Hollon v. Director of Revenue
| Decision Date | 09 December 2008 |
| Docket Number | No. WD 68507.,WD 68507. |
| Citation | 277 S.W.3d 734 |
| Parties | Jerry A. HOLLON, Respondent, v. DIRECTOR OF REVENUE, State of Missouri, Appellant. |
| Court | Missouri Court of Appeals |
Theodore A. Bruce, Jefferson City, MO, for Appellant.
Jonathan M. Guilfoil, Kansas City, MO, for Respondent.
Before: JOSEPH M. ELLIS, Presiding Judge, RONALD C. HOLLIGER, Judge and JOSEPH P. DANDURAND, Judge.
The Director of Revenue for the State of Missouri appeals from a judgment entered in the Circuit Court of Caldwell County ordering the Director to reinstate the driving privileges of Jerry Hollon. The Director had revoked Hollon's driving privileges pursuant to § 577.041 for refusing to submit to a chemical test of his blood alcohol level following his arrest for driving while intoxicated. For the following reasons, the trial court's judgment is reversed.
On February 25, 2006, Corporal Jacob Angle of the Missouri Highway Patrol stopped Hollon for speeding on Highway 36 in Caldwell County. When Corporal Angle approached Hollon's car, he smelled alcohol and noticed that Hollon's eyes were glassy and watery. Corporal Angle asked Hollon to accompany him to his patrol car and, while inside the patrol car, confirmed that the smell of alcohol was coming from Hollon. When asked, Hollon admitted having consumed "a couple of drinks."
Corporal Angle then had Hollon perform two field sobriety tests involving counting and recitation of a portion of the alphabet, which he successfully performed. Corporal Angle also asked Hollon to take a portable breath test, which indicated that Hollon's blood alcohol level was over the legal limit. Corporal Angle then had Hollon step outside and perform the Romberg internal clock test and a finger-to-nose test, which he deemed Hollon to have failed.
Corporal Angle placed Hollon under arrest and transported him to the county jail. At the jail, Corporal Angle read the Miranda and implied consent warnings to him. After Hollon refused to submit to a chemical test of his blood alcohol level, his driver's license was confiscated, and his driving privilege was revoked by the Director for a period of one year.
Hollon timely filed a petition for review of the Director's decision in the Circuit Court of Caldwell County. At the review hearing, Hollon cross-examined Corporal Angle extensively about his failure to administer the field sobriety tests consistent with his training and National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration guidelines. Subsequently, the circuit court issued its judgment finding the Director had failed to prove that Corporal Angle had reasonable grounds to believe that Hollon had been driving while intoxicated and ordered that Hollon's driving privileges be reinstated. In reaching that conclusion, the court determined that Corporal Angle had failed to properly conduct the field sobriety tests and that his impression that Hollon's speech was slurred was not credible. The Director brings two points on appeal.
This Court reviews the trial court's decision in a driver's license revocation case under the standard set forth in Murphy v. Carron, 536 S.W.2d 30 (Mo. banc 1976). Engelage v. Director of Revenue, 197 S.W.3d 197, 198 (Mo.App. W.D.2006). "Accordingly, the trial court's decision will be affirmed unless it is not supported by substantial evidence, it is against the weight of the evidence, or it misstates or misapplies the law." Id. (internal quotations omitted). In reviewing the decision, "[w]e accept as true all evidence and inferences in favor of the prevailing party and disregard contrary evidence." White v. Director of Revenue, 227 S.W.3d 532, 534 (Mo.App. E.D.2007). "If the facts of a case are contested, then this Court defers to the trial court's determinations regarding those facts." Guhr v. Director of Revenue, 228 S.W.3d 581, 585 n. 3 (Mo. banc 2007). On the other hand, if the facts are not contested, "the issue is solely legal and there are no findings of fact for the appellate court to defer to." Furne v. Director of Revenue, 238 S.W.3d 177, 180 (Mo.App. W.D.2007).
