State v. Hutton

• Decision Date: 15 April 2011
• Docket Number: No. 09–0512.,09–0512.
• Citation: 796 N.W.2d 898
• Parties: STATE of Iowa, Appellant,v.Justin Joseph HUTTON, Appellee.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

796 N.W.2d 898

STATE of Iowa, Appellant,

v.Justin Joseph HUTTON, Appellee.

No. 09–0512.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

April 15, 2011.

Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Jean C. Pettinger, Assistant Attorney General, John P. Sarcone, County Attorney, and Daniel J. Rothman, Assistant County Attorney, for appellant.Robert G. Rehkemper of Gourley, Rehkemper & Lindholm, P.L.C., Des Moines, for appellee.HECHT, Justice.

After being charged with operating while intoxicated (OWI) in violation of Iowa Code section 321J.2 (2009),¹ the defendant moved to suppress the results of his breath test. The district court granted his motion, concluding the advisory given by a police officer was misleading and therefore violated section 321J.8, rendered the defendant's consent to the test involuntary, and violated the defendant's substantive due process rights. The State was granted discretionary review, and the court of appeals reversed the district court. On further review, we conclude the breath test results should not have been suppressed and remand for further proceedings.

I. Background Facts and Proceedings.

After receiving a report of someone passed out in a Ford Bronco in a parking lot, Ankeny police officers found Justin Hutton parked at a Quik Trip shortly after 2:00 a.m. on December 20, 2008. When they spoke with Hutton, the officers suspected he was intoxicated. He admitted he had been drinking and failed several field sobriety tests. A preliminary breath test indicated Hutton's blood alcohol concentration was above the legal limit. He was arrested and taken to the police station.

Although Hutton held a commercial driver's license (CDL), he had been driving a noncommercial vehicle just prior to his arrest. At the station, an officer requested Hutton submit to another breath test and read Hutton an implied consent advisory. Hutton agreed to take the test, which indicated his blood alcohol concentration was .205.

The State charged Hutton with OWI, first offense, in violation of Iowa Code section 321J.2. Hutton moved to suppress the results of the breath test. The district court granted the motion, concluding the consent advisory was misleading, violating Hutton's substantive due process rights, rendering his consent involuntary, and violating Iowa Code section 321J.8.

The State sought discretionary review, arguing the district court erred in concluding the advisory misstated the law. We granted review and transferred the case to the court of appeals. The court of appeals reversed, determining the advisory did not misstate the law, and remanded for further proceedings. We granted Hutton's application for further review.

II. Scope of Review.

We review Hutton's claim that the advisory he was given violated Iowa Code section 321J.8 for corrections of errors at law. State v. Garcia, 756 N.W.2d 216, 220 (Iowa 2008). His claim that his due process rights were violated will be reviewed de novo. State v. Massengale, 745 N.W.2d 499, 500 (Iowa 2008). To assess his claim that his consent was involuntary, we will “evaluate the totality of the circumstances” and review the claim de novo. Garcia, 756 N.W.2d at 219.

III. Discussion.

Iowa Code chapter 321J “ ‘establishes the basic principle that a driver impliedly agrees to submit to a test [to determine alcohol concentration or presence of a controlled substance] in return for the privilege of using the public highways.’ ” Massengale, 745 N.W.2d at 501 (alteration in original) (quoting State v. Hitchens, 294 N.W.2d 686, 687 (Iowa 1980)); see also Iowa Code § 321J.6(1). Despite the statutory presumption of consent, a person may refuse to submit to chemical testing. See Iowa Code § 321J.9. However, because there are both administrative and criminal repercussions for submitting to or refusing a chemical test, section 321J.8 requires an officer to advise the person of certain consequences that may result from the decision. Id. § 321J.8.

In his motion to suppress, Hutton argued the breath test results should be suppressed because the consent advisory inaccurately represented the consequences of his decision to submit to the test or not. Contending the advisory was misleading, Hutton asserted it violated Iowa Code section 321J.8, caused his consent to be involuntary, and violated his due process rights. The State's response at the district court level and through its application for discretionary review is that the advisory did not misstate the law and so could not have misled Hutton or violated his due process or statutory rights.

