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State v. Ward2/9/2001
[No. 1721 - February 9, 2001]
Appeal from the District Court, Third Judicial District, Anchorage, Gregory J. Motyka, Judge.
Walter Lee Ward was charged with felony driving while intoxicated (DWI). The district court granted Ward's motion to suppress his breath test results. The court ruled that the state had interfered with Ward's rights - based on evidence that the police had affirmatively told Ward that his blood sample would be "stored as evidence" until Ward or his attorney requested that it be analyzed, and that the police had then failed to ensure that the blood sample was preserved.
The state petitioned us to review this ruling, and we granted review. For the reasons set forth below, we vacate the district court's decision and we remand Ward's case to that court for further consideration.
I. Facts and Proceedings
On January 22, 1999, Anchorage Police Officer Nix arrested Ward for DWI. Ward was brought to a police substation and was given a breath test. As part of the DWI processing, Ward was told that he could have an independent test, and if he so desired, the police would arrange to have Ward's blood drawn at government expense for that purpose. Officer Nix read Ward a "Notice of Right To Independent Chemical Test," which stated that " he blood will be stored as evidence until you or your attorney make arrangements for its analysis." When Ward indicated that he wanted a blood sample drawn at government expense, he was taken to Alaska Regional Hospital, where a sample of his blood was drawn.
On March 16, 1999, Ward was indicted for felony DWI. One week later, Ward retained attorney Frederick T. Slone to defend him. Ward's trial was originally scheduled for June 28, 1999, but the trial was later continued until August 9, 1999. During the time after his arrest and before his trial originally was supposed to start, neither the state nor Ward's attorney arranged to have Ward's blood analyzed.
On June 29, 1999, Ward's attorney, Slone, contacted Alaska Regional Hospital and asked them to analyze Ward's blood sample for alcohol content. Hospital personnel replied that they had destroyed Ward's blood sample on June 5, 1999, in accordance with their policy of destroying such samples if no request to analyze them is received within three months.
Almost three months later, on September 22, 1999, Ward moved to suppress his breath test result because his blood sample had been destroyed by Alaska Regional Hospital. At an evidentiary hearing held on October 15, 1999, Steven Keith, a chemical supervisor at Alaska Regional Hospital, acknowledged that blood can be preserved for more than twelve months. However, Keith reiterated the hospital's policy of destroying blood samples after three months unless a party contacts the hospital. Keith noted that, despite the three-month policy, Ward's blood sample was actually held for almost four and one-half months before it was destroyed.
At the same hearing, Ward presented evidence that he had relied on the police officer's statement that the blood would be preserved until someone asked to test it - and that, based on this statement, he believed that his blood sample would be stored until after trial.
Based on this evidence, District Court Judge Gregory J. Motyka suppressed the breath test results. Judge Motyka found that Ward was misled when the police told him that his blood would be stored as evidence until he or his attorney made arrangements for its analysis -when, in fact, the hospital's policy of throwing out blood samples after three months meant that Ward had only a limited period of time within which to request analysis of his bl
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