In her first point, the Director contends that the trial court erred in concluding that Corporal Angle lacked reasonable grounds to believe Hollon was driving while intoxicated. The Director argues that the weight of the evidence established reasonable grounds and that the trial court misapplied the law in concluding to the contrary.
At the hearing before the circuit court, the Director bears the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence (1) that the person was arrested, (2) that the officer had reasonable grounds to believe the individual was driving while intoxicated, and (3) that the person refused to submit to a chemical test of their blood alcohol level. Engelage, 197 S.W.3d at 201. If any of these elements are not sufficiently proven, the court is required to order the Director to reinstate the individual's driving privileges. Storck v. Director of Revenue, 59 S.W.3d 545, 548 (Mo.App. E.D.2001).
At the hearing before the circuit court, Hollon conceded that he had been arrested and that he had refused to submit to a chemical test. Thus, the only issue before the court was whether Corporal Angle had reasonable grounds to believe that Hollon had been driving while intoxicated.
"`Reasonable grounds' is virtually synonymous with probable cause." Norris v. Director of Revenue, 156 S.W.3d 786, 788 (Mo.App. W.D.2005) (internal quotations omitted). "The level of proof necessary to show probable cause under section 302.505 is substantially less than that required to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt." Brown v. Director of Revenue, 85 S.W.3d 1, 4 (Mo. banc 2002) (internal quotations omitted). "In determining whether reasonable grounds exist, a court must evaluate the situation from the viewpoint of a cautious, trained, and prudent police officer at the time of the arrest." Norris, 156 S.W.3d at 788.
Hollon concedes that he was speeding, that he told the officer that he had consumed a couple of drinks, that he had alcohol on his breath, and that his eyes were glassy and watery. These facts were sufficient for Corporal Angle to suspect that Hollon may have been driving while intoxicated and justified his decision to administer a portable breath test as authorized by § 577.021.
While the trial court found that the results of the portable breath test were unreliable and could not have been relied upon by a reasonable, prudent officer, its basis for doing so is not supported by the record. The court's stated reason for rejecting those test results was that "Trooper Angle actually had reason to believe or know that the petitioner had consumed alcoholic beverages within 15 minutes of the test, and should have known the PBT would not have any reliability under the circumstances." The court found that "it takes at least 15 minutes for residual mouth alcohol to evaporate from a driver's mouth." Corporal Angle's checklist for operation of the portable breath test provide that twenty minutes should elapse between the consumption of alcohol and breath analysis.
The videotape of the encounter that was submitted into evidence reflects that, when Corporal Angle asked Hollon when the last time he had a drink was, Hollon responded, "Laclede," which is a city 42 miles from where the stop occurred.1 Corporal Angle and Hollon then had the following exchange:
Corporal Angle: When was the last time you had something to drink? About how long ago?
Hollon: Uh, 15.
Corporal Angle: Ok.
Hollon: Uh . . . 10 minutes.
Corporal Angle: Ok.
Hollon: No, it would be longer than that.
Six minutes later, Corporal Angle administered the portable breath test.
Obviously, a finding that the trooper had reason to believe Hollon consumed an alcoholic beverage within 15 minutes of the portable breath test is simply not supported by the evidence or basic math. Corporal Angle stopped Hollon for driving 75 miles per...
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State v. Avent
...alcohol on her breath, and her exhibiting six clues of intoxication on the HGN test. The State's reliance on Hollon v. Director of Revenue, 277 S.W.3d 734, 736 (Mo. App. W.D. 2008), in support of its argument is likewise misplaced. Hollon was a court-tried, civil, license-revocation case de......
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State v. Avent
...alcohol on her breath, and her exhibiting six clues of intoxication on the HGN test. The State's reliance on Hollon v. Director of Revenue, 277 S.W.3d 734, 736 (Mo.App. W.D.2008), in support of its argument is likewise misplaced. Hollon was a court-tried, civil, license-revocation case deci......