State v. Melde, No. A05-1553.
| Decision Date | 21 December 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. A05-1604.,No. A05-1553. |
| Parties | STATE of Minnesota, Respondent, v. Daniel Joseph MELDE, Appellant. and State of Minnesota, Respondent, v. Alan J. Myers, Appellant. |
| Court | Minnesota Supreme Court |
Mike Hatch, Attorney General, St. Paul MN, Peter A. MacMillan, Michele R Wallace, MacMillan, Wallace & Athanases, PA, Minneapolis MN, Raymond F. Schmitz, Olmsted County Attorney, David F. McLeod, Assistant County Attorney, Rochester MN, for Respondent State of Minnesota.
Heard, considered, and decided by the court en banc.
In these two cases, consolidated for review, the question is whether the Minnesota Implied Consent Advisory, Minn.Stat. § 169A.51, subd. 2 (2004), violates a driving-while-impaired (DWI) arrestee's procedural due process rights because it fails to adequately notify the arrestee of the consequences of refusing to submit to chemical testing. The district courts concluded that the advisory violated appellants' due process rights and dismissed the test-refusal charges. On appeal, the court of appeals reversed the dismissals of the test-refusal charges and remanded the cases for trial. Concluding that the advisory violates neither federal nor state procedural due process guarantees, we affirm.
In the early morning hours of November 14, 2004, appellant Daniel Joseph Melde was arrested in Hennepin County on probable cause for driving while impaired. He was a repeat DWI offender. Melde was transported to the Crystal Police Department where the arresting officer read to Melde the implied consent advisory that contained the standard warning that refusal to take a test is a crime, and Melde understood it. He was given the opportunity and sufficient time to contact an attorney. He contacted his high school hockey coach because he did not have the "wherewithal" to retain an attorney; but due to the time of day, the coach could not find an attorney and advised Melde to refuse testing. Melde refused testing. He was subsequently charged by complaint in Hennepin County District Court with gross-misdemeanor second-degree DWI for test-refusal, in violation of Minn.Stat. § 169A.20, subd. 2 (2004), and Minn.Stat. § 169A.25 (2004), and with gross-misdemeanor third-degree DWI for driving while impaired, in violation of Minn.Stat. § 169A.20, subd. 1(1) (2004), and Minn.Stat. § 169A.26 (2004). The district court granted Melde's motion to dismiss the gross-misdemeanor test-refusal charge, concluding that "by failing to advise arrestees of the enhanced criminality and penalties that result from refusal," the implied consent advisory "violates the due process requirements of both the United States and Minnesota State Constitutions."
On December 4, 2004, at approximately 2:09 a.m., a state trooper stopped to investigate a vehicle stopped on the shoulder of Highway 52 just north of Oronoco in Olmsted County. The trooper identified the driver as appellant Alan J. Myers, and after determining that there was probable cause for an arrest, the trooper arrested Myers for DWI. The trooper transported Myers to the Zumbrota Police Department where, at approximately 2:45 a.m., he read to Myers the standard implied consent advisory. Myers requested the opportunity to speak with an attorney and was provided access to a telephone and a telephone book. After several unsuccessful attempts to contact an attorney, for a period lasting upwards of 50 minutes, several readings by the trooper of the implied consent advisory, and a lengthy question-and-answer discussion about the advisory, Myers insisted upon consulting with an attorney before testing, and the trooper determined that Myers refused to submit to testing.
Myers was charged by complaint in Olmsted County District Court with gross-misdemeanor third-degree DWI for test-refusal, in violation of Minn.Stat. § 169A.20, subd. 2, and Minn.Stat. § 169A.26, and with misdemeanor fourth-degree DWI for driving while impaired, in violation of Minn.Stat. § 169A.20, subd. 1(1), and Minn.Stat. § 169A.27 (2004). The district court granted Myers' motion to dismiss the test-refusal charge, concluding that the implied consent advisory violated his due process rights because it did not inform Myers that a test refusal is a gross misdemeanor that may result in harsher penalties than a test failure.
