Court Opinion

ID: 9550388
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 18:34:51.45588+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:21:28.788621
License: Public Domain

Goodloe, J.
(dissenting) — The majority bases its decision solely on the state toxicologist's and Sergeant Gullberg's assertion that the DataMaster produces an accurate and reliable result. Since there is not substantial evidence to support the finding that the DataMaster produces such a result, I dissent.
I
The majority is correct that the standard of review of the district court decision is governed by RALJ 9.1, which states in part:
(a) Errors of Law. The superior court shall review the decision of the court of limited jurisdiction to determine whether that court has committed any errors of law.
(b) Factual Determinations. The superior court shall accept those factual determinations supported by substantial evidence in the record (1) which were expressly made by the court of limited jurisdiction, or (2) that may reasonably be inferred from the judgment of the court of limited jurisdiction.
(Italics mine.) RALJ 9.1(b) comports with the substantial evidence rule that the Court of Appeals applies when reviewing a superior court judgment. 4A L. Orland, Wash. Prac., Rules Practice § 7731, at 541 (3d ed. 1983). "Substantial evidence exists if the record contains evidence of *838sufficient quantity to persuade a fair-minded, rational person of the truth of the declared premise." Bering v. Share, 106 Wn.2d 212, 220, 721 P.2d 918 (1986), cert. dismissed, 479 U.S. 1050, 93 L. Ed. 2d 990, 107 S. Ct. 940 (1987).
In the present case, the District Court made no express findings of fact. Thus, this court is bound only to accept those findings of fact that may reasonably be inferred from the district court judgment.
The majority concludes that the District Court made the inferred finding that the DataMaster produces an accurate and reliable result, and asserts that this finding is based on substantial evidence. However, one only needs to read the record to realize that there is not substantial evidence to support such an inferred finding.
Interestingly, the majority never discusses the evidence which it contends supports its position that the DataMaster produces an accurate and reliable result except for the state toxicologist's and Sergeant Gullberg's assertion that it does. Rather, the majority improperly turns this evidentiary question around by asserting that "there is nothing in the record to suggest that the DataMaster produced an inaccurate result when, its test was administered to defendant Ford." Majority opinion, at 836. This statement is simply not correct.
Sergeant Gullberg's testimony alone raises concerns whether the DataMaster produces an accurate and reliable result. Sergeant Gullberg testified:
1. Some DataMasters detected acetone during testing, although the simulator solution was simply alcohol and water. The cause for this misreading was never discovered.
2. The DataMaster fails to detect acetaldehyde as a compound other than ethyl alcohol although the bid specifications require it to detect interferents. (Acetaldehyde is used to make perfumes and drugs.)
3. The State Patrol concluded that using a pump rather than having the individual blow into the instrument was the proper method to calibrate the DataMaster, despite the fact that the manufacturer Verax recommended the latter *839method. Test results run on the DataMaster gave different results depending on the calibration method used. The reason for this disparity was never found. Gullberg testified that he did not know which method was more scientifically accurate.
4. The DataMaster gave false interferent readings with an acetone solution when the machine was calibrated for a .10 acetone exclusion (Verax originally recommended that the DataMaster he calibrated at this level). No tests were ever run to determine the cause of this problem. Instead, the State Patrol decided to calibrate the machine with an approximately .03 exclusion, because at this level the machine did not give false interferent readings.
5. In some cases, interferents were detected in one sample but not the other (two identical samples are run on each individual as a check against each other). The source of this problem was never discovered. However, the state toxicologist solved this problem by ordering that the inter-ferent threshold level be raised from .005 to .01. This means any interferent between .0 and .009 will not trigger the interferent detection device.
6. Other DataMaster problems included difficulties with the printer, simulator pump, and calibration factor. Also, the microprocessor locked up in the review mode, and the system would not zero.
Time and time again, the State Patrol, with the state toxicologist's approval, adjusted away problems because neither the State Patrol nor Verax could determine the source of those problems. Such methodology raises doubts whether the DataMaster produces an accurate and reliable result.
The State Patrol was apparently concerned about the numerous problems it encountered while testing the Data-Master. In about May 1985, the State Patrol considered terminating the DataMaster contract. A committee met to discuss such a termination. Interestingly, the State Patrol did not inform the state toxicologist until sometime later that it had considered terminating the contract.
