State ex rel. Town of Middletown v. Anthony

• Decision Date: 28 May 1998
• Docket Number: No. 96-636-MP,96-636-MP
• Parties: STATE of Rhode Island ex rel. TOWN OF MIDDLETOWN v. John D. ANTHONY.
• Court: Rhode Island Supreme Court

Page 207

713 A.2d 207

STATE of Rhode Island ex rel. TOWN OF MIDDLETOWN v. John D. ANTHONY.

No. 96-636-MP.

Supreme Court of Rhode Island.

May 28, 1998.

Francis S. Holbrook, II, Newport, for Plaintiff.

Kenneth R. Tremblay, Portsmouth, for Defendant.

Before WEISBERGER, C.J., and LEDERBERG, BOURCIER, FLANDERS and GOLDBERG, JJ.

OPINION

LEDERBERG, Justice.

This case came before the Supreme Court on the petition for certiorari of the State of Rhode Island ex rel. Town of Middletown (petitioner or town) after the District Court found the respondent, John D. Anthony, not guilty of the charge of driving under the influence of alcohol in violation of G.L.1956 § 31-27-2. We deny certiorari on double jeopardy grounds. It is our opinion, however, that the trial justice erred in excluding breathalyzer test results after having found that the respondent had not been advised that an out-of-state conviction of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs could be used to enhance the penalty for a subsequent Rhode Island conviction for the same offense. The relevant facts of this case follow.

Facts and Procedural History

On November 4, 1996, Sergeant Joseph M. O'Toole (O'Toole) of the Middletown police department was dispatched to the scene of an automobile collision. The respondent was the driver of one of the two cars involved in the collision. After observing that respondent exhibited signs and indicia of alcohol intoxication, O'Toole administered a series of field sobriety tests to respondent, who performed the tests in an unsatisfactory manner and was placed under arrest for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.

The respondent was transported to the Middletown police department, where the Rights for Use at Station form (rights form) was read to him. ¹ The rights form advised respondent that he was suspected of having driven under the influence of alcohol and was being requested to submit to chemical testing to determine his blood alcohol concentration (BAC). The rights form further detailed his rights in respect thereto and cited the statutory penalties for refusal to submit to chemical testing as provided by § 31-27-2.1(a)(1-5). In relevant part, the rights form stated:

"You do not have to submit to a chemical test at my request. If you refuse, none shall be given. However, a report will then be sent to an Administrative Law Judge of the Administrative Adjudication Court and, upon receipt and review by a judge, your Rhode Island driver's license or privilege to operate a motor vehicle in Rhode Island for non Rhode Island licensees, will be immediately suspended. After hearing, the following mandatory sanctions will be imposed if the charge is sustained.

(1) For a first violation within Rhode Island, driver's license or privilege to operate suspension for three (3) to six (6) months; fine of $200 to $500; public community service of ten (10) to sixty (60) hours; and a course on driving while intoxicated and/or alcohol or drug treatment.

(2) For a second violation within Rhode Island within five years, license or privilege to operate suspension for one (1) year to two (2) years; fine of $300 to $500; and alcohol and/or drug treatment.

(3) For a third or subsequent violation within Rhode Island within five years, license or privilege to operate suspension for two (2) to three (3) years; fine of $400 to $500; and alcohol or drug treatment. Prior to the reinstatement of a license to a person charged with a third [or] subsequent violation within a three year period, a hearing shall be held before an Administrative Judge.

(4) In addition to the above penalties, all violators shall pay a highway assessment fee of $500 and an additional fee of $173. For determination of the period of license suspension, a prior violation shall also consist of any conviction of driving while under the influence of liquor and/or drugs, within a five (5) year period in the State of Rhode Island." (Emphases added.)

The respondent indicated his consent to chemical testing by signing the appropriate section of the rights form. Two breathalyzer tests were then administered to respondent thirty minutes apart; the results of both tests indicated a BAC above 0.1 percent, and respondent was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs in violation of § 31-27-2. ²

After respondent waived his right to transfer his case to the Superior Court for a jury trial, a bench trial was held in the District Court, Second Division. On December 13, 1996, the day scheduled for trial, a conference was held with the trial justice on the admissibility of the breathalyzer test results. The respondent maintained that the results were inadmissible because the rights form had not advised him of a then-recently enacted Public Law that had amended § 31-27-2 to provide that an out-of-state conviction for driving under the influence could be considered a prior offense for purposes of imposing penalties in a Rhode Island court on a similar charge. See P.L.1996, ch. 263, § 1, post. The respondent argued that because of this omission, he had not been fully apprised of the consequences of refusing to submit to chemical testing. The town, on the other hand, argued that the rights form was legally satisfactory and requested a continuance in order to prepare a memorandum in response to respondent's claim. That continuance was denied, as was the town's request that the trial justice certify to this Court the question of the validity of the rights form.

