Morgan v. Iowa Dept. of Transp., Motor Vehicle Div., 87-1749

• Decision Date: 29 June 1988
• Docket Number: No. 87-1749,87-1749
• Citation: 428 N.W.2d 675
• Parties: Jeff Edward MORGAN, Petitioner-Appellee, v. IOWA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, MOTOR VEHICLE DIVISION, Respondent- Appellant.
• Court: Iowa Court of Appeals

Page 675

428 N.W.2d 675

Jeff Edward MORGAN, Petitioner-Appellee, v. IOWA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, MOTOR VEHICLE DIVISION, Respondent- Appellant.

No. 87-1749.

Court of Appeals of Iowa.

June 29, 1988.

Thomas J. Miller, Atty. Gen., and Mark Hunacek, Asst. Atty. Gen., for respondent-appellant.

Ken J. Smith of Selby, Updegraff & Smith, Newton, for petitioner-appellee.

Considered by HAYDEN, P.J., and SACKETT and HABHAB, JJ.

HABHAB, Judge.

The petitioner-appellee was arrested for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated. The Department of Transportation revoked appellee's driver's license. The hearing officer of the Department of Transportation responsible for upholding the initial revocation made the following findings of fact which are not in dispute.

During the early morning hours of January 10, 1985, police officers Jeff Hoebelheinrich and McFarrin of the Newton, Iowa police department, observed the petitioner operating a motor vehicle in Newton, Iowa. They observed the petitioner's motor vehicle parked in the middle of the street with the door open. Officers Hoebelheinrich and McFarrin turned their police car around and observed the petitioner's motor vehicle moving and picking up speed. They followed the petitioner's motor vehicle and observed it exceed the speed limit. They observed the petitioner's motor vehicle slide when he stopped for a stop light and then observed it speed up again.

They stopped the petitioner's motor vehicle. Officer McFarrin approached the petitioner. Officer McFarrin told Officer Hoebelheinrich that he observed an odor of an alcoholic beverage on the petitioner and that the petitioner's eyes were bloodshot. The petitioner got into the officers' police car. Officer Hoebelheinrich observed an odor of an alcoholic beverage on the petitioner and that his speech was slurred. He stated that it was obvious that the petitioner had been drinking.

The petitioner submitted to some field sobriety tests which he failed. The petitioner was requested to submit to a preliminary breath screening test at 1:10 a.m. on January 10, 1985. The petitioner told the officers that he wanted to talk to his attorney before submitting to a preliminary breath screening test. Then Officer McFarrin arrested the petitioner for OWI at 1:11 a.m. on January 10, 1985.

The petitioner was taken to the police station at Newton, Iowa. He requested permission to speak to an attorney. An attorney was contacted and the petitioner was allowed to consult with his attorney. Officer Hoebelheinrich read the implied consent advisory to the petitioner and requested him to submit to a breath test for chemical analysis at 1:24 a.m. on January 10, 1985. The petitioner consented to the breath test and submitted to the breath test at 2:20 a.m. on January 10, 1985. The breath test result indicated the petitioner had an alcohol concentration of .163.

The hearing officer from the Department of Transportation determined that the arresting officer had reasonable grounds to believe the petitioner was operating a motor vehicle upon the public highway while under the influence of an alcoholic beverage. He then entered the proposed decision which upheld the revocation of the petitioner's license pursuant to Iowa Code section 321B.16 (1985), for operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content of .10 percent or more on January 10, 1985.

The petitioner filed an appeal of the administrative hearing officer's proposed decision, which was affirmed. The petitioner then petitioned the district court to review the administrative action.

On its review, the district court overturned the administrative decision for two reasons. First, the court held that the decision of the Department of Transportation was not supported by substantial evidence. Second, the court further found that at the police station the officers did not follow the recommended procedures of the Department of Transportation for the administration of a breathalyzer test in that the petitioner was not under a fifteen-minute observation prior to the administration of the breathalyzer test. Appellant here argues that the district court was in error for overturning the administrative decision based on the aforementioned reasons.

At the outset, we determine that both issues were preserved for appeal.

When a motorist appeals to district court from a license revocation and the administrative proceeding, the case is tried anew upon the transcript from the Department of Public Safety and such additional evidence as the parties may introduce....

Crosser v. Iowa Department of Public Safety, 240 N.W.2d 682, 684 (Iowa 1976).

I.

We must now determine whether the Department of Transportation's factual conclusion that the police officers had reasonable grounds to believe the petitioner to have been operating while under the influence of alcohol was supported by substantial evidence in the record. Iowa Code section 321B.26 (1985), now section 321J.13, limits the issues at the administrative hearing to whether a peace officer had reasonable grounds to believe that the person was operating a motor vehicle in violation of Iowa Code section 321.281 (1985), now section 321J.2, whether the person refused to submit to the test or tests, and whether a test was administered and the test results indicated an alcohol concentration of .10 or more.

On purely factual matters such as this, both the district court and this court exercise a limited scope of review. Fact findings of an agency are binding on the courts when they are supported by substantial evidence. Norland v. Iowa Department of Job Service, 412 N.W.2d 904, 913 (Iowa 1987). Evidence is not insubstantial merely because it would have supported contrary inferences. Id. at 913. It is substantial when a reasonable mind would accept it as adequate to reach the same findings. Id. When there is a conflict in the evidence or when reasonable minds might disagree about the inferences to be drawn from the evidence, the decision of the agency should be affirmed. Id. at 908. In short, the findings of an agency are binding on appeal unless a contrary result is demanded as a matter of law. Id. This limited scope of factual review is warranted by the presumably greater expertise an agency has over matters within its purview. Id. We must ask "not whether the evidence might support a different finding but whether the evidence supports...