City of Bismarck v. King
City of Bismarck v. King
Opinion
[¶1] Paul King appeals from a criminal judgment entered after a jury found him guilty of refusing to submit to chemical testing. King argues the district court erred in denying his request to give his proposed jury instructions, failing to give him an opportunity to object to the jury instructions, and allowing testimony about a preliminary screening test. We affirm.
I
[¶2] On July 1, 2017, Bismarck Police Officer Joseph Olsen stopped King's vehicle. Olsen testified he smelled the odor of alcohol coming from within the vehicle and King's eyes appeared to be red and glossy. King performed various field sobriety tests and was subsequently arrested for driving under the influence.
[¶3] Olsen informed King of his rights under
Miranda v. Arizona
,
[¶4] A jury trial was held. Olsen requested the district court give a jury instruction about refusal of a chemical test and a second instruction about the right to refuse a chemical test. The court refused to give Olsen's requested jury instructions, and a jury found him guilty of refusing to submit to a chemical breath test.
II
[¶5] King argues the district court erred by failing to give either of his requested jury instructions. He contends his requested *140 instructions accurately informed the jury of the law on issues that were raised.
[¶6] Jury instructions must correctly and adequately inform the jury of the applicable law and must not mislead or confuse the jury.
State v. Pavlicek
,
A
[¶7] King's first requested jury instruction was about refusal of a chemical test. The proposed instruction stated:
Withdrawing the implied consent requires an affirmative refusal to be tested. Refusal requires a conscious decision, and the statutory scheme requires communication between the law enforcement officer and the driver in which the officer requests submission to the test.
The question of whether Paul King refused to take the test is a question of fact which is left solely for your determination. Moreover, whether Paul King was confused when he refused to take the test is also a question of fact which is left solely for your determination.
[¶8] King claims the first paragraph of the requested instruction adequately informed the jury of the law because it directly quoted language from
Grosgebauer v. N.D. Dep't of Transp.
,
[¶9] This Court previously addressed a similar instruction in
State v. Keller
,
Withdrawing the implied consent requires an affirmative refusal to be tested. Refusal requires a conscious decision, and the statutory scheme requires communication between the law enforcement officer and the driver in which the officer requests submission to the test. Whether a driver affirmatively refused to submit to testing is a question of fact which is left solely for your determination.
When the law enforcement officer fails to advise the driver of the criminal sanctions for refusal of a chemical test, a refusal to take the test under these conditions is not the affirmative refusal necessary.
Id.
at ¶ 6. The defendant in
Keller
also argued this Court's decision in
Grosgebauer
,
[¶10] The first paragraph and first sentence of the second paragraph of King's *141 requested instruction is almost identical to the language used in the instruction in Keller . King's requested instruction also required the jury to find affirmative refusal in the form of communication between the driver and officer. As we said in Keller , that is not required by law and the instruction is not accurate. The district court did not err by refusing to give King's requested instruction.
B
[¶11] King argues the second paragraph of the first requested instruction should have been given even if the whole requested instruction was not given because it was imperative the jury be instructed that the issue of whether King was confused when he refused to take the chemical test was a question of fact. King relies on this Court's decision in
Obrigewitch v. Dir., N.D. Dep't of Transp.
,
[¶12] In
Obrigewitch
,
[¶13] The important thread throughout our cases discussing confusion generally involves the driver's right to have the opportunity to consult with an attorney.
See
Ehrlich
,
[¶14] As Justice Levine further explained in her concurrence in
Ehrlich
,
*142 The importance of the opportunity to consult with counsel is to mitigate the confusion that inheres in the situation where there is a Miranda assurance of a right to counsel followed by a denial of access to an attorney to advise whether to take the test.
Under Kuntz and Bickler , any confusion that would justify a reversal of a license revocation, is obviated by the opportunity of an arrestee to consult with counsel before taking a chemical test.
(Justice Levine, concurring in result) (internal citations omitted). This Court also noted "we have never reversed a license revocation based on the 'confusion doctrine' " but we indicated the issue may be raised in license revocation proceedings.
[¶15] This is a criminal prosecution and not an administrative license revocation proceeding. If King wanted to argue his limited right to consult with an attorney was violated, the appropriate place to raise the issue would not be before the jury, but in a pretrial motion. In
State v. Sadek
,
Under Rule 12(b), N.D.R.Crim.P., "[a]ny defense, objection, or request which is capable of determination without the trial of the general issue may be raised before trial by motion." When an accused person seeks "to suppress evidence on the ground that it was illegally obtained," such a motion "must be raised prior to trial." Rule 12(b)(3), N.D.R.Crim.P. Failure to raise before trial a motion to suppress evidence on the ground that it was illegally obtained operates as a waiver of the motion. State v. Demery ,331 N.W.2d 7 , 13 (N.D. 1983) ; State v. Schroeder ,524 N.W.2d 837 , 839 (N.D. 1994).
[¶16] King was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and/or refusal to submit to a chemical test under Bismarck City Ordinance § 12-10-01(1). The relevant portions of the city ordinance use language identical to N.D.C.C. § 39-08-01(1). This Court has previously held driving under the influence of alcohol under N.D.C.C. § 39-08-01 is a strict liability offense and there is no culpability requirement.