At trial, the trial justice admitted into evidence O'Toole's certification as a breathalyzer operator, the certification for the breathalyzer actually used by O'Toole on the date in question, and regulations on the use of breathalyzers from the State Department of Health in accordance with §§ 31-27-2(c)(4) and 31-27-2(c)(5). The trial justice, however, refused petitioner's request to admit into evidence either the breathalyzer test results or proof that the results were mailed to respondent as required by § 31-27-2(c)(2). The trial justice apparently concluded that respondent had not validly consented to submit to the breathalyzer tests because the rights form did not state that an out-of-state conviction for driving under the influence could enhance his punishment if he was convicted of the present charge.

On December 18, 1996, the town filed a petition for issuance of a writ of certiorari and an application for stay of the District Court proceedings pending disposition of the petition. The motion to stay was denied on December 19, 1996. On January 3, 1997, the trial justice rendered a not guilty verdict. The petition for issuance of the writ was granted on January 31, 1997, pursuant to G.L.1956 § 8-8-32.

Standard of Review

It is clearly established that the admissibility of evidence lies within the sound discretion of the trial justice whose decision will not be disturbed on review "unless a clear abuse of that discretion is apparent." Soares v. Nationwide Mutual Fire Insurance Co., 692 A.2d 701, 702 (R.I.1997) (Mem.) (citing Cuddy v. Schiavonne, 568 A.2d 1387, 1389 (R.I.1990)); see also State v. Martini, 460 A.2d 936, 938 (R.I.1983). Moreover, the task of this Court is "to establish and effectuate statutory intent" when interpreting legislative enactments. Kirby v. Planning Board of Review of Middletown, 634 A.2d 285, 290 (R.I.1993). In so doing, "when the language of a statute is clear and unambiguous, this Court must interpret the statute literally and must give the words of the statute their plain and ordinary meanings." Accent Store Design, Inc. v. Marathon House, Inc., 674 A.2d 1223, 1226 (R.I.1996).

With these principles in mind, we turn to the case before us.

Discussion

Central to this case is P.L.1996, ch. 263, enacted three months prior to respondent's arrest, which amended §§ 31-27-2(d)(2), 31-27-2(d)(3)(i), and 31-27-2(d)(3)(ii). Under the amendments, an out-of-state conviction for driving under the influence of liquor or drugs constitutes a prior offense for purposes of imposing penalties, including imprisonment, following a second or subsequent conviction under § 31-27-2. Specifically, for purposes of determining whether a Rhode Island conviction was a second or a subsequent offense, the 1996 amendment provided that a prior offense would include a prior violation and conviction within a five-year period "regardless of whether the prior violation and subsequent conviction was a violation and subsequent conviction under this statute or under the driving under the influence of liquor or drugs statute of any other state." P.L.1996, ch. 263, § 1.

The parties do not dispute that the amendments pertain to § 31-27-2, "Driving under influence of liquor or drugs," and that no similar amendments were made to § 31-27-2.1, "Refusal to submit to chemical test."

The town has argued that the trial justice committed reversible error in refusing to admit into evidence respondent's breathalyzer test results and proof that the results were mailed to him in accordance with § 31-27-2(c)(2). The town contended that the rights form "was valid and accurate," and that the form, which "pertains to what consequences attach if a Defendant refuses to submit to a chemical test when requested," "does not require the insertion of language relative to an out-of-state conviction for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) being considered as a prior conviction in this State." In other words, an out-of-state conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs "serves only to enhance the penalties relative to the criminal prosecution of a Driving Under the Influence (DUI) charge [and] does not apply in the refusal context."

At trial, respondent argued successfully that "without the out-of-state conviction advisement, as to how it affected the refusal to take a chemical test, the consent of [respondent] to take the test was not validly obtained." Because § 31-27-2(c)(1) "requires actual consent as...