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State v. Schleifer2/19/2004
This appeal from the Court of Common Pleas stems from a one vehicle accident involving defendant Robert Schleifer. Following the accident, the defendant was charged in the Court of Common Pleas with Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol and/or Drugs. The defendant moved to suppress the blood test results secured by the Delaware State Police which revealed the defendant's blood alcohol content was above the legal limit. After a hearing, the Court of Common Pleas granted defendant's motion to suppress. The State then filed this appeal.
II. FACTS
Police Testimony
On January 26, 2002 at approximately 1:53 a.m., the Delaware State Police were advised of a one vehicle accident on northbound Route 1 in New Castle County. (A321) [FN1] At approximately 1:55 a.m., Trooper Scott Taylor [FN2] arrived at the scene on northbound Route 1, just north of Route 72, and observed a green Chevrolet Blazer sport utility vehicle facing southbound in the northbound lanes against the eastern highway guardrail. (A88, A321) Trooper Taylor observed that the "entire [driver's] side of the vehicle was dented and scraped up quite a bit" and the defendant was "in the driver's seat slumped over ... the center console, or between the driver's seat and the passenger side." (A90) According to Trooper Taylor, the defendant was "lethargic-like, he wasn't responsive." (A90, 110) As Trooper Taylor approached the driver's side of the Blazer he detected an odor of alcoholic beverage while standing approximately one foot from the driver's side window and three to four feet from the defendant. [FN3] (A91, A108, A139, A149) Trooper Taylor testified that the driver's side door was not open but the window was either down or had been shattered during the crash. Due to the defendant's physical condition, Trooper Taylor did not attempt to administer standard field sobriety tests. (A91) Emergency personnel transported the defendant by ambulance to Christiana Hospital. (A92) From this point on, the parties disagree sharply as to the occurrence and timing of events, and the witness accounts are not consistent.
FN1. Throughout this opinion, the Court shall refer to pages in the Appendix to Defendant's Answering Brief as "A __." This Appendix contains the transcript of the proceedings before the Court of Common Pleas.
FN2. Scott Taylor has since left the State Police to serve in an active capacity in the United States Air Force. Based on his employment at the time of this investigation, he is referred to as Trooper Taylor throughout this opinion.
FN3. Trooper Taylor testified that during his four year tenure with the Delaware State Police, he conducted approximately 48 arrests for driving under the influence ("DUI"), and that he is usually situated three to four feet from the occupant of a vehicle when he detects an odor of alcohol.
Trooper Taylor said that after observing the defendant, he spoke with TFC Greg Simpler [FN4] about the accident. Trooper Taylor looked across the roadway and noticed that there were glass pieces toward the median of the road, north of the location of the vehicle, and he surmised that the defendant probably came across the median. (A92) According to Trooper Taylor, the next thing that happened is that Sergeant Peden arrived at the scene and told Trooper Taylor to respond to the Christiana Emergency Room to make sure that he contacted the defendant or at least stood by him and waited. (A92) At the hospital, Trooper Taylor communicated what he had observed about the defendant's condition, demeanor and the odor of alcohol to Corporal Strohm and Sergeant Peden. This occurred prior to the police request to draw blood. [FN5] (A94) He also communicated to them the nature of the accident and his observations of the vehicle. (A94)
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