Court Opinion

ID: 9685408
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 14:36:25.590312+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:18:05.624676
License: Public Domain

MORGAN, Justice
(concurring specially).
I agree with the majority decision to reverse the conviction on the grounds of prosecutorial misconduct that deprived Blaine of a fair trial. However, I would remand for entry of a judgment of acquittal because State failed to introduce extrapolation testimony to relate the blood test back to the time of the offense charged, thus failing to produce vital evidence of the offense charged under SDCL 32-23-1(1) and for which Blaine was convicted. The failure to produce this evidence does not give State another bite at the apple. State v. Aspen, 412 N.W.2d 881, 884 (S.D.1987); see also Burks v. United States, 437 U.S. 1, 98 S.Ct. 2141, 57 L.Ed.2d 1 (1978).
The offense for which Blaine was convicted was driving or being in actual physical control of any vehicle while there is 0.10 percent or more by weight of alcohol in his blood. The offense relates to the time he was driving, not to some indeterminate later time when the blood test was given. It is a fact that the alcoholic content of the blood varies in relation to the time of ingestion of the alcohol into the stomach, requiring first some time to pass into the blood, and then, ultimately absorption into all parts of the body. That which is taken up by the brain and central nervous system causes the symptoms known as intoxication. The time for this absorption process will vary depending on a number of factors which we need not discuss here. However, it is important to note that the absorption process is demonstrated by a blood alcohol curve (BAC) which rises to a peak before diminishing as the body works off the alcohol. The trial court, in admitting the evidence in this case, made reference to the testimony of the state chemist to the effect that the average person loses alcohol at a rate of .015 percent per hour. That information is of no value unless it has first been established that the blood test was taken on the down side of the BAC when the absorption had peaked and the body was, indeed, in the process of *117losing or working off the effects of the alcohol. Otherwise, from the time of consumption to the time of peaking, the BAC is gradually rising so that it is possible that if a blood test had been taken at the time of the arrest, the result could have been totally exculpatory. See The Single Chemical Test for Intoxication: A Challenge to Admissibility. 66 Mass.L.Rev. 23 (1981). I totally disagree with the failure of the opinion to deal with this issue. It will simply be repeated upon a retrial and we will have to address it again in the event of another conviction.
Likewise, the first issue should be addressed. In my opinion, the offenses charged under SDCL 32-23-1(1) and (2) are separate offenses. The “per se” offense under (1) is distinguishable from the general offense under (2) in several respects: The statutes do not provide for any rebut-table presumption, making driving with 0.10 percent BAC an offense without any reference to the effect that alcohol may have on the accused. The question is not whether the driver is intoxicated, but whether he has a specific percent BAC or greater in his blood. Proof of actual impairment is unnecessary. The BAC level meeting or exceeding the statutory standard is per se illegal. Blood-Alcohol Tests: Neville and its Progeny, 20 Crim.L.Bull. 493 (1984). Presumably, this issue will also arise upon a retrial and we will likely have to address it later.