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MEDLOCK v. STATE4/28/1997
The appellant, John Ervin Medlock, was convicted in Fort Smith Municipal Court of driving while intoxicated and for refusing to submit to a breathalyzer test. He appealed his convictions to the Fort Smith District of Sebastian County Circuit Court. At trial, over Medlock's objection, the circuit judge refused to instruct the jury on the charge of refusal to submit to the breathalyzer test, found him guilty as charged, and suspended his license for six months. On appeal, Medlock asks that we reverse his conviction for refusal to submit on the basis that the statutory provision governing the offense at the time of his arrest on November 27, 1995, Ark. Code
Ann. § 5-65-205(c) (Repl. 1993), which provides for a judicial determination and not a trial by jury, deprives him of his right to a jury trial under the federal and state constitutions. We agree that Medlock was entitled to a jury trial under the Arkansas Constitution and reverse.
The statutory provision at issue, Ark. Code Ann. § 5-65-205(c) (Repl. 1993), provides as follows:
If the judge determines that the law enforcement officer had reasonable cause to believe the arrested person had been driving while intoxicated or while there was one-tenth of one percent (0.10%) or more of alcohol in the person's blood, and the person refused to submit to the test upon the request of the law enforcement officer, the judge shall order the Office of Driver Services to:
(1) Suspend the motor vehicle operator's license for:
(A) A period of not less than six (6) months nor more than one (1) year if the person had not previously refused the test within three (3) years of the refusal in question and if the person had not been convicted of driving while intoxicated or driving while there was one-tenth of one percent (0.10%) or more of alcohol in the person's blood within three (3) years of the refusal;
(B) A period of not less than one (1) year nor more than sixteen (16) months if the person had previously refused the test within three (3) years of the refusal in question or if the person had been convicted of driving while intoxicated or driving while there was one-tenth of one percent (0.10%) or more of alcohol in the person's blood within three (3) years of the refusal;
(C) A period of not less than two (2) years nor more than thirty (30) months if the person had previously refused the test two (2) times within three (3) years of the refusal in question or if the person had been convicted of the second offense of driving while intoxicated or driving while there was one-tenth of one percent (0.10%) or more of alcohol in the person's blood within three (3) years of the refusal; or
(2) Revoke the motor vehicle operator's license if the person had previously refused the test three (3) times within three (3) years of the refusal in question or if the person had been convicted of the third offense of driving while intoxicated or driving while there
was one-tenth of one percent (0.10%) or more of alcohol in the person's blood within three (3) years of the refusal. The revocation shall continue for a period of three (3) years.
Medlock argues that this provision is facially unconstitutional because it removes from the jury's province the ability to determine whether the arresting officer had reasonable cause to believe the defendant had been driving while intoxicated.
We first analyze this issue under the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution. In Duncan v. Louisiana, 391 U.S. 145 (1968), the Supreme Court held that defendants are not entitled to a jury trial for petty offenses. To determine whether a legislature views a particular
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