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State v. Superior Court of Pima County12/15/1987
Zettie Jane Hays, real party in interest, petitioned this court to review the decision of the Court of Appeals, 155 Ariz. 403, 747 P.2d 564, holding that she was not entitled to an evidentiary hearing by the trial court on the issue of whether she had voluntarily refused to submit to an intoxilyzer test after her arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol. We granted review to determine:
1) Whether the Court of Appeals erred in holding that A.R.S. § 28-692(K) does not interfere with the Arizona Supreme Court's constitutionally-granted rulemaking authority, and
2) Whether the Court of Appeals erred in holding that Hays was not entitled to a separate voluntariness hearing.
I
Hays was arrested in Tucson for driving under the influence of alcohol in violation of A.R.S. § 28-692(A). Two Tucson police officers had observed Hays' car repeatedly swerve and almost hit the curb. When the officers pulled Hays over they smelled alcohol on her breath and inside her vehicle. After Hays stepped out of her car, one of the officers noticed that she was extremely off-balance and her coordination was poor. Her eyes were bloodshot and watery, her face was flushed and her speech was slurred. The officer noted that Hays was crying and very upset at being stopped. The officer asked Hays if she had someone who could pick her up, but Hays did not respond. When the officer asked if he could drive her home, Hays declined. The officer then asked Hays to take a field sobriety test, and again she refused. Several other officers also explained the necessity of the breath test, but Hays continued to refuse.
The officer stated that Hays was extremely combative, shaking her head and grunting, and that it took three people to control her after she began to kick the officers. Hays said "No" several times and shook her head back and forth when asked to take the intoxilyzer test. She was placed under arrest and taken to a police station for an intoxilyzer test, which she refused. Hays was eventually placed in a holding cell, which had to be cushioned with mattresses when she began to bang her head against the walls.
The police officers filed a refusal affidavit with the Arizona Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) as required by A.R.S. § 28-691(D). The MVD notified Hays that her driver's license would be suspended for 12 months pursuant to A.R.S. § 28-691(E) and (F). Hays received a hearing on the suspension, wherein she testified that she had been undergoing personal problems at the time of her arrest. She stated that she had consumed two mixed drinks shortly before her arrest, and that she had been taking prescribed medication for pain. Hays' counsel argued that Hays' emotional state at the time of her arrest precluded a voluntary refusal to take the breath test. The hearing officer found that Hays had knowingly refused to take the intoxilyzer test and that her license should be suspended.
Hays was subsequently granted a rehearing, at which she presented expert testimony and exhibits including a letter from a psychiatrist, Dr. David B. Gurland, who had reviewed Hays' psychiatric record and the transcript of the earlier MVD hearing. Based largely on Dr. Gurland's finding that, because of her emotional state, Hays was incapable of refusal at the time of her arrest, the hearing officer concluded that Hays did not knowingly or intelligently refuse to take the breath test and therefore her license would not be suspended.
In the city court Hays moved to suppress evidence of her refu
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