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State v. McClain6/13/2005
I. Factual Background
The record reveals that at approximately 11:00 p.m. on March 21, 2003, Edwin N. Graybeal, III, a deputy sheriff with the Washington County Sheriff's office, was dispatched to the scene of a single car accident on East Mountain View Road in Washington County. Upon Deputy Greybeal's arrival, he observed that the appellant's vehicle had collided with a tree. The appellant, the driver of the vehicle, had been removed from the scene and taken by ambulance to Johnson City Medical Center for treatment. Police inventoried the vehicle and discovered, among other items, one unopened beer. Deputy Graybeal detected an odor of alcoholic beverage in the car.
Next, Deputy Graybeal went to Johnson City Medical Center to speak with the appellant. The appellant had been unconscious when he arrived at the hospital, but he had regained consciousness during treatment. While the appellant was unconscious and during the course of his treatment, hospital staff obtained a sample of his blood. When Deputy Graybeal arrived at the hospital, he learned that the appellant was in the emergency room and was "still on the back board" on which he had been transported to the hospital. The appellant told Deputy Graybeal that he had been alone in the vehicle when he "ran off the road." Additionally, the appellant admitted that he had consumed two beers prior to the accident. When the appellant was speaking, Deputy Graybeal detected "a strong odor of intoxicant on his breath, and his eyes were red and glazed." However, Deputy Graybeal noted that the appellant's speech "wasn't abnormal." Deputy Graybeal opined that the appellant was physically unable, due to his injuries, to perform field sobriety tests.
Thereafter, the appellant was indicted for DUI, first offense. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-10-401(a) (1998). Following the indictment, the State served a subpoena duces tecum on Johnson City Medical Center for the appellant's medical records relating to his treatment on the night of the accident. The records revealed that the appellant's blood alcohol content at the time of the accident had been .276, well over the legal limit of .08. Id. at (a)(2). The State then reindicted the appellant for DUI with a blood alcohol content over .20. Id.; see also Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-10-403(a)(1) (1998).
Subsequently, the appellant filed a motion to suppress the medical records, contending that his right to privacy was violated by the State's subpoena of the medical records, the subpoena amounted to an illegal warrantless search, and the appellant's due process rights were violated by allowing the State to subpoena the records. The trial court denied the appellant's motion, finding that the appellant did not have standing to challenge the subpoena as it was issued to a third party and that the appellant's due process rights were not violated.
Following the trial court's ruling, the appellant entered a guilty plea to DUI, first offense, with a blood alcohol content greater than .20, which offense is a Class A misdemeanor. The appellant received a sentence of eleven months and twenty-nine days. As a condition of his plea, the appellant reserved three certified questions of law:
[(1)] Whether the trial court erred in denying the [appellant's] motion to suppress the results of a blood test, taken for medical purposes only, on the grounds that the State's use of an ex parte subpoena to obtain the records violated the [appellant's] constitutional right to privacy.
[(2)] Whether the trial court erred in denying the [appellant's] motion to suppress the results of the blood test, taken for medical purposes only, on the grounds that the State's use of an ex pa
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