*840The state toxicologist's testimony raises further concerns about whether the DataMaster produces an accurate and reliable result. He testified that he approved the Data-Master because he believed the Verifier, its predecessor, was reliable based on the initial tests run on it. Nevertheless, the state toxicologist admitted the following during his testimony:
1. He acknowledged that prior to the time the committee was formed to discuss adopting an infrared testing device, neither he nor the State Patrol had any familiarity with infrared breath alcohol testing.
2. He knew that the Verifier failed 55 percent of test levels in the evaluation procedures for both accuracy and precision. He also knew that the Verifier failed the initial evaluation tests and its performance would have failed to pass bid specifications at 18 out of 20 levels for both accuracy and precision. Further, the evaluation tests provided no information on the Verifier's ability to detect interfer-ents isopropanol and methanol because of instrument failure.
3. He did not consider Sergeant Gullberg's opinion when selecting the device. Sergeant Gullberg recommended that the State choose the Intoxilyzer 5000 over the Verifier and other instruments.
4. He considered the Verifier and the DataMaster virtually identical, although Sergeant Gullberg considered the DataMaster an entirely new instrument. He reached this conclusion because he felt that "the [DataMaster] was still measuring alcohol the same way." Report of Proceedings, at 164. However, he then conceded that no data existed to support this conclusion.
Decisionmaking is arbitrary and capricious if it is willful and unreasoning action ignoring the facts and circumstances. Micone v. Steilacoom Civil Serv. Comm'n, 44 Wn. App. 636, 722 P.2d 1369, review denied, 107 Wn.2d 1010 (1986); UPS, Inc. v. Department of Rev., 102 Wn.2d 355, 687 P.2d 186 (1984). In the present case, the state *841toxicologist's actions make no sense. It is apparent that he made his questionable selection of the Verifier and then stayed with that choice no matter what happened. In other words, he acted arbitrarily and capriciously.
Furthermore, the DataMaster was not fully tested under the bid specification requirements, so there is a lack of data to study to ascertain whether the DataMaster produces accurate and precise results.
Sergeant Gullberg admits that the bid specifications were prepared with the intention that the infrared device used in the state would conform to each specification. Nevertheless, the DataMaster was never tested to determine if it met all of the bid specifications. Sergeant Gullberg's testimony regarding bid specification included the following:
1. The bid specifications required the machine to detect interferents. The DataMaster reads acetaldehyde as alcohol.
2. The bid specifications required the machine to have the capability for detecting mouth alcohol. Although Sergeant Gullberg thinks that the DataMaster was tested for mouth alcohol detection, no such results were recorded.
3. The bid specifications required that the machine operate despite "power spikes", sudden surges of electrical power. The DataMaster was never tested to see what effect a "power spike" would have on it.
4. The bid specifications required that the machine operate under varying environmental conditions: humidity — 0 to 100 percent; ambient temperature — 20 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit; barometric pressure — 21 to 32 inches of mercury; and altitude — 0 to 6,000 feet. Tests were never run on the DataMaster to see whether it operated within these parameters.
The bid specifications were designed for a purpose. Despite this, many bid specifications were ignored and the State Patrol did not determine if the DataMaster met them.
*842There is no evidence in the record to support the inferred finding that the DataMaster produces an accurate and reliable result. Thus, the majority asserts that substantial evidence exists, but does not point out specifically the evidence to which it refers. In reality, the proper conclusion is that the DataMaster probably does not produce an accurate and reliable result.
II
My other disagreement with the majority is that it fails to address a key issue in determining if DataMaster results should be admissible. Normally, this court follows the standard set out in Frye v. United States, 293 F. 1013 (D.C. Cir. 1923), when ruling on the admissibility of testimony based on scientific procedures or theories. See State v. Black, 109 Wn.2d 336, 745 P.2d 12 (1987) ("rape trauma syndrome" evidence inadmissible); State v. Martin, 101 Wn.2d 713, 684 P.2d 651 (1984) (hypnosis evidence inadmissible); State v. Allery, 101 Wn.2d 591, 682 P.2d 312 (1984) ("battered woman syndrome" evidence admissible); State v. Canaday, 90 Wn.2d 808, 585 P.2d 1185 (1978) (retesting of used Breathalyzer ampuls inadmissible); State v. Woo, 84 Wn.2d 472, 527 P.2d 271 (1974) (polygraph evidence inadmissible); State v. Huynh, 49 Wn. App. 192, 742 P.2d 160 (1987) (gas chromatography evidence inadmissible), review denied, 109 Wn.2d 1024 (1988); Burkett v. Northern, 43 Wn. App. 143, 715 P.2d 1159 (thermography evidence inadmissible), review denied, 106 Wn.2d 1008 (1986); Seattle v. Peterson, 39 Wn. App. 524, 693 P.2d 757 (1985) (radar evidence inadmissible); State v. Mulder, 29 Wn. App. 513, 629 P.2d 462 (1981) ("battered child syndrome" evidence admissible).
