State v. Luedtke
State v. Luedtke
Opinion of the Court
¶ 1. Michael R. Luedtke appeals from a judgment convicting him of operating a motor vehicle with a detectable amount of a restricted controlled substance in his blood and an order denying his postconviction motion requesting dismissal of the charge or a new trial. Luedtke argues that the operating a motor vehicle with a detectable amount of a restricted controlled substance in the blood statute, Wis. Stat. § 346.63(1)(am) (2011-12),
FACTS
¶ 2. Luedtke was arrested for operating a motor vehicle with a restricted controlled substance in his blood after he was involved in a two-car accident on April 27, 2009. Luedtke was driving someone else's vehicle when he looked down at his cell phone. When he looked up, the car in front of him had stopped. Luedtke rear-ended the car. The police officer who arrived at the scene did not notice any signs of impairment while talking to Luedtke. However, a person who lived near the accident scene told officers that he had seen Luedtke take items from the vehicle and stuff those items down the sewer. An officer retrieved six syringes and a metal spoon wrapped in a shirt from the sewer drain. The first officer asked Luedtke if he could search the vehicle, and Luedtke consented to the search. The search revealed syringes under the passenger and driver seats, a brown prescription bottle containing a
¶ 3. While at the hospital, Luedtke was assessed by a police officer trained as a drug recognition expert (DRE). The DRE administered tests to evaluate whether Luedtke was impaired, including a balance test, a walk-and-turn test, a one-leg stand, and a finger-to-nose test. Luedtke performed poorly on these tests. Additionally, the DRE noticed fresh puncture marks near Luedtke's right thumb. Based on his observations, the DRE concluded that Luedtke was under the influence of a central nervous system narcotic analgesic, such as the morphine/opiate category of drugs. The DRE concluded that Luedtke was impaired.
¶ 4. The laboratory report on Luedtke's blood tested positive for diazepam (Valium), methadone, venlafaxine (Effexor), cocaine, and benzoylecgonine. Luedtke was charged by criminal complaint filed on December 18, 2009, with operating a motor vehicle with a detectable amount of a restricted controlled substance in his blood and operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of an intoxicant. Luedtke's blood sample was discarded, per state laboratory protocol, on February 4, 2010. On December 28, 2010, the defense moved
DISCUSSION
¶ 5. Luedtke makes two challenges to his conviction, both on due process grounds. First, he contends that the statute prohibiting operating a motor vehicle with a detectable amount of a restricted controlled substance in the blood violates the Due Process Clauses of the United States and Wisconsin Constitutions because, as a strict liability statute, it does not require knowledge of the wrong committed. Second, Luedtke argues that the destruction of his blood sample prior to independent testing violated his right to due process. Finally, Luedtke argues that he received ineffective assistance of counsel due to his lawyer's failure to bring up these issues, or, in the alternative, that he is entitled to a new trial in the interest of justice.
¶ 6. The State responds that the statute is constitutional. The State reasons that the legislature permissibly created a strict liability crime to rationally address the severe societal problem of drugged driving. The trial court properly denied Luedtke's motion to suppress, contends the State, because Luedtke did not show that the blood sample was apparently exculpatory material evidence or that the State acted in bad faith in destroying the sample. Furthermore, argues the State, Luedtke's due process rights were protected by his
A. The Operating a Motor Vehicle with a Restricted Controlled Substance in the Blood Statute Is Constitutional.
1. Standard of Review
¶ 7. Whether a statute is unconstitutional is a question this court reviews de novo. State v. Neumann, 2013 WI 58, ¶ 32, 348 Wis. 2d 455, 832 N.W.2d 560. The person challenging the statute must show beyond a reasonable doubt that it is unconstitutional. State v. Baron, 2009 WI 58, ¶ 10, 318 Wis. 2d 60, 769 N.W.2d 34.
2. The Legislature Intended Operating a Motor Vehicle with a Restricted Controlled Substance in the Blood to Be a Strict Liability Law.
