 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Middleton v. Director of Revenue5/13/1999
ad probable cause to arrest Driver for driving while intoxicated with a blood alcohol level of .10%. Director argues that the formula employed by Driver's expert witness was faulty because it was based on variables that could not, with any degree of scientific certainty, determine what Driver's blood alcohol content was at any specific time. In her second point, Director asservates that the trial court erred because Director had proven that Driver (a) was 17 years old; (b) was stopped upon probable cause to believe that he was speeding; and (c) his blood alcohol content was more than .02%. Director's second point has merit and is dispositive.
The judgment of the trial court will be affirmed unless there is no substantial evidence to support it, unless it is against the weight of the evidence, or unless the trial court erroneously declares or applies the law. Kienzle v. Director of Revenue, 944 S.W.2d 326, 327 (Mo.App. 1997).
Section 302.505.1 provides in pertinent part:
"The department shall suspend or revoke the license of any person upon its determination that the person was arrested upon probable cause to believe such person was driving a motor vehicle while the alcohol concentration in the person's blood, breath, or urine was ten-hundredths of one percent or more by weight, based on the definition of alcohol concentration in section 302.500, or where such person was less than twenty-one years of age when stopped and was stopped upon probable cause to believe such person was driving while intoxicated in violation of section 577.010, RSMo, or driving with excessive blood alcohol content in violation of section 577.012, RSMo, or upon probable cause to believe such person violated a state, county or municipal traffic offense and such person was driving with a blood alcohol content of two-hundredths of one percent or more by weight." section 302.505.1.
Here, the evidence clearly shows that the trooper had probable cause to arrest Driver for committing an alcohol related offense. Probable cause exists when an officer observes a traffic violation or unusual operation of a vehicle and, upon stopping the motorist, notes indications of alcohol consumption. Kienzle, 944 S.W.2d at 327-28; Renfro v. Director of Revenue, 927 S.W.2d 945, 947 (Mo.App. 1996). Trooper testified that Driver was stopped for speeding. At the scene, trooper smelled a strong odor of intoxicant about Driver and noted that his eyes were glassy and bloodshot, and that his speech was slurred. Driver admitted drinking Vodka that evening. He failed three sobriety tests.
Additionally, "Section 302.505.1, RSMo Cum. Supp. [1997,] requires that drivers under twenty-one years of age who have a blood alcohol content of .02 percent or more by weight shall have their license suspended or revoked." Director of Revenue v. Christman, 968 S.W.2d 737, 739 (Mo.App. 1998). It was undisputed that Driver was under the age of 21 and was operating his motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content in excess of .02%.
The record further shows that in Driver's "Petition," requesting a trial de novo pursuant to section 302.535, he states that he was "aggrieved by a decision of [Director], Exhibit 'A' attached hereto." Exhibit "A" was a Missouri Department of Revenue form entitled "Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law (Sustain)." It contained a section denominated "Conclusions of Law," which reads, in pertinent part, as follows:
"Based upon the preponderance of the evidence presented at the administrative hearing, [Driver] is found to have been arrested upon probable cause to believe [Driver] was driving a motor vehicle while the alcohol concentration in the blood was .10% or more by weight o
Page 1 2 3 Missouri DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|