Blank v. State
Blank v. State
Opinion of the Court
Laura A. Blank struck a pedestrian, Pen-nye McDowell, while driving home from a friend's house. Blank did not stop at the scene of the accident. McDowell died from her injuries.
The Alaska State Troopers investigated the accident and ultimately arrived at Blank's residence. During an interview with Blank in his patrol car, Trooper Bill D. Tyler performed a portable breath test on Blank that yielded a result of .082. The grand jury indicted Blank for manslaughter
Because we agree with Blank that the portable breath test was an unauthorized search, we reverse.
Facts and proceedings
On September 26, 1994, Pennye McDowell and Diane Forster were walking on a residential street in a subdivision near Palmer. The paved roadway, edged with a narrow gravel strip, was straight and level. Porster walked on the gravel strip; McDowell on the edge of the road bed. Blank drove up from behind the two and struck McDowell. McDowell's body landed several feet away in a ditch. The impact broke the windshield, the right side view mirror, and the right side passenger's window of Blank's .car. Blank did not stop; Forster testified that she "heard the car squealing around the corner" away from the scene.
Blank's husband, Greg Blank, appeared at the seene while troopers were investigating. Mr. Blank told Trooper Tyler that his wife may have been involved in the accident. Tyler and two other officers followed Mr. Blank back to the Blank residence. At the residence, Tyler introduced himself to Laura Blank and told her that he "needed to talk to her about the accident." Tyler suggested that his patrol car was a better place for the interview and Blank went with Tyler to the patrol car.
During the interview, Blank told Tyler that she had two beers at a friend's house before driving home. Tyler administered a portable breath test that registered a blood-alcohol content of .082%. Blank agreed to go to the hospital to have a blood test, but changed her mind at the hospital. Tyler did not arrest Blank.
On September 29, 1994, Trooper Dale G. Gibson, relying on information from Tyler, obtained a search warrant to inspect Blank's car which had been impounded. On October 14, 1994, Tyler obtained a second search warrant for an additional inspection of the car. Blank's indictment for manslaughter and leaving the seene of an injury accident followed.
Judge Cutler denied Blank's pretrial motions to suppress the portable breath test result, the statement to Trooper Tyler and the evidence obtained from the execution of the search warrants. Following a mistrial, Blank was convicted on both counts at her second trial. Judge Cutler imposed a 6-year sentence with 1 year suspended for manslaughter and a suspended 2%-year consecutive term for leaving the seene of the accident. Blank now appeals her conviction.
Discussion
Was Tyler's interview custodial interrogation?
When Tyler arrived at Blank's residence, he introduced himself to Blank and told her that he "needed to talk to her about the accident." Tyler asked Blank: "Why don't you come and sit in my car[?]" Blank accompanied Tyler out to his patrol car, which was parked outside the residence, and sat in the front seat.
Tyler recorded the interview with Blank. At the start, Tyler stated that the interview was being conducted in the patrol ear "only for convenience sake" and expressed concern about "the kids getting involved." Tyler advised Blank that "you're not under arrest or anything like that" and that "you're free to leave any time you want to." Blank answered Tyler's questions during the approximately hour-long interview. Towards the end, Tyler asked, "were you[ ] coerced, promised anything, ... forced to make a statement or anything?" Blank answered "no" and offered another detailed recital of events. Tyler returned to his question:
TYLER: - Were yofi forced to make a statement?
BLANK: - No.
TYLER: - Okay, you're doing this on your own free will?
BLANK: You bet. You bet.
Blank agreed to accompany Tyler to the hospital for a blood test.
After hearing evidence on Blank's motion to suppress the statements she made during
In Hunter v. State
At least three groups of facts would be relevant to this determination. The first are those facts intrinsic to the interrogation: when and where it occurred, how long it lasted, how many police were present, what the officers and the defendant said and did, the presence of actual physical restraint on the defendant or things equivalent to actual restraint such as drawn weapons or a guard stationed at the door, and whether the defendant was being questioned as a suspect or as a witness. Facts pertaining to events before the interrogation are also relevant, especially how the defendant got to the place of questioning-whether he came completely on his own, in response to a police request, or ‘ escorted by police officers,. Finally, what happened after the interrogation-whether the defendant left freely, was detained or arrested-may assist the court in determining whether the defendant, as a reasonable person, would have felt free to break off the questioning.6
Blank has not attacked Judge Cutler's findings regarding these factors. However, Blank claims that Judge Cutler erred by concluding from her findings that Blank was not in custody.