¶ 8. Usually, criminal statutes require scienter. State v. Weidner, 2000 WI 52, ¶ 11, 235 Wis. 2d 306, 611 N.W.2d 684. However, strict liability criminal statutes are not unknown. State v. Jadowski, 2004 WI 68, ¶ 44, 272 Wis. 2d 418, 680 N.W.2d 810 (upholding strict liability statute for sexual assault of a person under sixteen). There are several factors a court can look to when deciding if the legislature meant to impose strict liability, including (1) the language of the statute, (2) legislative history, (3) related statutes, (4) law en
a. Language of the Statute
¶ 9. Wisconsin Stat. § 346.63(1)(am) prohibits driving or operating a motor vehicle while "[t]he person has a detectable amount of a restricted controlled substance in his or her blood." On its face, the statute does not require intent.
b. Legislative History
¶ 10. The legislative history of Wis. Stat. § 346.63(1)(am) also shows that the legislature meant to enact a strict liability statute. A Wisconsin Legislative Council memo regarding 2003 Wis. Act 97, which enacted § 346.63(1)(am), stated that the intent was to remove the requirement that someone was "under the influence" of the restricted controlled substance in the blood such that "[e]vidence of a detectable amount is sufficient." Wisconsin Legislative Council Act Memo, 2003 Wis. Act 97, Operating Vehicle or Going Armed With a Detectable Amount of a Restricted Controlled Substance (Dec. 16, 2003), https://docs.legis.wisconsin. gov/2003/related/lcactmemo/ab458.pdf. The legislature established liability based only on a detectable amount of the restricted controlled substance in the blood, regardless of impairment. There is no indication that the legislature meant to require the State to prove the additional element of intent.
c. Related Statutes
¶ 11. The legislature's intent to create a strict liability crime is further demonstrated by the fact that
d. Law Enforcement Practicality
¶ 12. The legislature added Wis. Stat. § 346.63(1)(am) in 2003 because "[i]t is often difficult to prove that a person who has used a restricted substance was 'under the influence' of that substance." Legislative Council Memo, supra, at 1. The legislature intended to make it easier to prove operation with a restricted controlled substance in the blood by eliminating the need for the State to prove intoxication. Requiring the State to prove intent would run contrary to the stated goal to ease difficult proof requirements.
e. Protection of the Public from Harm
¶ 13. Drugged driving is a serious threat to public safety. Studies estimate that a significant portion of traffic deaths involve drugged driving. See, e.g., Institute for Behavior and Health, Public Policy State
f. Severity of the Punishment
¶ 14. The penalty for first-offense operating a motor vehicle with a restricted controlled substance in the blood is a civil forfeiture. Wis. Stat. § 346.65(2)(am)1. Subsequent violations carry potential jail time, see § 346.65(2)(am)2.-7., and accidents causing great bodily harm carry potential imprisonment, see Wis. Stat. §§ 940.25(1)(am), 939.50(1)(f) & (3)(f).
¶ 15. These factors demonstrate that the legislature intended to allow the State to convict people of operating a motor vehicle with a restricted controlled substance in the blood without having to prove that the person knowingly ingested the substance. There is no ambiguity in Wis. Stat. § 346.63(l)(am): it is a strict liability statute.
¶ 16. No person shall be deprived of "life, liberty, or property without due process of law." U.S. Const. amend. XIX § 1; see also Wis. Const. art. I, §§ 1, 8. The Due Process Clause embodies a substantive component "that bars certain arbitrary, wrongful government actions." State v. Radke, 2003 WI 7, ¶ 12, 259 Wis. 2d 13, 657 N.W.2d 66 (citation omitted). "Substantive process forbids a government from exercising 'power without any reasonable justification in the service of a legitimate governmental objective.'" Id. (citation omitted). In response to a substantive due process challenge, this court examines "whether the statute is a reasonable and rational means to the legislative end." State v. Smet, 2005 WI App 263, ¶ 11, 288 Wis. 2d 525, 709 N.W.2d 474.
¶ 17. This court already concluded that Wis. Stat. § 346.63(1)(am) does not violate substantive due process. Smet, 288 Wis. 2d 525, ¶ 1. In Smet, we held that in enacting § 346.63(1)(am), the legislature determined that public safety is endangered when a person operates a motor vehicle with a detectable amount of a restricted controlled substance in his or her blood. Smet, 288 Wis. 2d 525, ¶ 13. The court found it reasonable to punish every person who drove with a detectable amount of a restricted controlled substance in the blood, regardless of impairment. Id., ¶ 16. In addressing the problem of drugged driving, the legislature could have reasonably and rationally concluded that "proscribed substances range widely in purity and potency and thus may be unpredictable in their duration and effect." Id., ¶ 17. Furthermore, because no reliable measure of impairment exists for many illicit drugs, the legislature reason
¶ 18. Other states have reached the same conclusion in upholding strict liability statutes prohibiting drugged driving. See, e.g. National Conference of State Legislatures, Drugged Driving Per Se Laws, http:// www.ncsl.org/documents/transportation/persechart.pdf (last visited May 5, 2014) (showing states with per se laws forbidding any presence of a prohibited substance in the driver's body).
