Court Opinion

ID: 9663489
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 23:40:14.853797+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:14:50.784330
License: Public Domain

WUEST, Chief Justice
(concurring in result).
Although I concur in the result reached by the majority, it is my opinion that instruction 6 was not improper. This instruction, as the majority opinion states, mirrors the last part of SDCL 32-23-7, which provides in pertinent part: “Percent by weight of alcohol in the blood shall be based upon milligrams of alcohol per 1.0 cubic centimeters of whole blood or 2100 cubic centimeters of deep lung breath.” By enacting this statute, the legislature has established the appropriate standard or ratio for determining blood alcohol concentration when an *70intoxilyzer or a similar breath analysis device is used.
I further believe that the majority’s reliance on Brayman, Hvistendahl, and Bur-ling is misplaced. These cases were decided by the Washington and Nebraska Supreme Courts, respectively. It is important to note that neither state’s statutes regarding intoxilyzer evidence speak in the same direct terms expressed in SDCL 32-23-7. Their statutes, of course, do allow such breath test evidence to be admitted, but they permit the trier of fact to determine the “competency” of this evidence.** See RCWA 46.61.506; Neb.Rev.St. § 39-669.07. Our statute clearly does not allow this competency determination.
The majority opinion’s adopting the aforementioned decisions of the Washington and Nebraska Supreme Courts would apparently allow the standard or ratio set forth in SDCL 32-23-7 to be adjusted according to each defendant’s situation. In my opinion, this is tantamount to declaring the statute unconstitutional. If the standard merits change, this task should be left in the hands of the legislature.

RCWA 46.61.506 does provide a standard or ratio for determining blood alcohol concentration which is akin to the ratio expressed in SDCL 32-23-7. The Washington statute, however, goes on to state that such breath test evidence "may be considered with other competent evidence in determining whether the person was under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug.” RCWA 46.61.506. The relevant Nebraska statute, Neb.Rev.St. § 39-669.11, does not specify a ratio or standard for determining blood alcohol levels. It merely states that "[a]ny test ... shall be competent evidence in any prosecution ... involving operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcoholic liquor_" Neb.Rev.St. § 39-669.11. In this statutory “light," SDCL 32-23-7 is clearly distinguishable from the Washington and Nebraska statutes.
It should be further noted that after reading the majority opinion, one may be left with the impression that the Washington Supreme Court has determined intoxilyzers to be totally unreliable. This is simply untrue. In its concluding sentence, the Brayman court stated, "Breath test evidence is admissible to prove violations of DWI statutes." Brayman, 751 P.2d at 306.