Jarvis v. Kan. Dep't of Revenue

• Decision Date: 10 May 2019
• Docket Number: No. 119,116,119,116
• Parties: Nathan A. JARVIS, Appellee, v. KANSAS DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE, Appellant.
• Court: Kansas Court of Appeals

442 P.3d 1054

Nathan A. JARVIS, Appellee,

v.KANSAS DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE, Appellant.

No. 119,116

Court of Appeals of Kansas.

Opinion filed May 10, 2019

Joanna Labastida, of Legal Services Bureau, Kansas Department of Revenue, for appellant.

Sheena Foye, of Wyrsch Hobbs & Mirakian P.C., of Kansas City, Missouri, for appellee.

Before Arnold-Burger, C.J., Pierron and Malone, JJ.

Malone, J.:

The Kansas Department of Revenue (KDR) suspended Nathan A. Jarvis' driver's license after he refused to submit to a breath test. On judicial review, the district court found that the officer lacked reasonable suspicion to stop Jarvis' car. Based on this finding, the district court ruled that K.S.A. 2018 Supp. 8-1020(p)"justifies reversal of the administrative suspension of [Jarvis'] driving privileges." On appeal the KDR first claims the district court erred by finding that the officer lacked reasonable suspicion to stop Jarvis' car. Second, the KDR claims that even if the car stop was unlawful, the district court erred by applying the exclusionary rule to suppress the evidence in this administrative driver's license suspension case.

Based on our review of the record, there was sufficient evidence to support the district court's finding that the officer lacked reasonable suspicion to stop Jarvis' car. And we agree with the district court that on judicial review of the administrative suspension of a person's driver's license, K.S.A. 2018 Supp. 8-1020(p) now authorizes the district court to "consider and determine any constitutional issue, including, but not limited to, the lawfulness of the law enforcement encounter." Based on the district court's finding that the officer unlawfully stopped Jarvis' car, we affirm the district court's decision to set aside the administrative suspension of Jarvis' driving privileges.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On February 6, 2017, Officer Matthew Hirsch of the Merriam Police Department arrested Jarvis for driving under the influence (DUI). Hirsch read the implied consent advisories to Jarvis and he refused to submit to a breath test, resulting in the KDR's administrative suspension of Jarvis' driving privileges. Jarvis requested an administrative hearing and the hearing officer upheld the suspension. Jarvis filed a petition for judicial review, arguing in part that Hirsch had "no lawful grounds to stop [Jarvis'] vehicle" and also that Hirsch had "no reasonable grounds to believe [Jarvis] was operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs."

The district court held a trial de novo and Hirsch was the only witness to testify. Hirsch told the court that he stopped Jarvis around 1:45 a.m. after he saw him swerving in his lane and crossing the center line of the road. Hirsch explained the road Jarvis was on had no painted center line, but if it had been there, Jarvis would have crossed it. He said he also saw Jarvis almost hit a mailbox, although he did not include this fact in his report. Hirsch testified that he pulled Jarvis over, intending to give him a warning for swerving and crossing the center line. But as Hirsch spoke with Jarvis, he saw that his eyes were bloodshot, and he smelled alcohol on his breath. Jarvis admitted he had drunk one beer.

Hirsch asked Jarvis to exit his vehicle and he conducted several field sobriety tests. Jarvis successfully performed the "finger-to-nose" and "alphabet" tests. But according to Hirsch, Jarvis failed the walk-and-turn test and showed clues of impairment on the one-leg-stand test. Jarvis refused a preliminary breath test. Hirsch arrested Jarvis for DUI and took him to the Merriam Police Department. There, Hirsch asked Jarvis to submit to an evidentiary breath test, but Jarvis refused. Jarvis later asked about the possibility of taking a blood test, but Hirsch did not administer one.

The video recording from Hirsch's patrol car was played at the hearing and introduced as an exhibit. Hirsch testified that he manually started the video, and he would have done so after seeing a traffic infraction. After watching the video in court, Hirsch said he saw two lane violations, but he could not specify when they had occurred in the video. After hearing the evidence, the district court took the matter under advisement and asked the parties to submit posttrial briefs.

