Court Opinion

ID: 9574153
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 21:02:47.515531+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:44:08.424235
License: Public Domain

BLACKBURN, Presiding Judge,
dissenting.
Under the applicable standard of review in this case regarding the trial court’s denial of Lance Hugh Howell’s motion to suppress the results of an Intoxilyzer 5000 breath test given after a proper recitation of implied consent rights,19 there is only one legal question now before this Court: “Viewed in the light most favorable to the judgment, does the evidence support the trial court’s explicit factual determination in its order that Howell voluntarily consented to the breath test?” As I believe that the evidence does support the trial court’s finding that Howell voluntarily consented to the breath test, I must respectfully dissent.
Following the trial court’s denial of his motion to suppress the results of his Intoxilyzer 5000 breath test, Howell appeals, contending that: (1) being taken into the room housing the Intoxilyzer 5000 machine after his refusal to take the test at the scene of the stop was inherently coercive and invalidated his subsequent consent to provide a breath sample; and (2) the State failed to show that he unambiguously retracted his initial refusal at the scene of the stop to take the Intoxilyzer 5000 test. For the reasons set forth below, these contentions are without merit.
“In reviewing the grant or denial of a motion to suppress, we must construe the evidence most favorably to uphold the findings and judgment of the trial court, and that court’s findings as to disputed facts and credibility must be adopted unless clearly erroneous.” Viau v. State.20 If there is evidence of record which supports a finding of *489voluntary consent, we must affirm, even in close cases such as this one where the facts were vigorously disputed in the trial court below. In addition, as it is undisputed that the proper implied consent warning was read to Howell, we must narrowly focus our review on whether any evidence of record supports the trial court’s factual determination that the defendant’s decision to consent to the breath test was voluntary.
In its order, the trial court explicitly determined that “[Howell] consented to a State administered test of his breath, which Officer Campbell administered on the Intoxilyzer 5000 at the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center.” Viewed in the proper light and under the correct standards, the evidence of record shows that, during the early morning hours of February 8, 2003, Deputy Sheriff Carl Pope stopped Howell for operating his car without an operable tag light and for weaving while driving. As Deputy Pope approached Howell, he detected the strong odor of an alcoholic beverage, and, upon questioning, Howell admitted that he had been drinking that evening. Deputy Pope then asked Howell to step out of the car, and as Howell did so, an empty beer can fell to the ground. A later search of the car produced five empty beer cans, one partially consumed can, and a new twelve-pack.
Once out of the car, Howell consented to certain field sobriety tests, which he failed. In addition, Howell agreed to an Aleo-Sensor III test21 which produced a positive result for alcohol consumption. At this point, Deputy Pope concluded that Howell was too impaired to operate a motor vehicle safely and placed him under arrest. Deputy Pope then correctly read Howell the statutory implied consent warning and requested that he submit to the State-administered breath test. It is uncontested on appeal that Deputy Pope properly read Howell the requisite warning at the appropriate time.
Following the warning, Deputy Pope asked Howell to submit to a State-administered breath test, but Howell initially refused to do so. Howell was then taken to the police station. After completing the booking process, Howell was turned over to Officer Rodney Campbell some time after his initial arrest. Deputy Pope testified that he turned Howell over to Officer Campbell in order to allow Howell a second chance to submit to the State’s breath test, as was his general procedure. Neither Deputy Pope nor Officer Campbell said anything to Howell which could be considered coercion to consent to the test.
Officer Campbell then accompanied Howell to the Intoxilyzer 5000, where Officer Campbell advised Howell, among other things, *490that if he did not properly blow into the machine, it would be considered a refusal to take the test. At that time, of course, Howell had already been informed once that he had the right to so refuse, and there is absolutely no evidence of record indicating that Howell did not fully understand this right.
During direct examination, Officer Campbell was questioned about the events surrounding Howell’s testing. The trial transcript states:
Q. Okay. On [February 8, 2002,] at approximately 2:15 a.m., did you administer an Intoxilyzer 5000 test to the Defendant [,] Mr. Lance Howell here at the table?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Okay. If you will, explain to the Court what brought that about. Why were you at the A.D.C., the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center, at that time and what brought Mr. Howell into your direction.
A. I was at the Adult Detention Center for one of two reasons, and I cannot recollect exactly why. The first being to transport a prisoner of my own, and the second, being requested by another officer to run the Intoxilyzer.
Q. All right.
A. What transpired into the test was, Deputy Pope’s arrest and —
Q. (Interposing) Sure.
A. — his prisoner’s request for the Intoxilyzer.
(Emphasis supplied.)
Then, during cross-examination by Howell, Officer Campbell further testified as follows:
Q. [D]o you, now, today, remember February the 8th when Mr. Howell came into the jail?
A. I remember his face, yes.
Q. Okay. But do you remember what [Deputy] Pope[, the arresting officer,] told you?
A. No.
Q. Did [Deputy] Pope tell you that he had refused [to take the State-administered breath test] out on the street?
A. I don’t recall. I don’t remember.
Q. Okay. Well, would you have given him a test if [Deputy] Pope had told you he refused?
A. If he requested one, yes sir.
Q. Well, when was it that Mr. Howell requested the test?
*491A. Whatever time — around 2:00 a.m. on the ticket. If I gave them the test, they requested it.
(Emphasis supplied.)
Next, the trial court asked the officer conducting the test a series of questions as follows:
Q. Right. Okay. So, you don’t — do you recall the Defendant ever refusing to take the test at the A.D.C., in your presence, to you — ever refusing to take it to you?
A. No, sir. If he had refused, there would be no sample.
