Court Opinion

ID: 9518500
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 00:54:41.693489+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:29:22.136442
License: Public Domain

STATON, Senior Judge,
dissenting.
The only issue before the Court is whether a stainless steel tongue stud in Guy's mouth during the chemical breath test is a "foreign substance" as contemplated by the statutory guidelines. I think not.
I dissent. The judgment of the trial court should be affirmed. The statutory definition of a "foreign substance" could not reasonably include every possible item found attached or unattached in a person's mouth or possession. The metal object in *843Guy's mouth, a stainless steel tongue stud, was part of her persona.4 When objects are a part of a person's persona and they are characterized as foreign substances, some evidence must be presented to indicate that they justifiably come within the meaning of the statute setting forth the guidelines to be followed for the test. In Guy's record, there is no evidence-none.
The "foreign substance" characterization for definition must be considered in the context of the statutory guidelines for a chemical breath test for alcohol. The guidelines provide in part: "The person to be tested must have had nothing to eat or drink, must not have put any foreign substance in his or her mouth or respiratory tract, and must not smoke within twenty (20) minutes to the time a breath sample is taken." 260 IAC 1.1-4-8. From this context, it is difficult to reasonably understand how the Majority transformed a stainless steel tongue stud into a "foreign substance."
The stainless steel stud was in Guy's mouth before, during, and after the test. An experienced police officer did not ask her to remove the stainless steel stud when he administered the test. He was aware of the stud in Guy's mouth before the test. The trial judge did not think that the stainless steel stud was a foreign substance when he denied the motion to suppress. There is absolutely no evidence in the record to justify the Majority's characterization of the stainless steel stud as a foreign substance. It was a part of Guy's persona until proven otherwise.
The intent and purpose of the statute is to assure a fair, accurate test result. With the aid of the Indiana University Department of Toxicology, guidelines have been established. State v. Johanson, 695 N.E.2d 965, 966-67 (Ind.Ct.App.1998) (citing Ind.Code § 9-30-6-5). A waiting period of "twenty (20) minutes" is required before the test is administered. During this waiting period nothing is to be "put" in the mouth of the person being tested. State v. Molnar, 808 N.E.2d 261, 265 (Ind. Ct.App.2004). The twenty (20) minute waiting period appears to be the crucial guideline for the test. In State v. Al-bright, 632 N.E.2d 725, 726 (Ind.1994), the Supreme Court concluded that the record clearly exhibited that the police officer waited the necessary twenty (20) minutes. Albright had peanut fragments in his mouth at the time of the test. In Molnar, Molnar had been chewing tobacco before the test. After he spit the tobacco wad out, there were still some fragments of the tobacco between his teeth, but he had not "put" anything in his mouth during the twenty (20) minute waiting period. The Court of Appeals found that the guidelines had been correctly observed because nothing had been "put" in Molnar's mouth during the twenty (20) minute waiting period. Molnar, 803 N.E.2d at 267. Likewise, in Albright, the Supreme Court found that the twenty (20) minute guideline requirement had been followed. 682 N.E.2d at 726. The peanut fragments in Albright's mouth did not render the test invalid.
Foreign Substance is a very broad term. Its meaning depends on the context in which it is used. In the Statute, the term "foreign substance" is used in relation to a chemical breath test to. determine the amount of alcohol in the subject's system. *844The critical period is the twenty (20) minute waiting period. During this period nothing is to be eaten, drunk, or consumed by the subject. Because the breath of the subject is so important, no smoking is allowed. The stainless steel stud is affixed to Guy's tongue. It cannot be digested as food or drink. There is no evidence in the record to show how or why a stainless steel stud should be taken from Guy's tongue before or during the chemical breath test. Without any indication or evidence to indicate why the stainless steel stud might possibly be a "foreign substance" that would invalidate the test, the State has carried its burden as far as the alcohol test is concerned.
I would affirm the judgment of the trial court.

. The Random House Dictionary of the English Language. (The Unabridged Edition) 1966, defines persona: "... the mask or fa-gade presented to satisfy the demands of the situation or environment and not representing the inner personality of the individual." Webster's Third New International Dictionary. (Unabridged) 1970, defines persona as: ... "The social front, facade or mark an individual assumes to depict to the world at large the role in life that he is playing." The stainless steel stud aptly fits either definition.