On February 9, 2018, the district court filed a 13-page memorandum decision reversing Jarvis' driver's license suspension. The district court began by addressing whether Hirsch had reasonable suspicion for the traffic stop and, on that issue, the district court found that Hirsch's testimony was not credible. The district court noted that Hirsch claimed to have seen Jarvis commit a traffic violation on an unlaned road, but when the video started, Jarvis was on a laned road. The district court also noted that Hirsch testified he made a complete and accurate report of the incident, but his report did not include his observation of Jarvis almost hitting a mailbox. The district court added that Hirsch was unable to pinpoint any traffic violations on the video. The district court found that the video did not show Jarvis' car weaving any more than Hirsch's car. The district court concluded by finding that Hirsch "articulated no credible reasonable suspicion justifying the stop and initial encounter."

The district court then analyzed the effect of the 2016 amendment to K.S.A. 8-1020(p) on Jarvis' driver's license suspension case. The district court found that "[t]he Legislature has made it clear by the 2016 amendment that the initial police encounter is a justiciable issue" in a driver's license suspension case. The district court also found that the new statutory provision would be rendered "meaningless" if constitutional claims had no effect on the district court's decision whether to uphold a driver's license suspension. Based on its finding that Hirsch had no reasonable suspicion to initiate the traffic stop, the district court concluded that K.S.A. 2018 Supp. 8-1020(p)"justifies reversal of the administrative suspension of [Jarvis'] driving privileges."

Although the district court could have ended its analysis there, the court went on to find that after Hirsch initiated the traffic stop, he had reasonable grounds to believe that Jarvis was operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol to justify the request for Jarvis to submit to a breath test. The district court also found that Jarvis refused to submit to the breath test and he did not rescind his test refusal. The KDR timely filed a notice of appeal from the district court's judgment.

ANALYSIS

On appeal, the KDR claims the district court erred in reversing Jarvis' driver's license suspension. The KDR first argues that the district court erred by finding that Hirsch lacked reasonable suspicion to stop Jarvis' car. Second, the KDR argues that even if the car stop was unlawful, the district court erred by applying the exclusionary rule to suppress the evidence in this administrative driver's license suspension case. Finally, for the first time on appeal, the KDR argues that even if the exclusionary rule applies in administrative proceedings, this court should remand Jarvis' case to the district court to determine if the good-faith exception applies to uphold the driver's license suspension.

Jarvis responds by arguing that the evidence supports the district court's finding that Hirsch lacked reasonable suspicion to stop his car. Jarvis also argues that the exclusionary rule applies to the administrative suspension of his driving privileges. Finally, Jarvis argues that the good-faith exception to the exclusionary rule does not apply in this instance to uphold the driver's license suspension.

When a driver challenges the administrative suspension of his or her driving privileges for failing to submit to a breath test, the district court holds a de novo trial. K.S.A. 2018 Supp. 8-1020(p). At trial, the driver bears the burden of proving the agency action should be set aside. K.S.A. 2018 Supp. 8-1020(q).

An appellate court generally reviews a district court's decision in a driver's license suspension case to determine whether it is supported by substantial competent evidence. Swank v. Kansas Dept. of Revenue , 294 Kan. 871, 881, 281 P.3d 135 (2012). Substantial competent evidence is evidence that has both relevance and substance, and provides a substantial basis of fact from which the issues can be reasonably resolved. Wiles v. American Family Life Assurance Co. , 302 Kan. 66, 73, 350 P.3d 1071 (2015). In reviewing a district court's factual findings, appellate courts do not reweigh evidence, resolve evidentiary conflicts, or make witness credibility determinations. State v. Chandler , 307 Kan. 657, 668, 414 P.3d 713 (2018). Finally, resolution of the issue before this court also requires interpretation of K.S.A. 2018 Supp. 8-1020(p). Statutory interpretation is a question of law over which appellate courts have unlimited review. See Hoesli v. Triplett, Inc. , 303 Kan. 358, 362, 361 P.3d 504 (2015).

REASONABLE SUSPICION FOR THE CAR STOP

The KDR first claims the district court erred by finding that Hirsch lacked reasonable suspicion to stop Jarvis' car. This issue implicates Jarvis' constitutional right to be free of unreasonable searches and seizures by government officials.

The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated." Section 15 of the Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights contains similar language and provides "the same protection from unlawful government searches and seizures as the Fourth Amendment." See State v. Neighbors , 299 Kan. 234, 239, 328 P.3d 1081 (2014).

A traffic stop is a seizure of the driver, and to comply with the Fourth Amendment, the officer conducting the stop must have reasonable and articulable suspicionthat the driver has committed, is committing, or is...