Com. v. Williamson

• Decision Date: 02 December 2008
• Docket Number: No. 138 WDA 2008.,138 WDA 2008.
• Citation: 962 A.2d 1200,2008 PA Super 276
• Parties: COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellant v. Tanya Lea WILLIAMSON, Appellee.
• Court: Pennsylvania Superior Court

962 A.2d 1200

2008 PA Super 276

COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellant v. Tanya Lea WILLIAMSON, Appellee.

No. 138 WDA 2008.

Superior Court of Pennsylvania.

Submitted July 7, 2008.

Filed December 2, 2008.

Nancy A. Duffield, Assistant District Attorney, Uniontown, for Commonwealth, appellant.

Jeffery S. Proden, Uniontown, for appellee.

BEFORE: MUSMANNO, ORIE MELVIN and KLEIN, JJ.

OPINION BY KLEIN, J.:

¶ 1 The Commonwealth appeals¹ from the trial court's order granting Defendant Tanya Lea Williamson's motion to suppress the results of a urine laboratory test which positively indicated the presence of benzodiazepines² in her blood.³ We find the test admissible and, therefore, reverse and remand for trial.⁴

¶ 2 Williamson was charged with violating 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 3802(d)(2) (Driving under Influence of a Drug or Combination of Drugs) and related driving offenses. Prior to trial the lower court suppressed the results of Williamson's post-arrest urine test because the toxicologist's report did not state the amount of the drug found in her blood. The trial court found that 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 1547, a statute that discusses the admissibility of chemical tests in section 3802 prosecutions, created a mandatory requirement that chemical test reports express an "amount" of "alcohol or controlled substance" appearing in the defendant's blood in order for such results to be admissible in this section 3802 case. Specifically, the trial judge held that since the introductory paragraph of subsection 1547(c)⁵ includes the language, "the amount of alcohol or controlled substance in the defendant's blood," then if the amount of the controlled substance is not contained in a report, that report is inadmissible. We disagree for two reasons.

¶ 3 First, the purpose of subsection 1547(c) is to outline the approved procedures and equipment (including qualified personnel, licensed laboratories and facilities) used for chemical testing of a person's breath, blood, or urine for relevant summary and criminal proceedings. Here, Williamson did not challenge the admission of the toxicologist's report on any of these bases. Second, in order to convict a defendant for the offense for which Williamson was charged, the Commonwealth does not need to prove or show the amount of the controlled substance involved in the prosecution. Rather, the offense only requires proof that the defendant was under the influence to a degree that causes impairment. Therefore, because the specific quantity or amount of the drug in the defendant's system is not an element of the offense, section 1547 is not even applicable to the instant case. Thus, we reverse and remand.

FACTS

¶ 4 On June 8, 2006, around 12:00 p.m., Pennsylvania State Trooper Creighton Callas was dispatched to State Route 21 near McClellandtown for a report of erratic driving. According to Trooper Callas, he arrived at Sweet Peas Service Station and noticed Williamson parked at the gas pumps, slumped over the steering wheel of her Ford Explorer. Trooper Callas says that when he approached her, her eyes were bloodshot, her movement lethargic and her speech was slowed and incoherent. He asked her to exit the vehicle and at 1:10 p.m., conducted a field sobriety tests. Williamson failed the "One Leg Stand" and the "Walk and Turn." While Trooper Callas interviewed Williamson at the scene, she admitted to having taken medications, specifically Klonapin and Methadone, at 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 a.m., respectively. Intoxication Report, 6/8/206 at 2. Trooper Callas then placed Williamson under arrest for suspicion of DUI.

¶ 5 After placing Williamson in his cruiser, Trooper Callas interviewed Aaron Trump and Jennifer Tressler. They both stated to him that they had been driving behind Williamson and witnessed her "crossing the center line into oncoming traffic and swerving erratically." Pennsylvania State Police Intoxication Report, Continuation Sheet. They also said that Williamson had come close to striking a large dump truck driving in the opposite lane.

¶ 6 Trooper Callas transported Williamson to Uniontown Hospital where she submitted a urine sample. The sample, examined by Pc Laboratories Director Dr. Winek, tested positive for benzodiazepine, which is consistent with Klonopin. The report compiled by Dr. Winek does not state the amount of the drug in Williamson's blood, it merely positively notes the presence of benzodiazepine.⁶

¶ 7 After a hearing on Williamson's omnibus pre-trial motion to suppress and the submission of memoranda of law from both parties, Judge Gerald R. Solomon granted Williamson's motion to suppress the evidence from the urine report.⁷ This appeal followed.

