State v. Smith
| Decision Date | 02 August 2016 |
| Docket Number | No. COA15–1364.,COA15–1364. |
| Citation | 789 S.E.2d 873,248 N.C.App. 804 |
| Court | North Carolina Court of Appeals |
| Parties | STATE of North Carolina v. Robert Morgan SMITH. |
Attorney General, Roy Cooper, by Assistant Attorney General, Whitney Hendrix Belich, for the State.
Strickland, Agner & Associates, by Dustin B. Pittman, for Defendant.
Robert Morgan Smith ("Defendant") appeals from order of the trial court summarily denying his motion to suppress his medical records pursuant to a search warrant after he was charged with driving while impaired. Defendant contends the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress as untimely under N.C. Gen.Stat. § 15A–971 et seq. Defendant further argues the trial court erroneously admitted the medical records in violation of the physician-patient privilege, N.C. Gen.Stat. § 8–53, and certain health information disclosure provisions in N.C. Gen.Stat. § 90–21.20B. We find no error.
Sergeant Karl Rabun ("Sgt. Rabun") of the Goldsboro Police Department responded to an early morning call on 5 September 2013 reporting a motorcycle crash at a traffic circle in downtown Goldsboro, North Carolina. Upon arriving at the scene, Sgt. Rabun found Defendant lying on the ground on the east side of the intersection, with one arm pinned beneath a "badly damaged" motorcycle. Sgt. Rabun recognized Defendant as a local attorney who had previously worked in Wayne County law enforcement. As Sgt. Rabun approached Defendant, he noticed "the strong odor of alcoholic beverage ... emanating from [Defendant's] breath as he was trying to speak and breathe." Defendant was "complaining of pain ... from obviously being involved in [an] impact." Sgt. Rabun directed Defendant to lie still until emergency medical responders arrived. Rescue personnel and additional law enforcement officers arrived and helped lift the motorcycle off Defendant.
Officer Matthew Marino ("Officer Marino") of the Goldsboro Police Department assumed responsibility as lead investigator of the crash. Officer Marino immediately noticed the "very strong" odor of alcohol on Defendant's breath. He observed that the engine of Defendant's motorcycle was still hot. Defendant was transported by medical responders to the Emergency Room at Wayne Memorial Hospital ("the hospital"), where he was treated for injuries.
Approximately forty-five minutes after Defendant arrived at the hospital, Officer Marino spoke with Defendant again. Officer Marino continued to detect a strong odor of alcohol on Defendant's breath and observed that Defendant had bloodshot eyes and slurred speech. Officer Marino formed the opinion that Defendant's faculties were "appreciably impaired" and that "it was more probable rather than not that [Defendant] [had been] driving under the influence of alcohol." After advising Defendant of his implied-consent rights, Officer Marino asked Defendant to submit to a blood test. Defendant refused a blood test, telling Officer Marino to "go get a warrant." Later that morning, Officer Marino charged Defendant with driving while impaired.
Officer Marino applied for a search warrant on 9 September 2013 to obtain Defendant's medical records from Wayne Memorial Hospital related to the motorcycle crash, which was granted. Officer Marino received a total of twenty pages of medical records. Defendant's medical records noted that Defendant had an elevated blood alcohol level at the time of treatment on 5 September 2013. The State filed a notice of intent to use evidence on 6 March 2014, pursuant to N.C. Gen.Stat. § 15A–975(b), including "any ... oral, written, recorded, and otherwise memorialized statements of the defendant" and "[a]ny and all laboratory analyses provided to the Defendant."
Defendant filed a motion to suppress his medical records on 22 August 2014, alleging that the search warrant had "illegally authorized the seizure of [Defendant's] hospital records pertaining to [his] ... medical treatment beginning 5 September 2013." In a memorandum of law filed with Defendant's motion to suppress, Defendant alleged that the search warrant violated North Carolina's physician-patient privilege, certain health information disclosure provisions in N.C. Gen.Stat. § 90–21.20B, and the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Defendant also alleged that the warrant was not supported by probable cause as required by N.C. Gen.Stat. § 15A–244.
The State moved to summarily dismiss Defendant's motion to suppress, alleging that Defendant's motion was untimely and accompanied by an insufficient affidavit. Prior to trial, the trial court heard and summarily denied Defendant's motion to suppress, finding that Defendant's motion was untimely under N.C. Gen.Stat. § 15A–976, and that Defendant had not offered any newly discovered facts or extraordinary circumstances that would justify a late filing. In denying Defendant's motion to suppress, the trial court noted it "[did] not address the merits of [Defendant's] motion, and ... intentionally preserve[d] the right of the Defendant to raise any objections during the course of th[e] trial at the appropriate time."
The State was instructed to redact "all remaining information" based on the trial court's conclusion that it would have no probative value and that such redaction was necessary to protect Defendant's privacy. Defendant's medical records were subsequently admitted into evidence and published to the jury. The jury found Defendant guilty on 27 August 2014 of driving while impaired. Defendant was sentenced to a level two impaired driving sentence of twelve months, suspended for a probationary term of twenty-four months. Defendant gave notice of appeal in open court.
The State filed a motion to dismiss the appeal on 21 July 2015, based on Defendant's failure to timely serve the record on appeal. The motion was heard and allowed by Judge Arnold O. Jones, II on 10 September 2015. Defendant petitioned this Court on 15 September 2015 to issue a writ of certiorari to review the decision of the trial court. The petition for writ of certiorari was allowed on 1 October 2015. Defendant appeals the trial court order summarily denying his motion to suppress and the admission of his medical records into evidence.
A trial court's conclusions of law in ruling on a motion to suppress evidence are reviewable de novo. See State v. Barnhill, 166 N.C.App. 228, 230, 601 S.E.2d 215, 217 (2004). "Under a de novo review, the court considers the matter anew and freely substitutes its own judgment" for that of the trial court. State v. Williams, 362 N.C. 628, 632–33, 669 S.E.2d 290, 294 (2008) (quoting In re Appeal of The Greens of Pine Glen Ltd. P'ship,
356 N.C. 642, 647, 576 S.E.2d 316, 319 (2003) ). We review de novo the trial court's conclusion that Defendant's motion to suppress was untimely filed under N.C. Gen.Stat. § 15A–976.
Defendant also argues that his medical records were improperly admitted because they were obtained in violation of the physician-patient privilege, N.C. Gen.Stat. § 8–53, as well as certain health information disclosure provisions in N.C. Gen.Stat. § 90–21.20B. In re Hamilton,
220 N.C.App. 350, 352, 725 S.E.2d 393, 395 (2012) (citation omitted).
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