Our review of the record convinces us that Judge Cutler did not err in determining that a reasonable person in Blank's position "would have felt free to break off the questioning."
Was Blank's statement voluntary?
Blank also moved to suppress her statement to Tyler, arguing that it was involuntary. Judge Cutler denied that motion as well. We review the superior court's determination that Blank's statement was voluntary by examining the totality of the circumstances surrounding the statement.
The record shows the following. When Tyler questioned Blank, she was thirty. She was married and had three children. She was upset about the accident. She had no known prior criminal history or experience. Tyler questioned Blank in one interview that was less than one hour long. There is nothing in the record that shows any deprivation or mistreatment. Nor is there any indication of a threat or an improper inducement. Blank argues that her will was overborne because the trooper did not inform her that McDowell was killed. But Tyler did not provide any false information or create any false impressions. He merely withheld information. After reviewing the totality of the cireumstances in the record before this court, we conclude, as did the superior court, that the State sustained its burden of proving that Blank's will was not overborne and that her statement was voluntary.
Were the search warrants issued on material misstatements of fact?
The troopers seized Blank's car and took it to an impound yard in Palmer. On September 29, 1994, Trooper Dale G. Gibson applied for a warrant to search Blank's car based on his investigation and reports from Trooper Tyler. In support of the application, Gibson testified before Magistrate David L. Zwink. Magistrate Zwink found probable cause to issue the warrant. On October 14, 1994, Trooper Tyler applied for a second warrant to conduct an additional inspection of the car. District Court Judge Peter G. Ashman issued that warrant.
Blank moved to suppress the evidence obtained when the troopers served the warrants. Blank claimed that Trooper Gibson made material misstatements when applying for the first warrant. Blank also claimed that Gibson should have told the court that Blank reported consuming two beers and did not show signs of intoxication other than the odor of alcohol and "mood swings." - Blank argues that the omission of this information was a material misstatement. - Blank also faults Trooper Gibson for stating that there was no known reason for Blank to leave the seene of the accident and no reason for failing to avoid hitting McDowell. Blank argues these were material misstatements of fact.
Because Blank told Trooper Tyler that she was not aware that she might have struck anyone until she saw the blood on her car, she argues that Gibson's statement that she had no reason to leave the scene was a material misstatement. Also, because Blank told Trooper Tyler that she thought she had driven around the pedestrians with enough room, Blank argues that Trooper Gibson's statement that she had no reason for failing to avoid McDowell was a material misstatement.
. The parties agree that Blank's claims are governed by State v. Malkin.
Judge Cutler also found that Trooper Gibson had not been deliberate or reckless when Gibson said that Blank had no reason for leaving the scene of the accident or for failing to avoid hitting McDowell. Furthermore, Judge Cutler concluded that those statements were not material to the issuance of the search warrant. Judge Cutler found that none of Gibson's purported misstatements or omissions were reckless or intentional. The record supports Judge Cutler's findings. We conclude that the superior court did not err in failing to suppress the evidence from the first search warrant.
Blank advances similar arguments in support of her challenge to the second search warrant for the car. The car had been in the continuous custody of the troopers since the investigation began. Because of that continuous custody, it is questionable if a warrant was required to subject the car to additional testing. In State v. McDonald,
[ain object lawfully seized as evidence may be kept in custody pending trial, and during that period "it is plainly within the realm of police investigation to subject [such an object] to scientific testing and examination" when such is done "for the purpose of determining its evidentiary value." That is, if the initial seizure was upon probable cause that the item would be of evidentiary value, it may be tested and examined for the purpose [of] maximizing its value in this respect.18
Even so, Judge Cutler considered Blank's motion and analyzed the evidence offered in support of the second warrant. Judge Cutler noted that the second warrant was "basically based on the first warrant" and denied Blank's motion for the same reasons that she denied the motion as to the first warrant. Even though the second warrant was probably not necessary, Judge Cutler's ruling on the second warrant can be affirmed for the same reasons that we affirmed her decision on the first warrant-the record supports her findings that none of the purported misstatements or omissions were reckless or intentional.
