State v. Garcia

• Citation: 756 N.W.2d 216
• Decision Date: 19 September 2008
• Docket Number: No. 06-2110.,06-2110.
• Parties: STATE of Iowa, Appellee, v. Hector GARCIA, Appellant.
• Court: United States State Supreme Court of Iowa

756 N.W.2d 216

STATE of Iowa, Appellee, v. Hector GARCIA, Appellant.

No. 06-2110.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

September 19, 2008.

Mark C. Smith, State Appellate Defender, and Martha J. Lucey, Assistant State Appellate Defender, for appellant.

Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Jean C. Pettinger, Assistant Attorney General, Mark Tremmel, County Attorney, and Russell Rigdon, III, Assistant County Attorney, for appellee.

BAKER, Justice.

Hector Garcia appeals from the judgment and sentence entered upon his conviction for operating while intoxicated (OWI), first offense. We are asked to decide whether Iowa's implied consent law requires a law enforcement officer who has asked a person suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol to submit to chemical testing to make reasonable efforts to convey the consequences of the person's refusal to submit to the test or failure of the test. We adopt a standard which requires an officer under the circumstances facing him or her at the time of the arrest to utilize methods which are reasonable and would reasonably convey Iowa's implied consent warnings.

I. Background Facts and Proceedings.

At approximately 4:03 p.m. on January 27, 2006, Ottumwa Police Officer Becky Strunk was dispatched to investigate a report of a male slumped over the steering wheel of a truck. According to the report, the truck had been in the parking lot of a Casey's carwash "for a while." Upon arrival, Officer Strunk observed the truck parked at the vacuums, with its engine running. Strunk observed Hector Garcia in the truck, with his eyes closed. When Strunk knocked on the window of the truck, Garcia did not respond.

Officer Strunk opened the door and told Garcia who she was. She observed an open can of Bud Light in the cup holder closest to Garcia. When Garcia still did not wake up after she opened the door and spoke to him, Strunk shook Garcia to wake him. Strunk asked Garcia if he needed an ambulance, and he responded that he was fine, he had just been working and was tired. While talking to Garcia, Strunk smelled the odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath and observed that Garcia had bloodshot, watery eyes. According to Strunk, Garcia's English was "not real clear," but she could understand him, and he seemed to understand her.

Officer Strunk asked Garcia to step out of the truck to perform field sobriety tests. She asked him if he wore contact lenses or glasses. He responded that he did not and reached for the sunglasses on the dashboard, stating those were the only glasses he wore. Garcia failed the horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN) test. He refused to take any more tests, stating there was no problem. Strunk asked Garcia to take a preliminary breath screening test. According to the police report, Strunk held a wrapped straw to her mouth and explained to Garcia that she wanted him to blow steadily through the tube. At approximately 4:15 p.m., Garcia performed the preliminary screening breath test, which registered a breath alcohol concentration (BAC) of. 198.

Strunk placed Garcia under arrest. According to Strunk's testimony, when Garcia was being arrested and was told his vehicle would be towed, he gave Strunk the names and telephone numbers of persons to contact to come and get the truck.

Strunk transported Garcia to the Wapello County jail. At approximately 5:10 p.m., Strunk attempted to read Garcia his Miranda rights, and he advised her that he did not understand English. She then gave him a copy of his Miranda rights in Spanish. Garcia signed a form, written in English, which listed his Miranda rights. Strunk then read Garcia the implied consent advisory in English, and she asked him if he understood. Garcia said that he would do what Strunk wanted, "no problem." Garcia signed the Iowa Department of Transportation "Request and Notice Under Iowa Code Chapter 321J/Section 321.208" form, written in English, which stated in pertinent part that he consented to give a sample of his breath. Garcia submitted to a Datamaster breath test, which registered his BAC at .144. No attempts were made to communicate the implied consent advisory to Garcia in Spanish. Garcia testified that he signed the implied consent advisory "because the official told [him] to sign" and that he understood nothing that was written on the form. At approximately 5:24 p.m., Strunk read Garcia his notice of revocation.

On February 7, 2006, Garcia was charged by trial information with OWI in violation of Iowa Codes section 321J.2(1)(a) and (b) (2005). Garcia filed a written arraignment and plea of not guilty, in which he waived his right to a speedy trial and stated that he did not read or understand English. Garcia applied for a court-appointed interpreter, which the court granted.

