Court Opinion

ID: 9618237
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 05:09:17.121252+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:04:26.462472
License: Public Domain

SHEPARD, Chief Justice,
dissenting in part.
I dissent to Part VIII of the majority opinion.
The majority has held that a defendant may prevail at an I.C. § 18-8002 hearing by showing “cause” for his refusal to take a blood-alcohol test. I cannot agree.
I.C. § 18-8002 states in pertinent part: (1) Any person who drives or is in actual physical control of a motor vehicle in this state shall be deemed to have given his consent to an evidentiary test for concentration of alcohol, drugs or other intoxicating substances as defined in section 18-8004, Idaho Code, provided that such test is administered at the request of a police officer having reasonable grounds to believe that person has been driving or in actual physical control of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, drugs or of any other intoxicating substances. (Emphasis added.)
Thus, a motorist is under a statutory duty to consent to an evidentiary test when he has exercised his operating privileges, provided the requesting officer has reasonable grounds to believe that the motorist was driving while under the influence of an intoxicating substance. Whether the officer had reasonable grounds to justify the stop of the defendant is not at issue in this case, but rather whether a “fear of needles” is a sufficient cause to justify the defendant’s refusal to take a blood-alcohol test.
The purpose of section 18-8002, ..., is to provide an incentive for motorists to cooperate in determining levels of blood-alcohol content by a reasonably precise scientific method. This purpose reflects our legislature’s determination that drivers with blood-alcohol levels of .10% or higher represent intolerable hazards to traffic safety. See State v. Knoll, 110 Idaho 678, 718 P.2d 589 (Ct.App.1986). The state’s interest in traffic safety, and the legitimacy of its objective of detecting alcohol-impaired drivers cannot be gainsaid. See generally State v. Ankney, 109 Idaho 1, 704 P.2d 333 (1985). This objective is served rationally by imposing a sanction of absolute suspension upon motorists who refuse to be tested. State v. Breed, 111 Idaho 497, 501, 725 P.2d 202, 206 (1986).
Construing the statutory language and the applicable case law, it is clear that I.C. § 18-8002 outlines the sanctions placed upon a motorist when he fails to comply with his statutory duty.
I.C. § 18-8002(4)(b) provides in part:
(4) If the motorist refuses to take the evidentiary test after the information has been given in accordance with subsection (3) above:
(b) ... the court shall suspend all his driving privileges immediately ... unless it finds that the police officer did not have probable cause to stop and request him to take the test or that the request violated his civil rights.
*374The “unless” language of subsection 4(b) allows for two issues to be raised at a hearing: (1) Whether probable cause existed for the police officer to make the stop; and (2) Whether the defendant’s civil rights have been violated. In my view, the legislative intent is clear. A motorist is deemed to have given consent to testing for blood-alcohol content when an offficer has probable cause to believe the motorist is driving under the influence of intoxicants. The motorist must be advised of consequences of a refusal of testing. The right to request and choose an evidentiary test is the police officer’s, not the detained party’s. Refusal of the test is not an option of the detained party. An excuse such as a “fear of needles,” to refuse an evidentiary test is irrelevant and beyond the causes enumerated in subsection (4)(b).
In Department of Transportation, Bureau of Traffic Safety v. Bartle, 93 Pa. Cmwlth. 132, 500 A.2d 525 (1985), a driver arrested for driving under the influence was asked to submit to a blood test because of a malfunctioning breathalyzer. The driver, however, refused the blood test because he was afraid of needles. He argued that such a refusal did not warrant suspension of his driver’s license due to the fact that he had not been given the option of urinalysis. The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania rejected this argument and stated, “Anything less than an unqualified, unequivocal assent to take the test constitutes a refusal.” Thus, the suspension was upheld on the basis of the court’s belief that a motorist has a statutory duty to assent when he has exercised his operating privileges. See also Commonwealth, Department of Transportation, Bureau of Drivers Licensing v. Curran, 526 A.2d 1265 (1987); Binder v. Commonwealth, 99 Pa.Cmwlth. 548, 513 A.2d 1105, 1107 (1986); Smith v. Commonwealth, 97 Pa.Cmwlth. 74, 508 A.2d 1269 (1986). I.C. § 18-8002, like the Pennsylvania statute, requires submission to a chemical test and such submission is a statutory duty to which motorists consent when they exercise their operating privileges.
I would affirm the district court in its affirmance of the trial court, and hold that as a matter of law, any alleged excuses outside of the causes prescribed in subsection (4)(b) are irrelevant.
BAKES, J., concurs.