Finally, Blank argues that the evidence obtained from the search warrants should be suppressed because the portable breath test was an illegal search. However, if illegally obtained evidence is included in an application for a search warrant, we do not invalidate the warrant if the warrant could have been issued on the basis of the untainted evidence in the application.
Both search warrant applications in this case included evidence that Blank struck and killed McDowell while driving her car and did not stop at the seene of the accident. Her car suffered extensive and noticeable damage. The road was straight and level with no visual obstructions. McDowell and her companion were walking along the side of the road when McDowell was struck during daylight hours. Even without the result of the portable breath test, this evidence provided probable cause to believe that Blank committed felony leaving the seene of an injury accident, manslaughter, or erimi-nally negligent homicide. Thus, the portable breath test result was not material to the issuance of the warrants.
In a criminal investigation, a breath test for alcohol is a search.
Here, Trooper Tyler had evidence that-Blank left the scene of an injury accident that caused substantial and visible damage to her car. Tyler also knew that McDowell had died from her injuries. But, although there was probable cause to believe that Blank committed a crime, the State does not contend that the police had any individualized suspicion that Blank's "ability to operate a motor vehicle [was] impaired by the ingestion of alcoholic beverages[.]"
Rather than relying on AS 28.85.081(b) as authority for the portable breath test, the State relies on AS 28.35.081(g) which provides as follows:
A person who operates or drives a motor vehicle in this state shall be considered to have given consent to a chemical test or tests of the person's breath and blood for the purpose of determining the alcoholic content of the person's breath and blood and shall be considered to have given consent to a chemical test or tests of the person's blood and urine for the purpose of determining the presence of controlled substances in the person's blood and urine if the person is involved in a motor vehicle accident that causes death or serious physical injury to another person. The test or tests may be administered at the direction of a law enforcement officer who has reasonable grounds to believe that the person was operating or driving a motor vehicle in this state that was involved in an accident causing death or serious physical injury to another person.
On its face, subsection (g) by stating that "[the test or tests may be administered at the direction of a law enforcement officer[,]" gives a police officer the discretion to test any driver or operator of a motor vehicle involved in an accident where someone else receives serious physical injuries or is killed. Apparently, the statute allows the officer to administer the test(s) without any individualized suspicion that the driver was impaired, whether by alcohol or drugs, or even any evidence that the driver or operator caused the accident.
In a series of cases, the Supreme Court has decided that a limited group of searches without individualized suspicion that are authorized by statute or regulation, are reasonable searches under the Fourth Amendment and are based on "special needs, beyond the normal need for law enforcement[.]"
In Skinner v. Railway Labor Executives' Ass'n,
*367 In limited cireumstances, where the privacy interests implicated by the search are minimal, and where an important governmental interest furthered by the intrusion would be placed in jeopardy by a requirement of individualized suspicion, a search may be reasonable despite the absence of such suspicion.27
Because the railroad employees worked in a highly regulated industry, the Court balanced the employees' diminished expectation of privacy against the government's interest in ensuring the safety of an industry where the employees, like those in the nuclear industry, can cause "great human loss" when "a momentary lapse of attention can have disastrous consequences."
When "special needs" are advanced as a justification for a Fourth Amendment intrusion, the Court undertakes a context-specific inquiry, examining the competing private and public interests
In Vernonia School Dist. 47J v. Acton,
The governor's transmittal letter for the bill from which AS 28.35.081(g) arose shows that the subsection was designed for direct
A suspicionless search program implemented for normal law enforcement, the apparent purpose of AS 28.85.031(g), does not meet the Supreme Court's "special needs" balancing test. In the cases discussed above, the Supreme Court pointed out that the suspicionless searches at issue served special societal needs other than normal law enforcement.
