Opinion ID: 2225471
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Whether the State laid a sufficient foundation demonstrating what the approved procedures for administering a breath test were.

Text: Mullins relies on several cases that say the State must offer some evidence of what the approved procedures for administering a breath test are. In Klebs v. State (1974), 159 Ind. App. 180, 305 N.E.2d 781, trans. denied, cert. denied, 419 U.S. 869, 95 S.Ct. 127, 42 L.Ed.2d 107 (1974), the Court of Appeals concluded that it was error to admit breath-test results when the State had not laid the proper foundation by proof of what the approved procedures for administering breath tests were. The court said: We cannot conclude, as a matter of law, that the State sustained its burden in establishing a foundation for admission of the results of the breathalyzer test... . Lieutenant Awe described the technique used to administer the test in response to preliminary voir dire by Klebs' counsel, however the record is devoid of any evidence to establish the procedure described resembled the procedure approved by the department of toxicology. Id. 159 Ind. App. at 184, 305 N.E.2d at 783-84. Similarly, in Hartman v. State (1980), Ind. App., 401 N.E.2d 723, reh'g denied, the Court of Appeals reversed a conviction for driving while intoxicated. Although at trial the State introduced a video tape of the officer giving the defendant a breath test, the Court of Appeals said, While the video tape portrays the technique utilized by Collins to administer the test, the record is devoid of any evidence establishing that the procedure utilized resembled the procedure approved by the department. Hence, the test results were inadmissible. Id. at 725. And in Boothe v. State (1982), Ind. App., 439 N.E.2d 708, trans. denied, the State offered the statement by the officer who had administered the test that the procedures he had followed were those approved by the Department of Toxicology. The Court of Appeals said: Boothe argues [that the officer's statement] is an insufficient foundation upon which to base admission of the breathalyzer results. The State must offer a copy of the document setting out the approved procedures for it to be sufficient. Officer Haverstock's statement was a mere assertion he believed the approved procedures were followed. Such statement was insufficient to prove what the approved procedures were. We agree. Id. at 711 (citing Klebs ). But in Sell v. State (1986), Ind. App., 496 N.E.2d 799, the Court of Appeals affirmed a conviction for driving while intoxicated where the officer who administered the breath test read the approved procedures into the record. The Court of Appeals said: Sell argues ... it was error to admit his breath test results absent admission of a copy of the department of toxicology guidelines for such tests. We do not agree. We note first that, although Ind. Code 9-11-4-5(c)(3) [now Indiana Code § 9-30-6-5(c)(3)] provides that a certified copy of the department of toxicology guidelines is prima facie evidence that the approved procedure was followed, the statute does not make this the exclusive method of proof. Grogan v. State (1985), Ind. App., 482 N.E.2d 300, 306[, trans. denied ]. Neither do the cases Sell cites require that a copy of the department guidelines be introduced into evidence. What the cited cases do require is that there be some evidence as to what the approved procedures were. By having the test operator read into the record the applicable procedures from the department guidelines and testify that he followed these procedures, the State has provided such evidence. Id. 496 N.E.2d at 801. In Gokey v. State (1987), Ind. App., 510 N.E.2d 703, the Court of Appeals found no error in the admission of breath-test results where the prosecutor led the officer who administered the test through questions designed to elicit responses that showed the officer followed the approved procedure for administering the test. The Court of Appeals said: In Sell the officer administering the test read the procedures into the record. Here the State read the procedures into the record in the form of foundational questions. We view the two as equivalent. We find a proper foundation was layed [sic] so as to allow the admission of the breathalyzer test into evidence. When as here the State lays a foundation for a breath test by repeating the required language from the approved procedures in the form of questions designed to elicit testimony showing compliance with the approved procedures, no error is committed in admitting the test results. Id. at 706. This evolution in the Court of Appeals' decisions reached its end in Hatch v. State (1989), Ind. App., 547 N.E.2d 276, in which the Court of Appeals pointed out correctly that the State need not present any evidence of what the proper procedures for administering breath tests are since the regulations involved are to be judicially noticed. The Hatch court said: [Hatch] argues there was a failure of proof because no copy of such regulations [governing approved test procedures] was offered in evidence. None was necessary. The regulations, adopted pursuant to IC 4-22-9-2, appear at 260 IAC 1.1-1-1 through 1.1-4-5. IC 4-22-9-3 provides that rules so adopted shall be judicially noticed by all courts and agencies of this state. The rules were properly before the court. Id. at 277. This is the position we approved in Baran. See Baran, 639 N.E.2d at 646. And we reiterate the point here: the State need not present any evidence of what the approved procedures for administering a breath test are because regulations in the Administrative Code prescribe those procedures and because those regulations are to be judicially noticed. [6] Thus, in this case, as in Baran and Hatch, the regulation prescribing the proper procedure for administering a breath test using a BAC Datamaster with a keyboard was properly before the court.