On the state's pretrial critical-impact appeals of the district courts' orders in each case,1 the court of appeals reversed and remanded, concluding in both cases that the failure to inform a DWI arrestee that test-refusal is a gross misdemeanor that may result in harsher penalties than a test-failure does not violate due process. State v. Myers, 711 N.W.2d 113, 119 (Minn.App.2006); State v. Melde, No. A05-1553, 2006 WL 619099, at *2 (Minn.App. Mar.14, 2006). We granted appellants' petitions for further review in each case and consolidated the appeals. Appellants contend that the implied consent advisory violates procedural due process under the federal and state constitutions because it does not adequately inform the DWI arrestee of the consequences of a refusal to submit to chemical testing.
The Due Process Clause of the United States Constitution provides that "[n]o state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law." U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1. The Minnesota Constitution also provides that "[n]o person shall be * * * deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law." Minn. Const. art. I, § 7. Essential to the guarantee of due process is fundamental fairness. See Doyle v. Ohio, 426 U.S. 610, 618, 96 S.Ct. 2240, 49 L.Ed.2d 91 (1976) ().
We review the constitutionality of a statute de novo. State v. Benniefield, 678 N.W.2d 42, 45 (Minn.2004). Minnesota statutes are presumed constitutional. State v. Barker, 705 N.W.2d 768, 771 (Minn.2005). We will declare a statute unconstitutional "only when absolutely necessary." State v. Behl, 564 N.W.2d 560, 566 (Minn.1997).
Minnesota's implied consent law declares that any person operating or in physical control of a motor vehicle within this state or on any boundary water is deemed to have consented to a chemical test to determine the presence of alcohol controlled substances, or hazardous substances if arrested for driving while impaired. Minn.Stat. § 169A.51, subd. 1(b)(1) (2004).2 At the time a chemical test is administered, the arrestee must be advised of the following: (1) that Minnesota law requires testing to determine if the arrestee is under the influence of alcohol, controlled substances, or hazardous substances; (2) that refusal to take a test is a crime; (3) that a test will be compelled if the officer has probable cause to believe the arrestee has violated the criminal vehicular homicide and injury laws; and (4) that the arrestee has the right to consult with an attorney, but that this right is limited to the extent that it cannot unreasonably delay administration of the test. Minn.Stat. § 169A.51, subd. 2.3
Under the federal constitution, due process does not permit the government to mislead individuals as to either their legal obligations or the penalties they might face should they fail to satisfy those obligations. Raley v. Ohio, 360 U.S. 423, 437-39, 79 S.Ct. 1257, 3 L.Ed.2d 1344 (1959) (). In reliance in part on Raley, we concluded that a misleading implied consent advisory violates federal due process. McDonnell v. Comm'r of Pub. Safety, 473 N.W.2d 848, 853-55 (Minn.1991) ().
As a corollary, an implied consent advisory that contains no misleading assurances would not violate federal due process. In South Dakota v. Neville, police officers asked a driver arrested on probable cause for DWI to submit to chemical testing and warned him that he could lose his license if he refused. 459 U.S. 553, 555, 103 S.Ct. 916, 74 L.Ed.2d 748 (1983). The driver refused. Id. at 555-56, 103 S.Ct. 916. South Dakota law specifically provided that evidence of test-refusal was admissible at trial. Id. at 556, 103 S.Ct. 916. Nevertheless, the driver sought to suppress evidence of the test-refusal. Id. The suppression motion was granted for several reasons, including the officers' failure to advise that test-refusal could be used at trial. Id.
On certiorari review, the United States Supreme Court held, inter alia, that admission of evidence of test-refusal in a DWI prosecution did not violate federal due process even though the driver had not been warned that his test-refusal could be used against him at trial. Id. at 566, 103 S.Ct. 916. The Court noted that unlike Miranda warnings, which are of constitutional dimension, any right to refuse testing was a "matter of grace bestowed" by the legislature. Id. at 565-66, 103 S.Ct. 916. The Court acknowledged that the officers did not inform the driver that a test-refusal could be used against him at trial, but thought it "unrealistic to say that the warnings given here implicitly assure a suspect that no consequences other than those mentioned will occur." Id. at 566, 103 S.Ct. 916....
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