State v. Santos

• Decision Date: 16 June 2010
• Docket Number: No. 2008-99-C.A.,2008-99-C.A.
• Citation: 996 A.2d 647
• Parties: STATEv.Joseph SANTOS.
• Court: Rhode Island Supreme Court

996 A.2d 647

STATEv.Joseph SANTOS.

No. 2008-99-C.A.

Supreme Court of Rhode Island.

June 16, 2010.

Aaron L. Weisman, Department of Attorney General, for Plaintiff.

Marie T. Roebuck, Office of the Public Defender, for Defendant.

Present: SUTTELL, C.J., GOLDBERG, FLAHERTY, and ROBINSON, JJ.

OPINION

Chief Justice SUTTELL, for the Court.

The defendant, Joseph Santos, appeals from his conviction on two criminal counts arising out of his involvement in a tragic motorcycle accident. After a six-day jury trial, the defendant was sentenced to fifteen years, thirteen years to serve, on one count of driving under the influence, death resulting, in violation of G.L.1956 § 31-27-2.2, and ten years, two years to serve, on a second count of driving so as to endanger, death resulting, in violation of § 31-27-1. The sentences were to be served consecutively. On appeal, the defendant contends that the trial justice erred in denying the defendant's motion to suppress his blood-alcohol-level-test results. For the reasons set forth in this opinion, we affirm the judgment of the Superior Court.

IFacts and Procedural History

On July 30, 2005, defendant was involved in a serious motor-vehicle accident that resulted in the death of Susan Renaud, who was a passenger on his motorcycle that evening. After a high-speed collision with a sport-utility vehicle, defendant and Ms. Renaud were taken to Rhode Island Hospital for treatment, where defendant underwent a blood-alcohol-level test. According to the doctor who treated defendant, such testing was standard hospital procedure, and he was not ordered by the state police to perform the test. The test revealed that defendant's blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit. At the hospital, a state trooper had defendant sign multiple consent forms approving the release of his medical records. Subsequently, defendant was arrested and charged with driving under the influence with death resulting, driving to endanger with death resulting, and driving under the influence. The charge of driving under the influence later was dismissed, but prosecution continued on the remaining counts.

On May 4, 2007, before trial began, a subpoena duces tecum was issued to Rhode Island Hospital requesting defendant's medical records. That same day, defendant filed a motion to suppress the blood-alcohol-level-test results contained in his medical records. The trial justice held extensive hearings on the suppression motion on May 7 and May 8, 2007. Eight witnesses testified at the suppression hearing: (1) Edith Chace, a clerical group leader in the medical-records division at Rhode Island Hospital; (2) Scott Hartwell, the state trooper who responded to the scene of the accident and had defendant sign the consent forms at the hospital for the release of his medical records; (3) Jeffrey Zack, M.D., the emergency room physician who treated defendant on the night of the accident; (4) Elicia Poland, who observed defendant's driving on the night of the accident and allegedly spoke with him at the scene; (5) Arthur Houle, III, a witness to the accident; (6) Kendra Renaud, Susan Renaud's sister-in-law, who spoke with defendant at the hospital; (7) Karon Terry, a longtime friend of Susan Renaud; and (8) defendant himself.

Ms. Chace, a clerical group leader at Rhode Island Hospital employed in the medical-records division, testified that she received the state's request for defendant's medical records as well as copies of the release forms signed by defendant and that she provided a copy of the requested documents to the state immediately before taking the witness stand. The trial justice noted, for the record, that the documents had been sealed and that the trial justice had broken the seal in front of the attorneys for both parties in her chambers. Ms. Chace further testified that defendant never withdrew his consent to the release of his records.

At the conclusion of testimony on May 8, 2007, the trial justice ruled that defendant had given his consent to the release of records to the Rhode Island State Police intelligently, knowingly, and voluntarily. The trial justice relied primarily on the testimony of Dr. Zack, defendant's treating physician, who testified to defendant's physical condition on the night of July 30, 2005. In conclusion, the trial justice ruled that the state had satisfied its burden of proof on the issue of defendant's consent to the release of his medical records under either a preponderance-of-the-evidence or a clear-and-convincing-evidence standard of proof. The trial justice further noted that defendant's medical records also had been properly procured by the state through a subpoena duces tecum pursuant to Rule 17(c) of the Superior Court Rules of Criminal Procedure and G.L.1956 § 5-37.3-6.1.¹ The trial justice therefore denied defendant's motion to suppress the test results.