The Frye standard states that before results from a scientific test are admissible, there must be a showing that the test has been generally accepted as reliable by the relevant scientific community. Peterson, at 527. Furthermore, the Peterson court, at page 527, held that
*843[t]he inquiry is as to the reliability of the machine itself. If the validity of a scientific principle is a prerequisite to its admission into evidence, then consistency requires that evidence of the ability of a machine to employ that scientific principle reliably must also precede admission of the machine's results into evidence.
(Italics mine.) The Peterson holding finds support with scholarly opinion and many other jurisdictions. One expert commented that
in many jurisdictions subscribing to Frye, the proponent must prove that the instrument, like the theory, has gained general acceptance in relevant scientific circles. These jurisdictions apply Frye to both the instrument and the theory.
(Footnote omitted). E. Imwinkelried, Scientific and Expert Evidence 49 (2d ed. 1981).
In the present case, all the parties agree that the scientific principle of infrared technology upon which the Data-Master operates has been established and accepted by the scientific community. However, nowhere in the district court opinion does it address whether the DataMaster, the machine itself, has been accepted as reliable in the scientific community. Rather, the District Court Judge, in his opinion, states:
It seems to this writer that Canady [sic] [and its reliance on Frye] may only be here significant because, on the narrow issue before that court as to whether the government should be required to retain the "test ampoules" for later retesting, the state toxicologist was silent.
Opinion of Judge Rindal, Bellevue District Court, June 10, 1986, at 27. It is clear that Judge Rindal did not grasp the significance of the Frye standard; otherwise, he would have applied the test to the present situation.
Similarly, the majority fails to discuss the Frye test. Why? I can only assume that the majority did not address Frye because then the majority could not have come out with its result.
The sole expert on infrared technology who testified was Dr. Richard E. Jensen, a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa *844in the field of analytical chemistry. He was involved in Minnesota's selection and evaluation of infrared breath test devices.
Dr. Jensen testified that he had reviewed the state toxicologist's deposition, listened to Sergeant Gullberg's testimony, and reviewed all the documents referred to by Gullberg.
Dr. Jensen then testified that there was no basis to draw any scientific conclusion as to the DataMaster's accuracy and reliability. He concluded by stating that, even at the present time, the evidence did not support a scientific finding that the DataMaster was an accurate and reliable device for the purpose intended. He reached his conclusion based in part on the following:
1. The initial tests were run on a device (the Verifier) that significantly differed from the device (the DataMaster) proposed to be used in the field; therefore, from a scientific viewpoint, measurements made on the Verifier have no bearing on what was used in the field.
2. The Verifier failed most of the tests that were proposed to be used as criteria.
3. There is a marked lack of data indicating that the DataMaster produces an accurate and reliable result. Although Sergeant Gullberg testified to unrecorded data, scientific theory requires that data be recorded so that it can be evaluated.
4. There is a gross difference in the two methods of calibration (pump or blow) used on the DataMaster. The high disparity in results between the two methods indicates that "you can't measure accurately." Report of Proceedings, at 609.
It is clear why the majority chose to ignore Dr. Jensen's testimony. The DataMaster has not been accepted by the scientific community as producing reliable results. Therefore, the Frye standard for admissibility has not been met; test results run on the DataMaster should not be admissible.
*845III
The majority has approved the DataMaster despite any evidence that it produces an accurate and reliable result. Perhaps the problems with the DataMaster can be worked out. But unless they are, there is no guaranty that an individual given a test on the DataMaster will get an accurate and reliable reading. Therefore, I dissent.
Reconsideration denied July 20, 1988.