On August 22, 2006, Garcia filed a motion to suppress the breath test results, which the State resisted. Garcia challenged the adequacy of the implied consent advisory given to him, asserting that he did not comprehend the advisory when he signed it. A hearing on the motion to suppress was held on September 14. On October 2, the district court issued an order denying the motion. The court found Officer Strunk's testimony that Garcia was able to answer her questions in English to be credible and concluded that Garcia "has some understanding of English."

Garcia waived his right to a jury trial. On November 22, the case was submitted to the district court as a bench trial based on the minutes of testimony, depositions, and the record made at the motion-to-suppress hearing. The court found Garcia guilty of OWI. During the trial, Garcia renewed his motion to suppress, which the court denied. The court sentenced Garcia to serve two days in the county jail and pay a $1,000 fine. Garcia appeals from his conviction and sentence, contending the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress.

II. Scope of Review.

When a defendant who has submitted to chemical testing asserts that the submission was involuntary, we evaluate the totality of the circumstances to determine whether or not the decision was made voluntarily. State v. Gravenish, 511 N.W.2d 379, 381 (Iowa 1994). Our review is de novo. Id. While we are not bound by the district court's factual findings, we give considerable weight to the court's assessment of the voluntariness of the defendant's submission to the chemical test. Id.

To the extent the issue presents a question of statutory interpretation, our review is for correction of errors at law. State v. Palmer, 554 N.W.2d 859, 864 (Iowa 1996).

III. Reasonable Effort to Convey Implied Consent Warning.

Garcia contends he did not voluntarily submit to the breath test because he does not have a sufficient understanding of the English language to have made a reasoned and informed decision under the circumstances of this case. The issue presented is whether Iowa Code section 321J.8 requires an officer who has asked a person suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol to submit to chemical testing to make reasonable efforts to convey the consequences of the person's refusal to submit to the test or his failure of the test.

A. Implied Consent. Iowa Code section 321J.2(1) makes it an offense to operate a motor vehicle while under the influence of an alcoholic beverage or while having an alcohol concentration of .08 or more. "[C]hapter 321J provides authority for chemical testing of bodily substances from persons suspected of driving while intoxicated." Palmer, 554 N.W.2d at 861; see also Iowa Code § 321J.6.

Iowa's implied consent law "is based on the premise `that a driver impliedly agrees to submit to a test in return for the privilege of using the public highways.' " State v. Knous, 313 N.W.2d 510, 512 (Iowa 1981) (quoting State v. Hitchens, 294 N.W.2d 686, 687 (Iowa 1980)). The law "was enacted to help reduce the appalling number of highway deaths resulting in part at least from intoxicated drivers." State v. Wallin, 195 N.W.2d 95, 96 (Iowa 1972). "Implied consent procedures are reasonably calculated to further this objective." Knous, 313 N.W.2d at 511-12.

While under the implied consent statute a person impliedly agrees to submit to chemical testing, a person "has the right to withdraw his implied consent and refuse the test." State v. Massengale, 745 N.W.2d 499, 501 (Iowa 2008); see also Iowa Code § 321J.9 ("If a person refuses to submit to the chemical testing, a test shall not be given. . . ."). To be valid, the driver's decision to consent to testing must be voluntary, i.e., freely made, uncoerced, reasoned, and informed. Gravenish, 511 N.W.2d at 381; see also State v. Bernhard, 657 N.W.2d 469, 473 (Iowa 2003) (noting "[t]he ultimate question is whether the decision to comply with a valid request under the implied-consent law is a reasoned and informed decision" and applying the standard to "conclude that defendant's consent to a chemical test was voluntary"). To summarize, a driver's consent to testing may be considered involuntary, and therefore invalid, if it is coerced or if the driver is not reasonably informed of the consequences of refusal to submit to the test or failure of the test. Here we are concerned only with whether Garcia's consent was reasoned and informed.

Pursuant to Iowa Code section 321J.8:

A person who has been requested to submit to a chemical test shall be advised by a peace officer of the following:

1. If the person refuses to submit to the test, the person's driver's license or nonresident operating privilege will be revoked by the department as required by and for the applicable period specified under section 321J.9.

2. If the person submits to the test and the results indicate the presence of a controlled substance or other drug, or an alcohol concentration equal to or in excess of the level prohibited by section 321J.2 or 321J.2A, the person's driver's license or nonresident operating privilege will be revoked by the department as required by and for the applicable period...