See
Montplaisir
,
*143
[¶17] King's alleged confusion as a reason why he refused to submit to testing was not relevant. This Court has recognized limited affirmative defenses to strict liability crimes when public policy supports the defense or the constitutional interests of the accused are concerned.
See
State v. Vandermeer
,
[¶18] Because refusal to submit to chemical testing under Bismarck City Ordinance § 12-10-01 is a strict liability offense, King was not entitled to a jury instruction on confusion. The district court did not err by refusing to give King's requested instruction.
C
[¶19] King also requested a second instruction about the right to refuse chemical testing. The proposed instruction stated:
A driver has a conditional right to refuse a chemical test. The fact that North Dakota drivers are able to refuse testing is a matter of legislative grace. Refusing to submit to the test is a legislatively granted privilege and the legislature is able to limit the extent of that privilege.
[¶20] King argues the district court erred by failing to give his second requested instruction. He contends the language of the instruction came directly from
State v. Murphy
,
[¶21] The proposed instruction would have informed the jury that a driver has a conditional right to refuse a chemical test, the ability to refuse is a matter of legislative grace, and it is a legislatively granted privilege, which the legislature is able to limit. However, the proposed instruction did not inform the jury that the state may attach penalties to a driver's refusal, including criminal penalties.
See
Murphy
,
III
[¶22] King argues he was not given an opportunity to object on the record to the district court's jury instructions.
[¶23] Under N.D.R.Crim.P. 30(b)(1), the district court is required to inform the parties of its proposed instructions and its proposed action on the requested instructions before instructing the jury and before final jury argument. The court is also required to give the parties an opportunity to object on the record to the proposed instructions and to the court's actions on requested instructions before the instructions and final arguments are delivered.
[¶24] The record reflects the district court gave the parties its proposed jury instructions before the trial started and the court informed King why it was not going to give his requested instructions. King was given an opportunity to object to the instructions at that time and he objected to the court's decision not to give his first proposed instruction. The court reaffirmed it was not going to give the requested instructions. After the close of evidence, the court gave King an opportunity out of the presence of the jury to make motions and to preserve the record before the final instructions were given. King objected to the court's failure to give his first proposed instruction.
[¶25] King admits he objected to the district court's failure to give his proposed instructions, but he contends the court never asked him if he had any objections *144 to the court's instructions. We conclude King had an opportunity to object to the court's jury instructions.
IV
[¶26] King argues the district court erred in overruling his objection to testimony about a preliminary screening test. He contends the court erred by allowing Olsen to testify that part of the implied consent advisory he read to King included language that, "If you have refused the prior screening test, you may cure that refusal by completing this additional chemical test." King asserts this Court has said whether a driver consented to take a preliminary breath test is irrelevant and inadmissible, there was no evidence he refused a preliminary screening test, there was no need to tell the jury about a screening test, and the testimony was unnecessary and confusing to the jury.
[¶27] The district court has broad discretion in deciding whether to admit or exclude evidence, and we will not reverse a district court's decision unless the court abused its discretion.
State v. Hunter
,
[¶28] Under N.D.C.C. § 39-20-14(3), the results of a screening test may only be used to determine whether further testing shall be given, but a refusal to submit to a screening test may be admissible in a court proceeding. This Court has held testimony about a defendant's preliminary breath test results or whether the defendant consented to take a preliminary breath test are irrelevant and inadmissible when probable cause for the defendant's arrest is not at issue at trial.
City of Fargo v. Erickson
,
[¶29] The testimony King alleges was improper came during the City's questioning of Olsen. Olsen was asked whether he read the implied consent advisory to King after he was arrested for driving under the influence. Olsen testified that he read the advisory from a card and that language provided:
You are under arrest for violation of 39-08-01, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. North Dakota law also requires you to submit to an additional chemical test to determine whether you're under the influence of alcohol or drugs. I must again inform you that refusal to take this requested test may result in revocation of your driver's license for a minimum of 180 days and potentially up to three years, and refusal to take this test is a crime punishable in the same manner as a DUI. If you have refused the prior screening test, you may cure that refusal by completing this additional chemical test.
King objected to the testimony about the screening test, arguing it was prohibited. The district court overruled the objection, explaining that Olsen was required to read the advisory to King and that the objection was the only thing that would draw the jury's attention to the reference to a screening test.
[¶30] The only mention of a screening test was in Olsen's testimony that he read King the implied consent advisory after King's arrest and the language King objected to was included in the advisory. The *145 language in the advisory was not specific to King. There was no other testimony mentioning a screening test. Olsen did not testify about the results of a screening test or testify about whether King took a screening test. Under the circumstances of this case, the district court did not abuse its discretion in overruling King's objection and allowing admission of Olsen's testimony about the language of the implied consent advisory.
V
[¶31] We affirm the criminal judgment.
[¶32] Lisa Fair McEvers
Daniel J. Crothers
Jerod E. Tufte
Jon J. Jensen
Gerald W. VandeWalle, C.J.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- CITY OF BISMARCK, Plaintiff and Appellee v. Paul KING, Defendant and Appellant
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- The criminal offense of refusal to submit to chemical testing is a strict liability offense.