State v. LaTondress
State v. LaTondress
Opinion of the Court
The state appeals from a pretrial order suppressing the results of a breath test in a prosecution for violation of Minn. St. 169.121, subd. 1(d), driving with a blood-alcohol content exceeding .10 percent. We affirm.
The test clearly was not taken voluntarily. Both the arresting officer and the defendant testified that before defendant consented to take the test he was told by the officer that refusal could result in the revocation of his license. A test is not vohm-tarily given when a defendant is threatened with license revocation if he does not consent to the test. It is solely on this ground that we affirm the trial court’s order of suppression.
The trial court verbally stated the foregoing reason for its order of suppression at the time of the Rasmussen hearing. In subsequent written findings and conclusions, however, the trial court stated a different ground for suppressing the breath test results. It construed § 169.121, subd. 2, to mean that no test is taken voluntarily unless the defendant has been given a complete implied-consent advisory pursuant to § 169.123. We ha:ve rejected this construction in State v. Rossow, 310 Minn. 399, 247 N. W. 2d 398, filed herewith.
Pursuant to Minn. St. 632.13(8), defendant is allowed as attorneys fees on this appeal the sum of $350.
Affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.