Harrison v. State
Harrison v. State
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
delivered the opinion of the Court
Holding that the State failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence that Mary Elizabeth Harrison voluntarily consented to provide a urine specimen, the court of appeals reversed the trial court’s denial of Harrison’s motion to suppress.
Facts and Procedural History
While driving in the City of Arlington on the afternoon of August 8, 2002, Vickie Evans called 911 to report that Harrison was driving while intoxicated or was having a seizure. As she continued to follow Harrison, Evans remained on the phone, advising police of Harrison’s location.
Officer Lodatto, who was dispatched as a result of Evans’s 911 call, first spotted Harrison as a fellow officer, Officer Constantine, was directing her to pull over and stop in a parking lot. Evans also stopped. While Constantine initiated contact with Harrison, Lodatto spoke with Evans. Evans informed Lodatto that while she had been following Harrison, she observed Harrison going from lane to lane, fidgeting, and “flopping around like a fish” inside her car. Lodatto then approached Harrison while she was standing outside her car talking with Constantine. Observing Harrison’s behavior and demeanor, Lo-datto noticed that she was “continuously fidgeting, moving around, bending around at the waist, [and] lifting up her legs.... ” Lodatto then administered a number of field sobriety tests. Based on Harrison’s overall performance on the tests, Lodatto concluded that Harrison was under the influence of an intoxicant other than alcohol.
Harrison was placed under arrest and transported to the county jail, where Lo-datto asked her to provide breath and blood specimens. After Lodatto warned Harrison of the consequences of refusing to submit the specimens as required by the Transportation Code,
The unsuccessful attempts to draw blood caused Harrison pain and resulted in bruising. But according to DeMott, Harrison remained cooperative and even assisted the nurse by instructing her on the best way to take the sample. At some point, the nurse began to examine Harrison’s feet for a site to draw blood. However, DeMott, who had taken note of the fact that the unsuccessful attempts to draw blood inflicted pain upon Harrison, asked Harrison if she would be willing to provide a urine sample. Harrison agreed to provide a urine sample to avoid being stuck with the needle again and to avoid having her driver’s license suspended. Neither officer informed Harrison that she did not have to give a urine sample. They also failed to inform her that her license would not be suspended in the event that she refused to provide a urine sample. Harrison’s urine did test positive for controlled substances, and she was later charged with misdemeanor driving while intoxicated.
Harrison filed a motion to suppress alleging that her rights under the United States and Texas Constitutions were violated. She argued that the stop was not supported by reasonable suspicion and that her consent to provide a urine sample was involuntary. The trial court denied the motion. The court found that the police had reasonable suspicion for the stop and that Harrison consented to the urine sample, although it presented a “closer question.”
On April 21, 2003, pursuant to a plea agreement, Harrison pled guilty. Her sentence was assessed at 180 days in jail, probated for two years, and a fine of $500.
Harrison appealed the trial court’s denial of her motion to suppress. She argued that the trial court erred in finding that the stop was supported by reasonable suspicion. She further claimed that the court erred in finding that she voluntarily consented to submitting a urine sample, maintaining that the State failed to prove voluntariness by clear and convincing evidence.
Responding to Harrison’s claims, the State argued that the trial court did not err in denying Harrison’s motion to suppress. The State claimed that the stop was supported by reasonable suspicion and that Harrison’s consent to provide a urine sample was voluntary. Relying on this Court’s opinion in Hulit v. State,
The Second Court of Appeals found that “the information provided by Evans was sufficiently reliable to provide police with reasonable articulable suspicion to initiate an investigative stop of Harrison.”
Because all three witnesses at the suppression hearing agreed that Harrison was in pain and agreed to provide the urine specimen to avoid further needle sticks, agreed Harrison was not advised of her right to decline to provide a urine specimen, and agreed Harrison was not informed her license would not be suspended if she refused, we cannot hold that the State met its heightened burden to prove voluntariness of Harrison’s consent under the totality of the circumstances by clear and convincing evidence.7
As a result, the court reversed the trial court’s judgment and remanded the case for a new trial.
The State petitioned for review, and we granted its five grounds for review. The State’s fifth ground for review states: “Do the evidentiary factors relied upon by the court of appeals to find involuntary consent invade the role assigned to the trial court by failing to place the evidence in context, and by determining matters of historical fact?” Because the record shows that the Court of Appeals erred in finding that the State failed to establish voluntariness, we need not consider the State’s first four grounds for review.
Law and Analysis
Under Article I, Section 9, of the Texas Constitution, “[a] search made after voluntary consent is not unreasonable.”
Here, the record reflects that
• Harrison had consented to a much more invasive and painful procedure;
• Harrison at no time withdrew her consent to the blood test;
• police used no coercion or threats to compel consent; and
• Harrison said that she consented to avoid farther sticks with the needle and to avoid having her driver’s license suspended.
The Court of Appeals found that “[t]he fact that Harrison’s consent was given to
Also, when finding that the State failed in its burden to prove Harrison’s consent was voluntary, the Court of Appeals relied on the fact that the police officers did not inform Harrison that she could refuse to provide a urine sample and that they failed to advise Harrison that the consequences applicable to a person’s refusal to provide a blood specimen do not apply when an individual refuses to submit a urine specimen.
