State v. Fields
| Decision Date | 18 October 1999 |
| Docket Number | No. 2 CA-SA 99-0093.,2 CA-SA 99-0093. |
| Citation | 2 P.3d 670,196 Ariz. 580 |
| Parties | The STATE of Arizona, Petitioner, v. Hon. Richard FIELDS, Judge of the Superior Court of the State of Arizona, in and for the County of Pima, Respondent. and John Eric Rosengren, Andrew Anthony Carrera, and Marissa Ann Rodriguez, Real Parties in Interest. |
| Court | Arizona Court of Appeals |
Barbara LaWall, Pima County Attorney By Elizabeth Tyszko, Tucson, Attorneys for Petitioner.
Michael J. Bloom, Tucson, Attorney for Real Parties in Interest.
¶ 1 The State of Arizona seeks relief from the respondent trial judge's order in the underlying criminal proceedings against real parties in interest John Eric Rosengren, Andrew Anthony Carrera, and Marissa Ann Rodriguez (the defendants) granting their consolidated requests for a physical inspection of the Tucson City/County Crime Laboratory (Crime Lab) for purposes of observing and videotaping the personnel, equipment, and procedures used in analyzing blood for the presence of intoxicants. Because we conclude that the respondent judge abused his discretion and exceeded his authority in entering the order and because the state has no equally plain, speedy, or adequate remedy by appeal, we accept jurisdiction and grant relief. Ariz. R.P. Special Actions 1 and 3, 17B A.R.S.; State v. O'Neil, 172 Ariz. 180, 836 P.2d 393 (App.1991); State v. Superior Court, 132 Ariz. 374, 645 P.2d 1288 (App. 1982).
¶ 2 The defendants have each been charged with homicide, committed while driving under the influence of intoxicating substances.1 Samples of their blood were obtained after their accidents and were analyzed at the Crime Lab by gas chromatography. In that method, according to the record before us, a blood sample and certain chemicals are mixed in a vial, creating an "aliquot." The aliquot is heated, causing portions of the solution to become gaseous and move into the "head space" of the vial. The gas chromatograph extracts part of the gas and sends it through a specially coated "column," which separates the gaseous substances based on their weight. At the end of the column, a flame ignites the separated gases, causing an electrical charge that the chromatograph measures. An attached computer generates a graph of the measurements, and the areas of unknown samples are compared to known calibrators and controls. The resulting ratios reveal concentrations of substances in the blood.
¶ 3 The Crime Lab's tests in these cases showed Rodriguez and Rosengren had blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) above the legal limit and revealed cocaine and trace amounts of alcohol in Carrera's blood. The defendants filed separate motions pursuant to Rule 15.1(e), Ariz. R.Crim. P., 16A A.R.S., requesting access to the Crime Lab to conduct an "independent audit or evaluation" of its methodology, equipment, and operations on grounds that the state Department of Health Services (DHS) had failed "to carry out its statutorily mandated function of regulating" forensic labs and that the Crime Lab had failed "to follow scientifically acceptable procedures in connection with blood analyses." After consolidating the motions, the respondent judge granted the defendants' requests to inspect and videotape the Crime Lab for "no more than two (2) full working days," finding "extremely unusual and limited circumstances present herein where the defense has obviously discovered cause to question the lab's mode of operation pertaining to blood analysis in the recent past." The judge then granted the state's request to stay the trials while the state petitioned for special action relief; we have extended the stay on the state's motion.
¶ 4 A trial court has broad discretion over discovery matters, and we will not disturb its rulings on those matters absent an abuse of that discretion. State v. Tankersley, 191 Ariz. 359, 956 P.2d 486 (1998). Although a trial court is in the best position to rule on discovery requests, id., it "abuses its discretion when it misapplies the law or predicates its decision upon irrational bases." Blazek v. Superior Court, 177 Ariz. 535, 537, 869 P.2d 509, 511 (App.1994). To warrant an order for disclosure under Rule 15.1(e), Ariz. R.Crim. P., a defendant must demonstrate that he or she has a "substantial need" for the requested information and "is unable without undue hardship to obtain the substantial equivalent by other means." Information is not discoverable unless it could lead to admissible evidence or would be admissible itself. See State v. Cano, 154 Ariz. 447, 743 P.2d 956 (App.1987).
¶ 5 The state argues that the respondent judge abused his discretion in granting the defendants' motions, contending the discovery order is unprecedented, not permitted by the rules of criminal procedure, unsupported by any showing of need, violates the doctrine of separation of powers in attempting to address regulatory concerns, and fails to address a justiciable issue. Moreover, the state argues, the defendants' blood tests were performed accurately and in compliance with the applicable law, A.R.S. § 28-1326. The state further asserts that denying the defendants access to the Crime Lab will not violate any of their rights and will be in the public's best interest by avoiding significant disruption to the functioning of the Crime Lab. Finally, the state argues, the respondent judge's order opens the door to a flood of similar defense requests to access and occupy the Crime Lab any time forensic evidence is involved in a criminal prosecution.
¶ 6 In response, the defendants claim the order "finds overwhelming support in the unusual circumstances of this case," reurging grounds from their motions that DHS conducts no statewide quality assurance program for blood alcohol testing, does not inspect crime laboratories, and relies solely on proficiency testing to evaluate laboratory analysts. The defendants further allege that the Crime Lab used single aliquot testing until November 1, 1998, when it adopted the industry standard of double aliquot testing; backdated to November 1, 1998, a January 1999 memorandum to DHS, which stated it had switched to double aliquot testing; used the gas chromatograph in October 1998 when it was not functioning properly; misused pipettes when filling the vials; used test tubes after their expiration dates had passed; and operated the gas chromatograph with improperly high flow rates of chemicals in October 1998.
¶ 7 The state disputes most of these allegations and their relevancy, for example, pointing out that none of the tests at issue was performed while the gas chromatograph was broken nor before the Crime Lab switched to double aliquot...
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