Hinnah v. Director of Revenue

• Decision Date: 25 June 2002
• Docket Number: No. SC 84192.,SC 84192.
• Parties: Mark J. HINNAH, Respondent, v. DIRECTOR OF REVENUE, Appellant.
• Court: Missouri Supreme Court

77 S.W.3d 616

Mark J. HINNAH, Respondent, v. DIRECTOR OF REVENUE, Appellant.

No. SC 84192.

Supreme Court of Missouri, En Banc.

June 25, 2002.

Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon, Atty. Gen., David J. Hansen, Asst. Atty. Gen., Jefferson City, for Appellant.

Timothy F. Devereux, Clayton, for Respondent.

MICHAEL A. WOLFF, Judge.

The director of revenue revoked the driver's license of Mark J. Hinnah for a period of one year for failing to submit to a chemical test following an arrest for driving while intoxicated. Hinnah filed a petition for review in St. Louis County Circuit Court. After a hearing, the commissioner determined that the arresting officer lacked probable cause to believe that Hinnah was driving while intoxicated. The circuit court judge adopted the commissioner's conclusion and entered judgment restoring Hinnah's license.

The director appealed. This Court granted transfer after opinion by the court of appeals and has jurisdiction. Mo. Const. art. V, section 10. The circuit court's judgment is affirmed.

Facts

The director called one witness, the arresting officer of the Chesterfield police department. The officer testified that on January 1, 1999, he saw a pick-up truck on the shoulder of Highway 40 (1-64) with the engine running. He pulled behind the truck and saw the occupant, Hinnah, sleeping in the passenger side of the cab. The officer approached the passenger side and woke Hinnah. According to the officer, Hinnah said that he was looking for the Chesterfield police station and gave the officer a passport for identification. The officer noted a strong odor of an intoxicating beverage and testified that Hinnah's eyes were watery, glassy, and bloodshot. He testified that when Hinnah got out of the truck he used the passenger-side door to keep his balance. The officer noted that the front tire of the truck was flat and there was some damage to the wheel rim. The officer testified that Hinnah said he had fallen asleep while driving and struck a concrete barrier. The officer arrested Hinnah for driving while intoxicated.

Because of adverse weather conditions, the officer transported Hinnah to the police station and performed field sobriety tests.¹ He advised Hinnah of the Missouri implied consent law² and asked him to consent to a chemical test for blood alcohol. The statutory term, "chemical test," can refer to the breathalyzer or a test of a sample of the person's blood, urine, or saliva. Section 577.020. He informed Hinnah that if he refused to take the test that his license would be revoked for one year. Hinnah refused to take the test.

During cross-examination, the officer acknowledged that he had not seen Hinnah in the driver's seat. The officer testified that, from the odor of alcohol from Hinnah, he could not determine the number, recency, quantity or quality of that alcohol and he could not determine whether Hinnah was intoxicated. He also said that Hinnah's bloodshot eyes could not lead him to the conclusion that Hinnah was intoxicated. The officer also acknowledged that Hinnah might have needed to balance himself with the truck door because he had just awakened and needed a period of time to balance himself.

Hinnah called two witnesses. The first, Keith Tomnitz, testified that he had been driving, not Hinnah. He testified that he was driving when he hit a pothole, which flattened a tire. He walked down the highway and someone picked him up and dropped him off at a gas station where he used a telephone to call his brother to pick him up.

The second witness for Hinnah, Brian Tomnitz, testified that he met his brother, Keith, at the gas station and they drove to where Keith left Hinnah, but Hinnah was nowhere to be found, presumably because of the arrest.

The trial court concluded that the officer did not have probable cause to arrest Hinnah for driving while intoxicated. The record does not disclose any request by the parties for findings of fact and conclusions of law.

The Statutory Scheme

The object and purpose of Missouri's implied consent law "is to rid the highways of drunk drivers." Shine v. Director of Revenue, 807 S.W.2d 160, 163 (Mo.App.1991). The implied consent law was adopted "to establish a fixed standard for procuring admissible evidence of blood alcohol for use against persons operating automobiles while intoxicated." State v. Paul, 437 S.W.2d 98, 103 (Mo.App.1969). The statute's central feature is that any person who drives on the public highways is deemed to have consented to a chemical test to determine the alcohol or drug content of the person's blood.³