Applying our standard of review to these facts, we cannot say that the trial court erroneously determined that Howell voluntarily consented to the breath test.
As an initial matter, there is no question in this case whether Howell consented to the breath test. He did so. It is an undisputed fact that he made the decision to blow into the Intoxilyzer 5000 and provide the State with a breath sample after being told twice that he had the right to refuse to do so. At the moment that Howell blew into the machine, he, in fact, consented to the test. The only relevant question remaining is whether Howell’s consent to take the test, which is undisputed, was voluntary and not the product of duress or coercion at the time of the consent. See Leiske v. State22 (affirming trial court’s denial of motion to suppress where defendant was read implied consent warning twice and evidence in record supported finding of voluntary consent). Thus, it is ultimately irrelevant to our determination whether Howell explicitly requested the subject test, as long as his consent was voluntary.
Howell’s earlier refusal to take the test when his car was initially stopped also does not control the ultimate conclusion of whether his consent was voluntary.
In State v. Highsmith,23 this court rejected the argument that once a suspect indicates to an officer that he refuses to submit to a blood-alcohol test, the matter is closed. “Such a rigid rule,” we said, “would not be consistent with the approach our courts have followed in applying the statute. . . .” Id. at 839. It is therefore clear that Georgia law recognizes the possibility that an individual may rescind his or her refusal to submit to' an intoximeter test.
*492Dept. of Public Safety v. Seay.24 In Highsmith, where we affirmed the conviction, the plaintiff was asked three times to submit to a blood test after initially refusing the test. Again, the issue we must resolve is whether the consent to take the test was voluntary at the time the test was taken.
This evidence of record cited above supports the trial court’s finding that Howell, who knew of his right to refuse and had been reminded of it twice, voluntarily consented to the Intoxilyzer 5000 test. Howell consented to the test, and there is no evidence that he was coerced to do so. As a result, our standard of review requires that we affirm the trial court’s denial of Howell’s motion to suppress. Moreover, the testimony of record could also support a finding that Howell actually requested the test, although this finding would not be necessary to the trial court’s finding that the consent was voluntary and not coerced.
1. Nonetheless, Howell contends that his consent to take the Intoxilyzer 5000 test must be considered involuntary, arguing that the act of being taken into the Intoxilyzer 5000 room after he initially refused the test at the scene of the stop was inherently coercive. We cannot agree.
Our Supreme Court’s ruling in Woodruff v. State,25 is instructive on this matter. In Woodruff, the defendant filed a motion to suppress evidence found in a car following a consent to search, contending that “the natural emotional upset experienced by a wrongdoer apprehended in her automobile by the police, is sufficient to render involuntary any consent given to search.” Id. at 844 (3). In response, our Supreme Court stated: “We cannot agree that this is a correct statement of the law. The facts present here do not show duress, and under the totality of the circumstances, the trial court did not err in concluding that consent was voluntarily given.” Id.
The same principles apply in this case. As noted above, the record now before us does not show duress. To the contrary, the record supports a finding that Howell knew his rights at the time the breath test was administered, and, right before he submitted to the test, he was reminded that refusals to take the test were possible. This situation, therefore, was not inherently coercive. In fact, Howell never testified that he actually felt coerced at any time, and the officers who performed the breath test testified that they did nothing to coerce Howell. Based on this evidence, the trial court, under the *493totality of the circumstances, did not err by concluding that Howell’s consent was voluntarily given. Woodruff, supra.
Decided March 24, 2004.
Weaver & Weaver, George W. Weaver, Jeffrey L. Floyd, for appellant.
DavidL. Cannon, Jr., Solicitor-General, Barry W. Hixson, Lawrence A. Silverman, Assistant Solicitors-General, for appellee.
2. Howell further contends that the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress because the State failed to prove that he unambiguously retracted his refusal to take the breath test. This argument is wholly misplaced, however, as it does not comport with the applicable question of law now before us. As stated previously, there is no issue of whether Howell consented to the breath test, and there is absolutely no ambiguity about his decision to take it. The only issue remaining is whether that consent was voluntary at the time the test was taken, not whether he unambiguously retracted a refusal given some time earlier. By taking the test, Howell consented thereto, and there is no evidence to support a claim of duress or coercion. The trial court did not err in denying his motion to suppress.
The transcript provides clear evidence supporting the trial court’s determination, and the trial court explicitly found in the text of its order that “the Defendant consented to a State administered test of his breath.” Our concern is only whether the evidence supports the trial court’s determination that this consent was voluntary. This explicit finding of fact is supported by the record. Only the written order of the trial court constitutes its ruling. Here, we are bound to affirm the trial court.
I am authorized to state that Presiding Judge Andrews joins in this dissent.

 On a motion to suppress, the State bears the burden of showing that implied consent warning requirements have been met. See, e.g., Miller v. State, 238 Ga. App. 61 (516 SE2d 838) (1999). Under OCGA § 40-5-67.1 (b), the implied consent notice must be given “[a]t the time a chemical test or tests are requested.” In this case, Howell makes no contention that the implied consent warning was given improperly, and the record would not support any such argument even if it had been made.

 Viau v. State, 260 Ga. App. 96, 100 (3) (579 SE2d 52) (2003).

 The Aleo-Sensor III is a field screening device used to assist officers in making preliminary findings in a DUI investigation.

 Leiske v. State, 255 Ga. App. 615, 616 (2) (565 SE2d 925) (2002).

 State v. Highsmith, 190 Ga. App. 838 (380 SE2d 272) (1989).

 Dept. of Public Safety v. Seay, 206 Ga. App. 71, 72 (1) (424 SE2d 301) (1992).

 Woodruff v. State, 233 Ga. 840 (213 SE2d 689) (1975).