A. Interpretation of Section 321.208. The relevant statutes have been in flux since 2005. Prior to 2005, a CDL was subject to revocation for one year for offenses committed while operating a commercial vehicle. Iowa Code § 321.208 (2005) (providing for revocation of CDL for one year for, among other things, operating a commercial vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance, operating a commercial vehicle with an alcohol concentration of .04 or more, or refusing to submit to chemical testing). At that time, section 321J.8 required a peace officer to advise a person driving a commercial vehicle that his or her CDL would be revoked for a year if he or she refused testing or submitted to the test and the results indicated a blood alcohol content of .04 or higher. Id. § 321J.8 (2005).

Effective July 1, 2005, section 321.208 was amended. The amendments left unchanged the provision that a CDL would be revoked for one year if a person operated a commercial vehicle with an alcohol concentration of .04 or higher. Id. § 321.208(1) (2005 Supp.). However, the amendments provided that a CDL would be revoked for one year if a CDL holder operated either a commercial or a noncommercial vehicle “while under the influence of an alcoholic beverage” or “refus[ed] to submit to chemical testing” while operating a commercial or noncommercial vehicle. Id. § 321.208(2) (2005 Supp.). Section 321J.8, the statute imposing the advisory requirement, however, was not amended to reflect the 2005 changes to 321.208 until 2007. Effective July 1, 2007, section 321J.8 was amended to require an officer to advise a person driving a noncommercial vehicle that if he or she refuses testing or “operates a motor vehicle while under the influence of an alcoholic beverage” his or her CDL will be revoked for a year. Id. § 321J.8(1)( c )(2) (2007 Supp.).

In short, when Hutton was arrested in December 2008, section 321J.8 required he be advised that his CDL would be revoked if he refused the test or if he was found to have operated his vehicle while under the influence of an alcoholic beverage. However, the advisory read to him contained the following language:

If you hold a commercial driver's license the department will disqualify your commercial driving privilege for one year if you submit to the test and fail it, you refuse to take the test, or you were operating while under the influence of an alcoholic beverage or other drug or controlled substance or a combination of such substances.

(Emphasis added.) Although the advisory read to Hutton warned him that his CDL would be revoked for a year if he consented to the test and failed it, ² section 321.208(2) (the revocation statute) did not at that time explicitly provide for revocation of a CDL for “failing” a chemical test and section 321J.8 (the warning statute) did not require the failure language to be included in the advisory.

Hutton argues that section 321.208(2)( a ) did not authorize CDL revocation for failing a chemical test while operating a noncommercial vehicle. Hutton maintains that because Iowa law distinguishes between operating a vehicle “under the influence” and failing a chemical test, the plain language of section 321.208(2)( a ) only authorized revocation if he refused the test or “operate[d a vehicle] while under the influence of an alcoholic beverage.” See Iowa Code section 321J.2 (2009) (setting forth different alternatives as a basis for a conviction for operating while intoxicated, including either operating a motor vehicle “[w]hile under the influence of an alcoholic beverage” or while “having an alcohol concentration of .08 or more”). Hutton contends that if the legislature had intended to require revocation of a CDL for operating a noncommercial vehicle and testing above the legal limit, it would have articulated that proposition, just as it did in section 321.208(1)( a ) (providing for disqualification of CDL for one year if a person “operat[es] a commercial motor vehicle with an alcohol concentration ... of 0.04 or more”). Because the legislature used different terminology and used terminology that has distinctive legal meaning, Hutton argues it is clear the legislature intended revocation only when it could be established that the person operated a motor vehicle while “under the influence.”

The State contends the advisory did not misstate the law. The State maintains that test failure is a ground for CDL disqualification and that any omission in the statute to refer explicitly to test failure is the result of “inartful drafting.” The State cites recent amendments to the relevant code sections which explicitly provide for revocation of a CDL for failing a breath test and asserts these amendments indicate the legislature sought to clarify its intent. ³ The State also emphasizes language from our opinion in Massengale, contending we equated “failing” a breath test with driving under the influence of alcohol.

Although we may consider former and subsequent versions of a statute to ascertain the legislature's intent, we only do so when the statutory language is ambiguous. State v. Guzman–Juarez, 591 N.W.2d 1, 3 (Iowa 1999); see also State v. Spencer, 737 N.W.2d 124, 129 (Iowa 2007). A statute is ambiguous if reasonable minds could disagree as to its meaning. Spencer, 737 N.W.2d at 129. Ambiguity may arise either from the meaning of particular words or “ ‘from the general scope and meaning of ...