Court Opinion

ID: 9733498
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 17:09:21.069367+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:26:42.064698
License: Public Domain

Morse, J.,
dissenting. I disagree with the Court’s conclusion in Part IV that a defendant must introduce a chemical test to be entitled to a permissive inference that he was not under the influence of intoxicating liquor. I concur with the rest of the opinion.
In State v. Lombard, 146 Vt. 411, 413-14, 505 A.2d 1182, 1183-84 (1985), this Court upheld the defendant’s conviction for DUI against a claim that he was entitled to, but wás refused, a jury instruction explaining the then mandatory presumption of an earlier version of 23 V.S.A. § 1204(a)(1). 23 V.S.A. § 1204(a)(1) (.05 percent or less BAC requires a finding of not under the influence). No test result was introduced nor was any other evidence of defendant’s BAC at the time of operation. Lombard is distinguishable from this case because the basic fact, the probable BAC, was never introduced in evidence and thus no presumption could apply. In this case, evidence of the defendant’s BAC was introduced. Therefore, § 1204(a)(1), amended to allow a permissive inference that the person was not under the influence, applies.
The State argues, and the Court today holds, that the plain meaning of 23 V.S.A. § 1204 dictates that the statutory infer*598ence does not apply unless there is a chemical “analysis” in evidence showing “the amount of alcohol in the person’s blood or breath at the time alleged.” If that is the plain meaning of this statute, it makes no sense.
The inference arises not because a “test” was given, but because certain scientific principles dictate that the percentage of alcohol in the blood follows from varying levels of alcohol consumption. An analysis of these principles allows for the conclusion that a person who consumes one drink will have a BAC of .05 percent or less thereafter. Accordingly, the person should receive the benefit of the statutory inference of not being under the influence.
In the case at hand, such an analysis was introduced into evidence, as the statute requires. Yet the trial court refused to instruct the jury on the permissive inference of § 1204. A particular BAC does not cease to exist at a given moment merely because a “test” was not performed. Nor does § 1204(a)(1) require a test to prove it. The law is not some metaphysical exercise, like determining whether a tree falling in the woods makes no sound unless there is someone there to hear it.
If it is possible to analyze a person’s BAC with the required level of scientific precision without doing a laboratory blood or breath test, I see no reason to say the statutory inference is no longer applicable. The inference is either scientifically sound or it is not. See State v. Bushey, 149 Vt. 378, 380, 543 A.2d 1327, 1328-29 (1988) (expert testimony admissible absent an admissible test result to calculate number of drinks needed to reach a certain BAC).
A contrary view would mean that the Legislature could discriminate between people who are under .05 BAC and have a test and those under .05 BAC who do not have a test simply because they were not tested, or their test was lost or was inaccurate. We should avoid such an absurd interpretation. See State v. Rice, 145 Vt. 25, 34, 483 A.2d 248, 253 (1984) (a statute will not be construed to lead to absurd or irrational results).
The Legislature, when it enacted various inferences for DUI, made policy judgments based on scientific evidence concerning the effects of intoxicating liquor. It was, however, the Legislature’s prerogative to determine what percentage of alcohol in the blood constitutes a violation of the criminal law. The Legis*599lature has allowed the trier of fact to determine the effect on the defendant of a BAC of .05 or less with the aid of a statutory inference. It could not legitimately declare that persons with a .05 BAC or less who introduce a test into evidence may be found not guilty of DUI because an inference favors them, while those who prove the same BAC level by expert testimony do not get the benefit of the inference. Obviously, those unlucky enough to be in the latter situation incur a greater risk of being found guilty. Nevertheless, this is the effective result of the majority’s narrow interpretation of the word “analysis.”
I am mindful that this case has little future impact on DUI law, because the .05 or less BAC inference was repealed by a 1991 amendment. That legislative change notwithstanding, this defendant should have received the full benefit of the prior law.
I would reverse and remand.