Thompson v. State

• Decision Date: 05 March 2003
• Docket Number: No. 28270.,28270.
• Citation: 65 P.3d 534,138 Idaho 512
• Parties: In the Matter of the Driver's License Suspension of Kevin Thompson. Kevin THOMPSON, Petitioner-Appellant, v. STATE of Idaho, Respondent.
• Court: Idaho Court of Appeals

65 P.3d 534

138 Idaho 512

In the Matter of the Driver's License Suspension of Kevin Thompson.

Kevin THOMPSON, Petitioner-Appellant, v. STATE of Idaho, Respondent.

No. 28270.

Court of Appeals of Idaho.

March 5, 2003.

Randy J. Stoker, Chtd., Twin Falls, for appellant.

Hon. Lawrence G. Wasden, Attorney General; Kenneth K. Jorgensen, Deputy Attorney General, Boise, for respondent.

LANSING, Chief Judge.

Kevin Thompson appeals from a driver's license suspension arising from his refusal to submit to a breath test following his arrest for driving under the influence. He asserts that the magistrate erred in suspending his driving privileges because the record did not support a finding that the arresting officer had legal cause to request that Thompson take a breath test. He also alleges that his due process rights were violated because he was not informed that he could not be charged for driving under the influence (DUI) if he passed a breath test.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

At a little after 1 a.m. on a Saturday morning, Thompson was stopped by Officer Donald Thom for driving thirty-five miles per hour in a twenty-five-mile-per-hour zone. When Officer Thom spoke to Thompson, he detected a strong odor of alcohol, but upon being questioned about it, Thompson denied drinking any alcoholic beverages that night. Thom also noted that Thompson avoided making eye contact with him. Believing that the alcoholic odor was coming from Thompson's breath, Officer Thom asked Thompson to get out of the vehicle and perform a series of field sobriety tests. Thompson exited the car but refused to perform the tests, stating that he had been told to "never perform field sobriety tests." At this time, Thom observed that Thompson's eyes were bloodshot and that his pupils were atypically dilated. Thom urged Thompson to take the tests, telling him that if he refused he would be arrested for DUI. Thompson again refused and was placed under arrest and transported to the Twin Falls County Jail. At the jail, Thom read Thompson the standard advisory form prescribed by Idaho Code § 18-8002A(2), which informed Thompson that if he refused evidentiary testing for alcohol his driver's license would be suspended, subject to his right to request a hearing to show cause for the refusal. Thom then asked Thompson submit to a breath test, but Thompson refused. Upon his refusal, Thompson's driver's license was seized pursuant to I.C. § 18-8002(4) and he was issued a citation for driving under the influence. Thompson requested a hearing to demonstrate why his license should not be suspended as a result of his refusal to submit to the breath test. At the hearing in the magistrate court, Thompson argued that his license should not be suspended because: (1) Officer Thom did not have the requisite legal cause to request that Thompson take the breath test, and (2) Thompson's right to due process was violated because he was not told that if he took the test and passed, he would not be charged with driving under the influence. The magistrate upheld the suspension and Thompson appealed to the district court, which affirmed. Thompson now further appeals to this Court.

II. ANALYSIS

A. Legal Cause to Request Breath Test

By terms of I.C. § 18-8002(1), any person who drives a motor vehicle on the highways of this state is deemed to have given consent to evidentiary testing to determine concentration of alcohol or other intoxicants, so long as the peace officer making the request for testing has reasonable grounds to believe that the person has been driving or in physical control of a vehicle while under the influence of such substances. See State v. Nickerson, 132 Idaho 406, 410, 973 P.2d 758, 762 (Ct.App.1999)

; State v. Harmon, 131 Idaho 80, 85, 952 P.2d 402, 407 (Ct.App.1998). If a driver refuses to submit to testing as requested by a peace officer, his driver's license must be seized by the peace officer and, unless the driver requests a hearing on the matter, the license will be suspended. I.C. § 18-8002(4)(a), (c). The individual may request a hearing to show why his license should not be suspended. I.C. §§ 18-8002(4)(b); -8002A(2). Following such hearing, if the court finds that the peace officer lacked "legal cause to stop and request [the driver] to take the test or that the request violated his civil rights," no suspension will be ordered. I.C. § 18-8002(4)(b). Absent such a finding, the court must immediately suspend the individual's license. Id.