On May 9, 2007, defendant moved to quash the state's subpoena on grounds that the state's motion for issuance of the subpoena was not in accordance with Rule 17(c) or with the provisions of § 5-37.3-6.1. Specifically, defendant maintained that probable cause must support the issuance of a subpoena and that defendant should have been afforded the opportunity to challenge the subpoena. The state acknowledged that twenty days had not passed from the date the subpoena was served on Rhode Island Hospital. The defendant also contended that the subpoena failed to demonstrate probable cause because it was not accompanied by papers, affidavits, or other sworn documents that would sustain its validity or prove the relevance of the information sought.

The trial justice agreed that the subpoena had not been issued according to the proper procedure because defendant was not afforded a twenty-day period during which he could lodge an objection to the subpoena. The defendant agreed to a twenty-day continuance to cure the procedural defect. The trial justice also directed the state to issue a new subpoena to expedite the matter.

On May 30, 2007, a hearing was held before the trial justice on defendant's motion to quash the subpoena commanding the production of the medical records of defendant's treatment at the hospital after the accident. The defendant argued that the state failed to demonstrate probable cause for issuance of the subpoena because it failed to attach supporting affidavits or other documents. ² The state countered that its memorandum in support of the motion cited the information packet that contained an affidavit and witness statements. The trial justice observed that § 5-37.3-6.1 indicates that the party requesting the subpoena may include affidavits tending to show probable cause, but that supporting documentation is not an affirmative requirement under the statute. She indicated that under the circumstances of the instant case she could rely upon both the information packet and the sworn testimony presented to her during the previous hearings on defendant's motion to suppress.

The trial justice then proceeded to discuss the statutory factors set forth in § 5-37.3-6.1. The trial justice cited statements contained in the information packet and witness testimony during the suppression hearings suggesting that defendant was intoxicated at the time of the accident. She also noted that the blood-alcohol-level test was performed in the ordinary course of defendant's medical treatment at the hospital. She found that disclosure of the records would not embarrass defendant, nor would it adversely affect defendant's future health care. Additionally, she concluded that the information contained in the medical records was important to the state's case and was not available from any other source. In conclusion, the trial justice ruled that the state's need for the records clearly outweighed defendant's privacy interests and that the state had demonstrated reasonable grounds for the subpoena.

The case then proceeded to trial. On June 11, 2007, the jury found defendant guilty on the charges of driving under the influence, death resulting, and driving to endanger, death resulting. The defendant was thereafter sentenced to an aggregate term of twenty-five years, with fifteen years to serve at the Adult Correctional Institutions. On August 3, 2007, defendant filed a notice of appeal to this Court. Judgment of conviction was entered on September 5, 2007.³

IIStandard of Review

The issuance of a pretrial subpoena duces tecum is confided to the sound discretion of the trial justice. State v. DiPrete, 698 A.2d 223, 225-26 (R.I.1997). This Court will not disturb the trial justice's ruling absent a showing of abuse of discretion. See id. In reviewing the denial of a motion to suppress potentially incriminating evidence, this Court employs the clearly erroneous standard of review. See State v. DeOliveira, 972 A.2d 653, 659 (R.I.2009) (applying a clearly erroneous standard of review to the denial of a motion to suppress a Breathalyzer test).

IIIDiscussion

The determinative issue before us on appeal concerns whether the state properly obtained a subpoena for defendant's medical records. The defendant argues that the trial justice erred in denying his motion to suppress the results of the blood-alcohol-level test performed at Rhode Island Hospital incident to his treatment after the accident. The defendant contends that, pursuant to the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and article 1, section 6, of the Rhode Island Constitution, proof of patient consent to the release of medical records is a condition precedent to the admissibility of such documents at trial.

As a preliminary matter, we note that the cited provisions of the United States and Rhode Island Constitutions are inapplicable under the facts of the instant case because the blood-alcohol-level test was not conducted at the direction of the police, but rather was administered by hospital personnel in the normal course of defendant's treatment. In...