 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Wetsch v. North Dakota Dep't of Transportation5/5/2004
On May 10, 2003, Officer Tim Bleth of the Mandan Police Department clocked Wetsch's vehicle driving 36 miles per hour in a 25 mile per hour zone. Officer Bleth continued to follow the vehicle, which reached speeds of over 50 miles per hour. The vehicle eventually stopped. When Officer Bleth approached, both driver and passenger where standing outside the vehicle. Bleth recognized Wetsch as the driver.
[ ] As the officer questioned Wetsch, he detected an odor of alcohol coming from his breath. Wetsch admitted he had consumed alcohol that evening. Officer Bleth had Wetsch perform three field sobriety tests, all of which Wetsch failed. Officer Bleth issued the implied consent advisory. Wetsch refused to submit to an onsite screening test, but agreed to submit to a blood test. Officer Bleth placed Wetsch under arrest for driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor and transported him to the Morton County Law Enforcement Center.
[ ] Mandan Police Department policy requires a registered nurse or other medically qualified individual draw blood at the Morton County Law Enforcement Center in the Intoxilyzer room. At the time of Wetsch's arrest, a registered nurse was present at the Law Enforcement Center capable of administering the test. Wetsch refused to allow the nurse to draw blood stating he preferred to have the blood drawn in a medical environment such as a hospital.
[ ] At the administrative hearing, the hearing officer found reasonable grounds existed for the officer to believe Wetsch had committed a moving violation, and Wetsch had been driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor. The hearing officer concluded Wetsch refused to submit to an onsite screening test. The hearing officer concluded it was reasonable for the Mandan Police Department to draw Wetsch's blood at the Law Enforcement Center because the procedure was to be performed by a registered nurse who was medically qualified to draw blood. The hearing officer further concluded Wetsch did not have a proper basis to refuse to submit to the blood test and revoked his driving privileges for one year.
[ ] Wetsch appealed the hearing officer's decision to the district court. The district court affirmed the hearing officer's decision. Wetsch appeals to this Court.
II.
[ ] The first issue is whether Wetsch's refusal to submit to an onsite screening test justifies revocation of his license for one year. At the time of his arrest, Wetsch refused to submit to an onsite screening test, the SD-2 test. Under the plain language of N.D.C.C. § 39-20-14, refusal to submit to a field screening test violates North Dakota's implied consent law:
Any person who operates a motor vehicle upon the public highways of this state is deemed to have given consent to submit to an onsite screening test or tests of the person's breath for the purpose of estimating the alcohol content of the person's blood upon the request of a law enforcement officer who has reason to believe that the person committed a moving traffic violation or was involved in a traffic accident as a driver, and in conjunction with the violation or the accident the officer has, through the officer's observations, formulated an opinion that the person's body contains alcohol.
The punishment for refusing consent to any of the chemical tests is revocation of an individual's license for one year on a first offense. N.D.C.C. § 39-20-04(1)(a). The plain language of the statute provides a basis for revoking Wetsch's license. An individual's refusal to submit to a chemical screening is a violation of the statute. Wetsch's initial refusal to submit to an onsite chemical screening is alone sufficient to revoke his license for one year.
Page 1 2 3 4 North Dakota DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|