In the circumstances of this case, normal law enforcement needs would not be jeopardized by requiring the government to have individualized suspicion before subjecting a person to a breath test. Although a driver involved in an accident where someone else is seriously injured can reasonably expect that police would investigate the accident, the expectation of an investigation does not lessen a driver's expectation of privacy. Certainly, a portable breath test is relatively unobtrusive, particularly when compared to a seizure of blood. However, the need to supply the police and prosecutors with an additional tool for law enforcement that does not require individualized suspicion does not appear great. Having considered the three factors from the Supreme Court's analysis in Acton, we conclude that AS 28.85.081(g) permits unreasonable intrusions contrary to the Fourth Amendment.
We also reach the same conclusion under article I, section 14 of the Alaska Constitution. The Alaska Constitution restricts the legislature's authority to permit searches without a warrant.
We asked for additional briefing on whether the search of Blank's breath would have been permitted under the Fourth Amendment if the police had probable cause to believe that Blank committed a crime. In its response, the State suggests that Fourth Amendment concerns with the statute could be avoided if we construe AS 28.35.081(g) to require that the police have probable cause to believe that the tested driver has committed a crime, here vehicular homicide and hit and run. We recognize that a statute can be construed in a manner that does not raise constitutional concerns.
However, the State's proposed construction of the statute overlooks Layland v. State.
In Schmerber v. California,
But later cases cast doubt on our supreme court's interpretation of Sehmerber. It now appears that the Fourth Amendment permits a warrantless search of a suspect who has not been arrested if the police have (1) probable cause to believe that the suspect committed a crime; (2) probable cause to believe that a search of the suspect's person would produce evidence; and (8) there are exigent cireumstances requiring immediate action. In Cupp v. Murphy,
Nonetheless, although the Fourth Amendment may not require an arrest before the warrantless seizure of evidence from a suspect in Blank's circumstances, our supreme court in Layland ruled that article I, section 14 of the Alaska Constitution does require that formality.
In our view, strict adherence to the substantially contemporaneous arrest. requirement ensures to persons suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol protection from arbitrary denials of their right of privacy. Adherence to the substantially contemporaneous arrest prerequisite provides some measure of assurance that probable cause is based upon considerations independent of the blood-aleohol test results.65
Professor LaFave maintains that our court's concern is "untenable, as the need for a court to determine that probable cause existed pri- or to the test is present under either rule."
The State argues that because the portable breath test was obtained in good faith compliance with the dictates of the statute, suppression is not an appropriate remedy even if the statute is unconstitutional because the police complied with the direction of the statute.
The State argues that the failure to arrest Blank was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt because the record establishes that the police could have arrested Blank when the portable breath test was administered. However, we have ruled that the evidence was inadmissible under Laylond. The State argued to the jury that Blank's blood aleohol level as shown by the portable breath test was relevant evidence to meet the burden of proof for both manslaughter and failure to render assistance. The State claimed that Blank's blood alcohol level showed that Blank was impaired and that her impairment affected her ability to perceive the risk caused by her conduct. As instructed, the jury could find that the State met its burden of proof on the mental state for each crime charged by showing that Blank failed to perceive the risk of her conduct because of her impairment. The State additionally presented expert testimony on the rate that alcohol was absorbed and metabolized, allowing inferences to be drawn from the alcohol level at the time of the portable breath test.
Conclusion
The judgment of the superior court is REVERSED.
. AS 11.41.120(@).
. AS 28.35.060(a).
. See Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 443-44, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966).
. 590 P.2d 888 (Alaska 1979).
. Id. at 895.
. Id.
. Id.
. See State v. Ridgely, 732 P.2d 550, 554 (Alaska 1987).
. See Id. at 554; Troyer v. State, 614 P.2d 313, 318 (Alaska 1980).
. See Sovalik v. State, 612 P.2d 1003, 1006 (Alaska 1980).
. 722 P.2d 943 (Alaska 1986).
. 438 U.S. 154, 98 S.Ct. 2674, 57 L.Ed.2d 667 (1978).
. See Malkin, 722 P.2d at 946 (citing Franks, 438 U.S. at 155-56, 98 S.Ct. 2674).
. See id.
. See id. at 946 n. 6.
