Ward v. State, A-1519
| Decision Date | 06 March 1987 |
| Docket Number | No. A-1519,A-1519 |
| Citation | 733 P.2d 625 |
| Parties | Joe Q. WARD, Appellant, v. STATE of Alaska, Appellee. |
| Court | Alaska Court of Appeals |
Before BRYNER, C.J., and COATS and SINGLETON, JJ.
Joe Q. Ward was observed driving erratically on November 22, 1985, and was stopped by Alaska State Trooper Barry Croy. After performing field sobriety tests, Ward was arrested for driving while intoxicated (DWI) and transported to the police station for an Intoximeter test. The result was .225 grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath, more than twice the legal limit of .10.
Ward requested to be driven to Alaska Native Hospital (ANS) for an independent blood test. While Trooper Croy and Ward were en route a supervisor told Croy, over the radio, not to take Ward to ANS because the state had no contract with them for blood extraction. Trooper Croy then asked Ward whether he would prefer being tested at Providence Hospital or Humana Hospital. Ward refused to go to either hospital.
After the trial, the jury was instructed, over defense objection, that individual jurors could find Ward guilty of DWI under either of the alternative theories in AS 28.35.030(a) in order to convict him. The jury found Ward guilty of DWI.
The main issue is whether the trial court erred in refusing to suppress the Intoximeter result because the trooper "actively prevented" Ward from obtaining an independent blood test from a facility of his own choosing, pursuant to AS 28.35.033(e):
The person tested may have a physician, or a qualified technician, chemist, registered nurse, or other qualified person of the person's own choosing administer a chemical test in addition to the test administered at the direction of a law enforcement officer. The failure or inability to obtain an additional test by a person does not preclude the admission of evidence relating to the test taken at the direction of a law enforcement officer; the fact that the person under arrest sought to obtain such an additional test, and failed or was unable so to do, is likewise admissible in evidence.
We discussed this provision in Anchorage v. Serrano, 649 P.2d 256 (Alaska App.1982). In Serrano, we decided that due process requires the state "to take reasonable steps to attempt to preserve breath samples for defendants for their independent analysis or to provide some other alternative check of the breathalyzer results." Id. at 259. We specifically endorsed a blood test as an acceptable alternative check of the breathalyzer results. We stressed that the constitutional requirement covered breath sample preservation or reasonable efforts to assist in obtaining a blood test, but not both. Serrano, 649 P.2d at 258 n. 5. Since a sample of Ward's breath was preserved in this case, we do not view Ward's assignment of error regarding the blood test as one of constitutional significance, but one of statutory interpretation.
We also conclude, based on Serrano, that the police fully satisfied their obligation to preserve evidence by preserving Ward's breath sample. Contrary to Ward's assertions, AS 28.35.033 did not impose upon the police a duty to transport him to a blood testing facility or to offer him a blood test free of charge. We will nevertheless address Ward's allegation that the state "actively prevented" him from obtaining a blood test under AS 28.35.033(e).
In Serrano, we discussed the requirements for "effective compliance" with AS 28.35.033(e):
[W]e believe that the prosecution would, at a minimum, have to show the following: (1) that the officer who administered the breathalyzer test clearly and expressly informed the defendant of his right to secure an independent test under AS 28.35.033(e); (2) that if the defendant requested an independent test, the officer who performed the breathalyzer test or other officers having actual physical custody of the defendant made reasonable and good-faith efforts to assist the defendant in obtaining access to a person qualified to perform an independent examination; and (3) that persons qualified to conduct independent tests or to preserve blood or breath samples for the purpose of conducting independent tests were in fact available in the area where the breathalyzer test was administered.
Serrano, 649 P.2d at 258 n. 5. We believe that the record in the instant case shows clear compliance with the above requirements. Ward knew that he had a right to an independent test. By offering to transport Ward to either of two area hospitals, Trooper Croy made a reasonable and good-faith effort to assist Ward in obtaining a blood test.
Ward argues strenuously, however, that the statute permits him access to medical personnel "of his own choosing," implying that the police had an absolute obligation to transport him to a doctor or hospital of his own choice. We refuse to read such a requirement into the statute. Ward was afforded an opportunity to obtain a blood test at either of two qualified medical facilities. Ward does not contend that the police acted capriciously or in bad faith in refusing to drive him to ANS. There is no evidence in the record to support Ward's belief that the medical personnel at either Providence or Humana "could not be trusted." Ward does not suggest that he was held in detention for a time period so lengthy that he could not have obtained transportation to ANS himself, following booking procedures, and obtained an accurate blood test.
The primary concern of AS 28.35.033 is to provide a...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Com. v. Rosewarne
...they were required to do" in bringing the defendant to a hospital to have blood drawn). Other States are in accord. See Ward v. State, 733 P.2d 625 (Alaska Ct.App.1987); State v. Roberge, 306 A.2d 13 (Me.1973); State v. Hatlestad, 347 N.W.2d 843 (Minn.Ct.App.1984); State v. Snipes, 478 S.W.......