The dissent states that
[i]t is hard to believe that the trial court could find that it was highly probable or reasonably certain that Appellant consented to the urine test when she was not given statutory warnings prior to consenting to giving a urine specimen and when both officers who testified about the consent stated that they did not inform Appellant that she could refuse to provide a sample without losing her driver’s license.
The dissent’s reasoning is flawed. Simply put, Texas statutes did not require that Harrison be given any statutory warnings before she was asked for her consent to provide a urine specimen.
It may be argued that Harrison was misled by the officers because had Harrison been allowed to contact her attorney as she had requested, her attorney could have informed her that she could refuse the request for a urine sample without losing her license. But Harrison did not have the right to have an attorney present
Considering all of the facts before us, and giving proper deference to the trial judge’s credibility determinations, we cannot say that the trial judge erred in deciding that the State proved by clear and convincing evidence that Harrison’s consent was voluntary.
Conclusion
We hold that the Court of Appeals erred in finding that Harrison’s consent was not voluntary. We therefore reverse its decision and affirm the judgment of the trial court.
. Harrison v. State, 144 S.W.3d 82, 89-90 (Tex.App.-Fort Worth 2004).
. See Tex Transp. Code §§ 724.011-724.013, 724.015 (Vernon 2001).
. 982 S.W.2d 431 (Tex.Crim.App. 1998).
. Harrison, 144 S.W.3d at 87.
. Id. at n. 3.
. Id. at 89.
. Id.
. Id. at 89-90.
. Reasor v. State, 12 S.W.3d 813, 818 (Tex.Crim.App. 2000).
. State v. Ibarra, 953 S.W.2d 242, 245 (Tex.Crim.App. 1997).
. Reasor, 12 S.W.3d at 818; see also Johnson v. State, 68 S.W.3d 644, 653 (Tex.Crim.App. 2002) (citing Ohio v. Robinette, 519 U.S. 33, 40, 117 S.Ct. 417, 136 L.Ed.2d 347 (1996)).
. State v. Ross, 32 S.W.3d 853, 855 (Tex.Crim.App. 2000).
. Guzman v. State, 955 S.W.2d 85, 89 (Tex.Crim.App. 1997).
. Harrison, 144 S.W.3d at 89.
. Erdman v. State, 861 S.W.2d 890, 893 (Tex.Crim.App. 1993).
. Harrison, 144 S.W.3d at 89.
. Draper v. State, 539 S.W.2d 61, 63 (Tex.Crim.App. 1976) (quoting Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218, 93 S.Ct. 2041, 36 L.Ed.2d 854 (1973)); Allridge v. State, 850 S.W.2d 471, 493 (Tex.Crim.App. 1991).
. Meeks v. State, 692 S.W.2d 504, 509 (Tex.Crim.App. 1985).
. Johnson v. State, 68 S.W.3d 644, 653 (Tex.Crim.App. 2002) (citing Meeks, 692 S.W.2d at 509).
. Tex Transp. Code §§ 724.011-724.013, 724.015.
. Tex.Transp. Code § 724.015.
. Griffith v. State, 55 S.W.3d 598, 604 (Tex.Crim.App. 2001); Garcia v. State, 787 S.W.2d 957, 958 (Tex.Crim.App. 1990).
Dissenting Opinion
filed a dissenting opinion,
in which HOLCOMB, J., joined.
In determining whether a defendant voluntarily consented to a search, we consider the totality of the circumstances, and the burden is on the State to prove by clear and convincing evidence that the consent was voluntary. Clear and convincing evidence is “evidence indicating that the thing to be proved is highly probable or reasonably certain.”
Nonetheless, the majority claims that because Appellant was given statutory warnings about giving a blood sample and consented, the officers were not obligated to inform her that the consequences of failure to consent to giving a breath or blood specimen do not apply to failure to give a urine sample. The majority also
In addition to the fact that Appellant was not informed of her right to refuse consent and was not informed that the consequences of refusing to provide a blood sample did not apply to a urine sample, the court of appeals also considered the fact that 1) Appellant had been arrested, transported to the hospital in handcuffs, and was in custody at the time she consented, indicating that she was not aware that she was free to refuse to submit a urine sample; 2) that she was induced to consent in order to avoid additional pain from the repeated needle sticks, which were causing collapsed veins and bruising; and 3) that her license was very important to her and she only consented because she did not want to lose her license. The record additionally indicates that Appellant asked for her attorney repeatedly throughout this process and the officers told her that she could call her attorney after she completed the breath tests. Perhaps if the officers had allowed Appellant to call her attorney, then her attorney could have informed her of her right to refuse to consent to a urine sample without losing her license, rather than being misled by the officers. Since there was not a single witness who claimed that Appellant’s consent was informed, it is difficult to see how the consent could be considered voluntary.
I disagree with the majority’s contention that the court of appeals failed to give proper deference to the trial court’s findings.
. See Black's Law Dictionary 457 (7th ed. 2000).
. Although findings were requested when the trial judge ruled on the motion to suppress, there is nothing in the record indicating that findings of fact were entered.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Mary Elizabeth HARRISON, Appellant v. the STATE of Texas
- Cited By
- 80 cases
- Status
- Published