¶ 19. Luedtke argues that the statute can impermissibly punish someone who accidentally ingests cocaine. Luedtke, however, does not directly argue that he accidentally ingested cocaine. Furthermore, Luedtke cites studies showing that cocaine is present on currency and in lakes, but does not explain how such environmental exposure to cocaine could result in a positive blood test for the substance. Luedtke failed to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the statute is unconstitutional.
1. Standard of Review
¶ 20. Luedtke moved to suppress the blood test results, arguing that the destruction of the blood samples and his attendant inability to retest the samples violated his right to due process. Whether the destruction of the samples constitutes a violation of due process is a question of law that we review de novo. Neumann, 348 Wis. 2d 455, ¶ 32.
2. Due Process Requirements
¶ 21. Due process requires that the prosecution turn over material exculpatory evidence. Arizona v. Youngblood, 488 U.S. 51, 57 (1988); State v. Greenwold, 181 Wis. 2d 881, 885, 512 N.W.2d 237 (Ct. App. 1994) (Greenwold I). However, the United States Supreme Court has been unwilling to "impos[e] on the police an undifferentiated and absolute duty to retain and to preserve all material that might be of conceivable evidentiary significance in a particular prosecution." Youngblood, 488 U.S. at 58. To prevail on a due process challenge regarding the destruction of potentially exculpatory evidence, the defendant must show that the evidence was apparently exculpatory at the time it was destroyed or that it was destroyed in bad faith. State v. Greenwold, 189 Wis. 2d 59, 67, 525 N.W.2d 294 (Ct. App. 1994) (Greenwold II). Bad faith can only be shown if "(1) the officers were aware of the potentially exculpatory value or usefulness of the
¶ 22. Luedtke does not argue that the blood sample was destroyed in bad faith. Rather, Luedtke argues that Wisconsin courts should recognize a broader protection for a defendant's due process rights than that afforded by Youngblood and relax the Youngblood bad faith standard.
¶ 23. The Wisconsin Court of Appeals adopted the Youngblood standard in Greenwold I, 181 Wis. 2d at 881, and we are bound by that precedent, Cook v. Cook, 208 Wis. 2d 166, 189-90, 560 N.W.2d 246 (1997) (only supreme court can modify court of appeals precedent). In Greenwold II, we expressly rejected the argument that a defendant in an evidence destruction case would be afforded more protection under the Wisconsin Constitution than under the United States Constitution. Greenwold II, 189 Wis. 2d at 71.
¶ 24. Applying Youngblood to this case, Luedtke has not shown a due process violation. First, he makes no showing that the evidence was apparently exculpatory at the time of its destruction. Indeed, the sample that was destroyed was inculpatory — it had been tested and showed the presence of restricted controlled substances in Luedtke's blood. Second, Luedtke does not argue that the evidence was destroyed in bad faith.
¶ 25. Prior Wisconsin Supreme Court precedent supports the conclusion that the destruction of the blood sample did not violate due process. Before the
¶ 26. Luedtke was able to confront and cross-examine all persons in the chain of custody as well as those persons who performed the tests on his blood sample. Additionally, the court allowed Luedtke to examine the State's witness regarding the destruction of the blood sample. Luedtke was informed of his ability to have a second or alternative test conducted at the time of the blood draw.
¶ 27. Finally, Luedtke argues that if the destruction of the blood sample does not require dismissal or suppression, "perhaps" the case should be remanded for a new trial at which the jury would be instructed that the destruction of the evidence allows an inference
C. Luedtke Did Not Receive Ineffective Assistance of Counsel and There Is No Need for a New Trial.
1. Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
¶ 28. In conjunction with his two main arguments that he was denied due process by the strict liability statute and by the destruction of the blood sample, Luedtke argues that he was rendered ineffective assistance of counsel because his trial counsel did not put forth these due process arguments below. To show ineffective assistance of counsel, Luedtke must demonstrate that counsel's performance was deficient and that the deficient performance prejudiced him. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687 (1984). We have rejected Luedtke's due process arguments. Therefore, Luedtke's attorney could not have rendered ineffective assistance of counsel for failing to raise these arguments below. See State v. Maloney, 2005 WI 74, ¶ 37, 281 Wis. 2d 595, 698 N.W.2d 583 (counsel does not render ineffective assistance for failing to bring motion that would have been denied).
2. New Trial in the Interest of Justice
¶ 29. Finally, Luedtke argues that we should grant him a new trial in the interest of justice. We have
Judgment and order affirmed.
All references to the Wisconsin Statutes are to the 2011-12 version unless otherwise noted.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- State of Wisconsin, Plaintiff-Respondent v. Michael R. Luedtke
- Cited By
- 9 cases
- Status
- Published