. See Davenport v. State, 515 P.2d 377, 380 (Alaska 1973).
. 872 P.2d 627 (Alaska App. 1994).
. Id. at 642 (quoting 3 Wayne R. LaFave, Search and Seizure: A Treatise on the Fourth Amendment, § 7.5(c) (3d ed. 1996) (quoting People v. Teale, 70 Cal.2d 497, 75 Cal.Rptr. 172, 450 P.2d 564 (1969))) (other footnotes omitted).
. See Schmid v. State, 615 P.2d 565, 575 (Alaska 1980); United States v. Reed, 15 F.3d 928, 933 (9th Cir. 1994).
. See Burnett v. Municipality of Anchorage, 678 P.2d 1364, 1368 (Alaska App. 1984); Burnett v. Municipality of Anchorage, 806 F.2d 1447, 1449 (9th Cir. 1986).
. 711 P.2d 575 (Alaska App. 1986).
. Id. at 577.
. AS 28.35.031(b).
. See Skinner v. Railway Labor Executives Ass'n, 489 U.S. 602, 619, 109 S.Ct. 1402, 103 L.Ed.2d 639 (1989) (quotations and citations omitted):
. Id.
. Id. at 608-13, 109 S.Ct. 1402.
. Id. at 624, 109 S.Ct. 1402.
. Id. at 628, 109 S.Ct. 1402.
. See National Treasury Employees Union v. Von Raab, 489 U.S. 656, 665-66, 109 S.Ct. 1384, 103 L.Ed.2d 685 (1989).
. Id.
. - Id. at 660-65, 109 S.Ct. 1384.
. Id. at 679, 109 S.Ct. 1384.
. Id.
. 515 U.S. 646, 115 S.Ct. 2386, 132 L.Ed.2d 564 (1995).
. Id. at 664-666, 115 S.Ct. 2386.
. Id. at 649, 115 S.Ct. 2386.
. Id. at 661, 115 S.Ct. 2386.
. Id. at 656-57, 115 S.Ct. 2386.
. Id. at 654-57, 115 S.Ct. 2386.
. Id. at 658-60, 115 S.Ct. 2386.
. Id. at 660-64, 115 S.Ct. 2386.
. Id. at 664-66, 115 S.Ct. 2386.
. 1994 House Journal 2262-64.
. See Skinner, 489 U.S. at 619, 109 S.Ct. 1402; Von Raab, 489 U.S. at 665, 109 S.Ct. 1384; Vernonia, 515 U.S. at 653, 115 S.Ct. 2386; Chandler v. Miller, 520 U.S. 305, 313-14, 117 S.Ct. 1295, 137 L.Ed.2d 513 (1997).
. Chandler, 520 U.S. at 314, 117 S.Ct. 1295.
. Skinner, 489 U.S. at 624, 109 S.Ct. 1402.
. See Woods & Rohde, Inc. v. Alaska Dep't of Labor, 565 P.2d 138, 150-52 (Alaska 1977) (striking down a statute that authorized warrantless inspections of. workplaces because it violated article I, section 14 of the Alaska Constitution).
. See State v. Ricks, 816 P.2d 125, 127 (Alaska 1991); Rohde, 565 P.2d at 150-51.
. See Kenai Peninsula Borough v. Cook Inlet Region, Inc., 807 P.2d 487, 498 (Alaska 1991).
. 535 P.2d 1043 (Alaska 1975), overruled on other grounds by Anchorage v. Geber, 592 P.2d 1187, 1191-92 & n. 8 (Alaska 1979).
. Layland, 535 P.2d at 1044-45 & 1050.
. 384 U.S. 757, 86 S.Ct. 1826, 16 L.Ed.2d 908 (1966).
. Id. at 771-72, 86 S.Ct. 1826.
. Id. at 770-71, 86 S.Ct. 1826.
. See Layland, 535 P.2d at 1045, 1048-49.
. 412 U.S. 291, 93 S.Ct. 2000, 36 L.Ed.2d 900 (1973).
. Id. at 296, 93 S.Ct. 2000.
. 470 U.S. 753, 105 S.Ct. 1611, 84 L.Ed.2d 662 (1985).