A person under arrest has a statutory right to refuse chemical analysis of his blood alcohol level. If the arresting officer has reasonable grounds to believe that the person was driving while intoxicated, the officer is to make a sworn report to the director of revenue that such person refused the requested test. "`Reasonable grounds' is virtually synonymous with probable cause." Hawkins v. Director of Revenue, 7 S.W.3d 549, 551 (Mo.App.1999). The director will then revoke for a one-year period the license of the person refusing to take the test.⁴

Upon request, a post-revocation hearing is available in the circuit court. The issues are limited to: (1) whether or not the person was arrested or stopped; (2) whether the officer had reasonable grounds to believe that the person was driving a motor vehicle while in an intoxicated or drugged condition; and (3) whether or not the person refused to submit to the test. Section 577.041.4. "If the court determines any issue not to be in the affirmative, the court shall order the director to reinstate the license or permit to drive." Section 577.041.5. The director, thus, has the burden of proof at the hearing. Rain v. Director of Revenue, 46 S.W.3d 584, 587 (Mo.App.2001).

The inquiry, however, ends once these three questions have been answered. A showing by the defendant of who was actually driving was not contemplated by the legislature. Courts must give effect to the language as written. They are without authority to read into a statute legislative intent contrary to intent made evident by plain language. Kearney Special Road District v. County of Clay, 863 S.W.2d 841, 842 (Mo. banc 1993). Here the statute clearly requires revocation of a person's license if he or she refuses a chemical test after an arrest based on probable cause to believe that the person was driving while intoxicated.

There is no dispute that Hinnah was arrested and refused to take the chemical test. The sole issue is whether the arresting officer had probable cause to believe that Hinnah was driving a motor vehicle in an intoxicated or drugged condition.

Standard of Review

This Court will affirm the trial court's judgment unless there is no substantial evidence to support it, unless the decision is contrary to the weight of the evidence, or unless the trial court erroneously declares or applies the law. Murphy v. Carron, 536 S.W.2d 30, 32 (Mo. banc 1976). This Court defers to the trial court's determination of credibility. Prozorowski v. Director of Revenue, 12 S.W.3d 405, 408 (Mo.App.2000). If the evidence is uncontroverted or admitted so that the real issue is a legal one as to the legal effect of the evidence, then there is no need to defer to the trial court's judgment. Hampton v. Director of Revenue, 22 S.W.3d 217, 220 (Mo.App.2000). Here the evidence was controverted, and deference is due to the trial court's determination.

Analysis

The trial court, in setting aside the revocation of Hinnah's driver's license, simply indicated that the arresting officer "did not have probable cause to arrest" Hinnah for driving while intoxicated or an alcohol-related traffic offense. "Probable cause to arrest exists when the arresting officer's knowledge of the particular facts and circumstances is sufficient to warrant a prudent person's belief that a suspect has committed an offense." State v. Tokar, 918 S.W.2d 753, 767 (Mo. banc 1996). Whether there is probable cause to arrest depends on the information in the officers' possession prior to the arrest. State v. Wiley, 522 S.W.2d 281, 287 (Mo. banc 1975). There is no precise test for determining whether probable cause exists; rather, it is based on the particular facts and circumstances of the individual case. State v. Pruitt, 479 S.W.2d 785, 788 (Mo. banc 1972).

The trial court did not issue any findings of fact or conclusions of law in support of its judgment. "All fact issues upon which no specific findings are made shall be considered as having been found in accordance with the result reached." Rule 73.01(c). Where the trial court does not make specific findings of fact, an appellate court must determine whether there is sufficient evidence to sustain the trial court's conclusion. The officer's testimony, if believed by the finder of fact, would support a finding of reasonable grounds. The officer testified that he observed Hinnah alone inside a truck with its engine running, parked alongside the interstate, that he had a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, had watery, glassy, bloodshot eyes, had difficulty maintaining his balance, and that he admitted to driving the vehicle, striking a concrete barrier and flattening the tire.

However, as noted, the officer acknowledged during cross-examination that he had not seen Hinnah in the driver's seat. The officer testified that from the odor of alcohol, he could not determine the number, recency, quantity or quality of that alcohol and that he could not determine whether Hinnah was intoxicated from it. He testified that Hinnah's bloodshot eyes could not lead him to the conclusion that Hinnah was intoxicated. The officer also acknowledged that Hinnah might have needed to balance himself with the truck door because he had just awakened and needed a period of time to balance himself. Given the inclement weather and the questionable footing on the side of the highway, it would not be unusual that an...