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Riggin v. Director of Revenue8/29/2000
or of Revenue, 921 S.W.2d 110, 113 (Mo.App. 1996). "The language of Section 302.312 . . . is clear and unambiguous. Copies of documents from the department of revenue are admissible as evidence so long as the copies are properly certified." Mills v. Director of Revenue, 964 S.W.2d 873, 875 (Mo.App. 1998); accord Coleman v. Director of Revenue, 970 S.W.2d 394, 396-97 (Mo.App. 1998); Hackmann, 991 S.W.2d at 753.
While we give great deference to the trial judge's determination regarding the credibility of witnesses, in a case submitted solely upon a written record no such deference is warranted. Director of Revenue v. Christman, 968 S.W.2d 737, 739 (Mo.App. 1998).
We initially determine that instead of being admissible under the Uniform Business Records as Evidence Law (section 490.660, et seq.), Exhibits A, B and C were admissible at trial because "copies of documents from the Department of Revenue are admissible as evidence if the copies are properly certified by the appropriate custodian or the Director." Hackmann, 991 S.W.2d at 753; see section 302.312.1. These exhibits also show that in the early morning hours of December 13, 1998, outside a club in Joplin, Missouri, Officer Collard attempted to approach Driver as he entered into his automobile. Despite the officer's waving of his hands and shining of his flashlight, Driver drove away. When stopped, Driver had a strong odor of alcohol about him. Driver admitted to having consumed four or five drinks. Driver failed three field sobriety tests, i.e., the "walk-and-turn" test; the "one-leg stand" test and the "Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus" test. Driver also tested positive for alcohol in a portable breath test given him at the arrest site.
Whether Officer Collard had probable cause to stop Driver in the first instance is of little moment. The Supreme Court of Missouri has previously stated that "specific probable cause to arrest for an alcohol related traffic violation and in turn to support an administrative license suspension may be developed after a motorist is otherwise properly stopped." Aron v. Director of Revenue, 737 S.W.2d 718, 719 (Mo. banc 1987) (emphasis added). It is now clear from our reading of Riche v. Director of Revenue, 987 S.W.2d 331, 335-36 (Mo. banc 1999), that for purposes of section 302.505 proceedings there is no requirement that the arresting officer have probable cause to initially stop Driver.
Here, Director has made a prima facie case that Driver was arrested upon probable cause for violating an alcohol-related offense and that Director established a prima facie foundation for the admission into evidence of a breathalyzer test showing that Driver was operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content of at least .10% by weight. See Rogers v. Director of Revenue, 947 S.W.2d 475, 477 (Mo.App. 1997); see also McDaniel, 989 S.W.2d at 692. Under the facts of this case, the trial court erred as a matter of law in determining that Director failed to prove his case. The judgment is not supported by the evidence and is against the weight of the evidence.
The judgment of the trial court is reversed. The case is remanded to the trial court with directions to reinstate Director's revocation of the driving privileges of Paul Riggin.
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