. Id. at 759, 105 S.Ct. 1611.
. 55 F.3d 1416 (9th Cir. 1995).
. See id. at 1418-19.
. See 3 Wayne R. LaFave, Search and Seizure: A Treatise on the Fourth Amendment, § 5.4(b), at 155-63 (3d ed. 1996).
. Id. at 160-61 (footnotes omitted).
. See Layland, 535 P.2d at 1048-50; Municipality of Anchorage v. Ray, 854 P.2d 740, 749-50 (Alaska App. 1993).
. Layland, 535 P.2d at 1049.
. 3 Wayne R. LaFave, Search and Seizure, § 5.4(b), at 162.
. Layland, 535 P.2d at 1050.
. See Harrison v. State, 791 P.2d 359, 363 (Alaska App. 1990).
. See Illinois v. Krull, 480 U.S. 340, 350, 107 S.Ct. 1160, 94 L.Ed.2d 364 (1987).
. See AS 28.35.031(g).
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting.
I agree with my colleagues that the breath test result must be suppressed. The trooper who administered the test to Blank had probable cause to believe that Blank had committed two crimes: manslaughter and felony hit- and-run. The trooper also had probable cause to believe that the alcohol in Blank's breath (or, conversely, the absence of alcohol in her breath) would be evidence relevant to these crimes. But in Layland v. State
But though I agree that the breath test result must be suppressed, I disagree with my colleagues concerning the effect of this error on Blank's convictions. Blank was convicted of two crimes: manslaughter and felony hit-and-run (leaving the seene of an injury accident). Suppression of the breath test evidence requires reversal of Blank's manslaughter conviction, but it does not require reversal of Blank's hit-and-run conviction.
In arguing that Blank was guilty of manslaughter, the prosecutor relied heavily on the breath test result. He argued that the test result showed that Blank had been drinking more than the one beer she admitted. He also urged the jury to infer that Blank's consumption of alcohol had affected her concentration and attentiveness while driving-that it had been a factor in causing the accident.
But when the prosecutor argued that Blank was guilty of hit-and-run, he paid almost no attention to Blank's consumption of alcohol and her possible intoxication. The prosecutor did not argue that Blank was too drunk to understand that she had hit someone.
The prosecutor pointed out that Blank's vehicle struck Pennye McDowell so hard that the impact cracked the windshield, broke off the side-view mirror, and smashed out the front passenger window. He reminded the jury that one of Blank's children testified that, a few moments after the collision, Blank asked, "Did I hit somebody?", and her daughter Tori replied that she thought they had hit someone.
But despite her daughter's answer, Blank drove away from the seene-and she drove away fast, The prosecutor asked the jury to remember the testimony given by a boy who was playing in a neighboring yard. The boy testified that he heard the collision and then, immediately afterward, he heard a woman (MeDowell's friend) erying "Help, help!", and then he heard the sound of tires squealing.
In short, the jury's decision to convict Blank of felony hit-and-run did not depend on a finding that Blank was intoxicated (or even that she had been drinking). The prosecutor argued that, intoxicated or not, Blank understood that she had struck someone. Her vehicle had suffered obvious damage, and her own daughter told her that she thought they had hit somebody. Despite this, Blank did not stop to find out what had happened; instead, she drove away at high speed without looking back.
Given this evidence, and given the way the prosecutor argued the case, there is no reasonable possibility that the jury's hit-and-run verdict was affected by the breath test evi-denee.
. 535 P.2d 1043, 1047-49 (Alaska 1975).
. 384 U.S. 757, 86 S.Ct. 1826, 16 L.Ed.2d 908 (1966).
. See AS 11.81.900(a)(2), which allows the State to prove the culpable mental state of "knowingly" by proving that the defendant would have known of the relevant circumstance but for the defendant's intoxication.
. See Love v. State, 457 P.2d 622, 629-631 (Alaska 1969) (the improper admission of evidence at a criminal trial does not require reversal of a conviction unless the evidence substantially influenced the jury's decision).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Laura A. BLANK, Appellant, v. STATE of Alaska, Appellee
- Cited By
- 17 cases
- Status
- Published