The question presented by the present appeal is whether Officer Thom had the requisite "legal cause" to ask Thompson to submit to a breath test. Thompson argues that the "legal cause" to request evidentiary testing referenced in § 18-8002(4)(b) is probable cause for an arrest. He contends that Officer Thom did not have probable cause to believe that Thompson had been driving under the influence of alcohol when Thom requested the breath test and, therefore, Thompson's refusal of the test should not have resulted in suspension of his license. The State agrees that probable cause is the applicable prerequisite for an officer to request a breath test. However, despite the State's concession, it is not at all clear that probable cause is the standard. The decision cited by the State for application of a probable cause standard, Deen v. State, 131 Idaho 435, 958 P.2d 592 (1998), merely noted that the legislature, in a 1992 amendment, changed the wording in the statute from "probable cause" to "legal cause" in order to allow the appropriate standards to be applied to both the traffic stop and the request. Id. at 436, 958 P.2d at 593.¹ Our decision in State v. Ferreira, 133 Idaho 474, 988 P.2d 700 (Ct.App.1999), suggests that the lesser standard of reasonable suspicion might suffice, for we there held that officers may administer roadside field sobriety tests on the basis of reasonable suspicion. However, the standard required for transporting an individual to a law enforcement building or hospital for breath, urine or blood testing was not at issue in Ferreira, and it therefore is not determinative of the "legal cause" standard under § 18-8002(4)(b). The present case, however, is not one that requires resolution of this narrow issue, for even assuming that probable cause sufficient to support an arrest is the correct standard to be applied, we hold that that standard is satisfied here.

Probable cause for an arrest exists where the facts and circumstances within the officer's knowledge and of which he has reasonably trustworthy information, are sufficient to warrant a prudent person in believing that the suspect has committed or is committing an offense. Hunter v. Bryant, 502 U.S. 224, 228, 112 S.Ct. 534, 536-37 116 L.Ed.2d 589, 595-96 (1991); Beck v. Ohio, 379 U.S. 89, 91, 85 S.Ct. 223, 225-26, 13 L.Ed.2d 142, 145 (1964); Brinegar v. United States, 338 U.S. 160, 175-76, 69 S.Ct. 1302, 1310-11, 93 L.Ed. 1879, 1890-91 (1949); State v. Julian, 129 Idaho 133, 137, 922 P.2d 1059, 1063 (1996). When assessing a police officer's determination of probable cause in the field, a court must take into consideration "the factual and practical considerations of everyday life on which reasonable and prudent men, not legal technicians, act." State v. Kysar, 116 Idaho 992, 993, 783 P.2d 859, 860 (1989) (quoting Brinegar, 338 U.S. at 175, 69 S.Ct. at 1310, 93 L.Ed. at 1890). Courts must also give recognition to the expertise of the officer. "In determining whether there is probable cause for an arrest, an officer is entitled to draw reasonable inferences from the available information in light of the knowledge that he has gained from his previous experience and training." Kysar, 116 Idaho at 993, 783 P.2d at 860. See also Ornelas v. United States, 517 U.S. 690, 700, 116 S.Ct. 1657, 1663-64, 134 L.Ed.2d 911, 921 (1996)

; United States v. Ortiz, 422 U.S. 891, 95 S.Ct. 2585, 45 L.Ed.2d 623 (1975); United States v. Brignoni-Ponce, 422 U.S. 873, 95 S.Ct. 2574, 45 L.Ed.2d 607 (1975).

In the present case, the officer observed Thompson driving ten miles per hour in excess of the twenty-five-mile-per-hour speed limit, detected a strong odor of alcohol on Thompson's breath, observed that he had bloodshot eyes and dilated pupils, and was aware that Thompson had refused to take field...