or test or series of procedures or tests ... utilized to determine the concentration of alcohol or the presence of drugs or other intoxicating substances in a person. I.C. § 18-8002(9). This Court has made it clear that `the choice as to which type of evidentiary test for concentration of alcohol, drugs or other intoxicating substances will be requested rests with the police officer, not the defendant.' Halen v. State, 136 Idaho 829, 832, 41 P.3d 257, 260 (2002) (quoting In re Griffiths, 113 Idaho 364, 370, 744 P.2d 92, 98 (1987)). A catheterization is a urine test for drugs present in the suspect's body, and since the parties agree that there was probable cause to believe that Miller was operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, Miller impliedly consented to it. Because Yount was acting during the course and scope of his employment, the burden was on Miller, as the plaintiff below, to show some evidence that Yount acted maliciously or with criminal intent. I.C. § 6-903(e); Hunter v. State, 138 Idaho 44, 48, 57 P.3d 755, 759 (2002). The plaintiff cannot rest on the pleadings but must show some evidence from which the court could reasonably infer the critical elements of his or her claims. Anderson v. City of Pocatello, 112 Idaho 176, 188, 731 P.2d 171, 183 (1986). Malice here means the intentional commission of a wrongful or unlawful act, without legal justification or excuse and with ill will, whether or not injury was intended. Beco Constr. Co. v. City of Idaho Falls, 124 Idaho 859, 864, 865 P.2d 950, 955 (1993) (quoting Anderson, 112 Idaho at 187-88, 731 P.2d at 182-83). Criminal intent is satisfied if it is shown that the defendant knowingly performed the proscribed acts. Doe v. Durtschi, 110 Idaho 466, 470, 716 P.2d 1238, 1242 (1986) (quoting State v. Gowin, 97 Idaho 766, 767-68, 554 P.2d 944, 945-46 (1976)). As the district court freely acknowledged, Miller has not provided any evidence whatsoever in the form of an affidavit, deposition, or other document regarding the facts in this case. No shred of evidence suggests that Yount acted with malice or criminal intent. Since the parties in this case agree that probable cause existed for Yount to test Miller for drugs, the only reasonable inference is that he catheterized Miller pursuant to a valid criminal investigation. Miller instead advances a legal argument to support his battery claim. He contends that Yount had the statutory right to order a blood draw only for certain serious offenses, none of which he was charged with. Idaho Code § 18-8002(6)(b) states that peace officers are empowered to order medical professionals to withdraw blood samples for certain aggravated offenses, such as aggravated DUI and vehicular manslaughter. [8] Since Miller was charged with misdemeanor DUI, he asserts that Yount committed battery by illegally ordering him to submit to a test for bodily fluids. He also argues that § 18-8002 does not authorize police to order anyone to be subjected to a catheterization, only to blood draws. However, as this Court has already expressly held, § 18-8002(6)(b) is merely a list of situations in which peace officers can order certain medical personnel to perform a blood test upon a suspect. [A]n officer's authority to require a defendant to submit to a blood withdrawal, under I.C. § 18-8002, does not turn on whether aggravating factors are present. Halen, 136 Idaho at 834, 41 P.3d at 262. Anyone driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs impliedly consents to evidentiary testing for drugs or other intoxicating substances in the bloodstream regardless of whether he or she is suspected of an aggravated offense. That is, police can require all drivers to submit to drug tests if reasonable suspicion exists that they are under the influence of drugs. If medical personnel refuse to administer a drug test on a DUI suspect, the police cannot order them to do so. Section 18-8002(6)(b) is, however, an exception to the rule that law enforcement cannot order unwilling medical facilities to administer drug tests. It permits police to require medical personnel to administer blood tests in cases where a person is suspected of certain aggravated crimes. Id. It also does not mention urine tests whatsoever. This provision therefore has no bearing on an officer's power to require someone suspected of driving under the influence to submit to a bodily fluids test, whether for blood or urine. The district court erred by not granting summary judgment to Yount on Miller's battery claim.