DISCUSSION

(1) Admissibility of Laboratory Report under 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 1547(c)

¶ 8 The Commonwealth suggests that it was error for the trial court to suppress the report of the Commonwealth's toxicologist because it did not set forth an amount or quantity of the drug (benzodiazepine) found in Williamson's blood. We agree that the trial court erred in holding the report inadmissible. The trial judge found that the language of section 1547 requires that in order for a chemical test to be admissible in a section 3802 prosecution, the test must express an amount of the given controlled substance, drug or alcohol. "Consequently, since the ... report failed to set forth an amount of controlled substance in [Williamson's] blood, the report cannot be admissible." Trial Court Opinion, 3/5/2008, at 7.

¶ 9 Merely because section 1547(c) states that a report containing the amount of alcohol or controlled substance in a defendant's blood is admissible as evidence in a section 3802 prosecution does not mean that a report without an amount is inadmissible. This is especially significant here where: subsection 1547(c) is intended to outline the proper approved procedures and equipment to be utilized so that such test results can be deemed admissible in summary and criminal proceedings, and (2) the specific criminal charge for which Williamson was charged, 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 3802(d)(2), does not require any specific amount of a drug (prescription or otherwise) for a conviction.⁸

(a) Cases Involving Application of Subsection 1547(c)

¶ 10 Cases discussing the applicability of subsection 1547(c) have solely dealt with the issue of whether testing devices have been approved or are otherwise certified by the Department of Health in order to have tests from those devices admitted at trial. For instance, in Commonwealth v. Cook, 277 Pa.Super. 152, 419 A.2d 707 (1980), the defendant sought to suppress blood test results from a machine that had analyzed his blood alcohol content after being arrested for operating a vehicle under the influence. In that case, the defendant specifically challenged the machinery used to test his blood, claiming that the machine had not been approved by the Department of Health (DOH) at the time of testing. Id. Our Court cited subsection 1547(c) for the proposition that the machine in question had to have been approved by the DOH and operated by qualified personnel in order for the test to be admissible in evidence at defendant's trial. Id. at 708.

¶ 11 Similarly, in Commonwealth v. Boerner, 268 Pa.Super. 168, 407 A.2d 883 (1979), our Court was again asked to interpret section 1547(c). In that case the defendant contended that the breathalyzer machine used on the date of the test had not yet gained DOH certification, but only gained the certification subsequent to the defendant's testing. The Boerner Court held that it was error to have admitted the test results, but that the error was harmless in light of the other overwhelming evidence of the defendant's intoxication.

¶ 12 Furthermore, in Commonwealth v. McGinnis, 511 Pa. 520, 515 A.2d 847 (1986), our Supreme Court stated that while it had not yet had the opportunity to consider section 1547(c), it acknowledged the legislative intent behind enacting that subsection:

The admissibility of any experimental or scientific evidence depends upon presenting an adequate foundation. Our Legislature has provided by statute that the results of a chemical test of a person's breath, blood or urine may be admitted into evidence in any summary proceeding or criminal proceeding in which a defendant is charged with driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, if the test is conducted by qualified personnel using equipment approved by the Department of Health. While we have not had occasion to consider [section 1547(c)], the Superior Court has consistently concluded that for the results of a breathalyzer test to be admitted at trial, proof must be submitted by the party seeking the admission of test results, showing that the test was administered on equipment approved by the Department of Health and that such approval was published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. Such an application of the approval requirements is consistent with the clear, unambiguous language of the statute which permits for purposes of trial the introduction of the test results which are conducted on departmentally approved equipment.

515 A.2d at 849-50 (emphasis added). Ultimately, the Supreme Court held in McGinnis that because it was uncontroverted that the breathalyzer machine (as modified) was not approved by the DOH, it was clear that machine's test results were inadmissible as evidence of the defendant's intoxication. Id. See also Commonwealth v. Burdge, 345 Pa.Super. 187, 497 A.2d 1367 (1985) (defendant challenged admission of intoxilyzer results since machine used had not been approved prior to test; court held approval of machine prior to trial satisfies section § 1547(c)(1)); Commonwealth v. Benson, 280 Pa.Super. 20, 421 A.2d 383 (1980) (defendant challenged admissibility of breathalyzer test results under section 1547(c) where no regulations approving use of the device by DOH existed at time test taken and at time of trial).

¶ 13 Thus, as it can be gleaned from the discussion of ...