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State v. Nidiffer11/10/2004
aced into a room at the hospital.
Elizabethton Police Department Officer Michael Merritt testified that he and his partner, Officer Hardin, responded to the scene of the accident. He said that the defendant smelled of alcohol, that the defendant's speech was slurred and deliberate, and that the defendant's eyes were glassy. Officer Merritt said that based upon the physical condition of the defendant and statements from witnesses at the scene, there was probable cause to believe the defendant was driving under the influence of alcohol. Officer Merritt said that Officer Hardin requested the defendant to produce his driver's license, which he did.
Officer Merritt testified that he and Officer Hardin followed the defendant to the hospital. He said that before they attempted to speak with the defendant, he and his partner asked the doctor whether the defendant was in a condition to speak with them. He said the doctor asked them to wait until after the defendant was stabilized. He said that when he and his partner were eventually allowed into the defendant's room, they found the defendant alone, lying on a hospital bed. Officer Merritt said that when he and his partner entered the room, they were in full uniform and armed. He said that they approached the defendant and that Officer Hardin read the defendant the implied consent form from the Tennessee Department of Safety:
You are under arrest and there are reasonable grounds to believe you were driving or in physical control of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. As required under T.C.A. 55-10-406, I am hereby requesting you to submit to a chemical test to determine the alcohol and/or drug content of your blood.
You do not have to submit to this test. If you refuse to submit to this test, it will not be given. As required by state law I must advise you of the consequences for refusing the test. Your refusal may result in the suspension of your operator's license by the court. If the court finds you guilty of refusing the test, the court shall suspend your license for a period of twelve (12) months.
(Emphasis added). Officer Merritt testified that he and Officer Hardin were both standing about two feet from the bed when Officer Hardin read the implied consent form to the defendant. Officer Merritt said the defendant refused to consent to the blood alcohol test. He said that they briefly left the defendant's room and that the doctor told them they could not take the defendant to the station house. He said the doctor told them that the defendant needed further medical care and that the earliest he would be released was the next day. Officer Merritt said that after the conversation with the doctor, they gave the defendant his belongings recovered from the scene and left the hospital. He said that because the defendant was a prominent businessman in Elizabethton, he and Officer Hardin knew where to find the defendant whenever he was released from the hospital. Officer Merritt testified that if the defendant had decided to leave the room while he and Officer Hardin were reading him the implied consent form, they would have stopped him because "he was under arrest."
After listening to the evidence and arguments of counsel, the court ruled that the officers did not arrest the defendant when they entered his room and read him the implied consent form. The court found that "at no time did the officers physically restrain or confine defendant's movements. They did not cite him for any criminal offense or read him his Miranda warnings." The court based its holding on State v. Crutcher, 989 S.W.2d 295 (Tenn. 1999) (stating the requirements for an arrest to be made). On appeal, the state contends th
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