STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLANT,
v.
ROGER L. WALTHER, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
Blood alcohol test results obtained for medical purposes are admissible if seized by warrant or discovery, and the state establishes traditional evidentiary predicates, even if not taken by a qualified technician under implied consent statutes.
[1] Blood alcohol test results obtained for medical purposes are admissible in a criminal prosecution if seized by a proper warrant or disclosed by discovery, and if the stat…
[2] The statutory requirements for technician qualifications and test procedures under implied consent laws do not apply to blood tests taken for medical purposes when the st…
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAppellant was involved in a fatal collision and taken to the hospital, where blood was drawn for medical tests. The blood alcohol test was performed a…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Search Warrant cases and more on FLexlaw
SMITH, Chief Judge.
The state has appealed an order suppressing blood alcohol results in this prosecution against appellant for two counts of manslaughter. We reverse.
These facts were stipulated by the parties before the trial court: Appellant was involved in an automobile collision which resulted in the death of two people. Suffering from serious injuries, he was taken to the hospital where blood was drawn at the direction of the emergency room physician. Various medical tests were performed including a test to determine the alcohol content of appellant’s blood. The blood alcohol test was performed according to hospital procedures but not necessarily according to rules and regulations of the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services (HRS). Further, while the blood was drawn by an experienced technician, the technician was not one qualified under section 316.1932(l)(f)2., Florida Statutes (1985).
The basis of appellant’s motion to suppress was that the blood drawn at the hospital was drawn for medical purposes; that the technician who drew the blood was not licensed by the Florida Department of HRS, as required by section 316.-1932(l)(f)2.; and that the blood was not tested according to HRS rules and regulations which is required by section 316.-1932(l)(f)l. In granting the motion to suppress, the trial court stated:
If this Court were free to rule upon these issues on first impressions, this court would be disposed to permit the State subject to the establishment of a proper predicate and foundation for the admission of scientific evidence generally to submit its evidence to the jury together with expert opinion as to the meaning or significance of the blood alcohol level obtained through the methods pursued.
Nevertheless the court felt constrained because of decisions of this court and other district courts of appeal to grant the motion to suppress. See Strong v. State, 465 So. 2d 549 (Fla. 3rd DCA 1985); and Campbell v. State, 423 So. 2d 488 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982).
Subsequent to the trial court’s order, the Florida Supreme Court decided State v. Strong, 504 So. 2d 758 (Fla.1987). Just as in this case, Strong’s blood test was taken by a non-certified lab technician for medical purposes and not in furtherance of a criminal or accident investigation. The state subsequently obtained a lawful search warrant and seized the blood samples and resulting tests from the medical personnel. The trial court permitted this evidence at Strong’s subsequent trial and he was convicted of two counts of manslaughter. The Third District Court of Appeal reversed, holding that the blood samples and tests were inadmissible under section 316.-1932(l)(f)2. The Supreme Court quashed the appellate court’s decision, rejecting Strong’s contention that no blood test may be admitted in evidence without fulfilling the technician qualification requirements of section 316.1982(l)(f)2. The court explained that the present implied consent statutes, section 316.1932, 316.1933, and 316.1934, Florida Statutes (1985), permit the state to introduce test results without meeting the traditional evidentiary burdens of establishing (1) the reliability of the test, (2) the qualifications of the technician, and (3) the meaning of the test results, once the state has established that a certified technician conducted an approved test under the statutes. However, the court found that the Legislature did not intend the statutory safeguards of the present implied consent law to apply to all blood tests offered as evidence, but only those tests where the blood was taken by request of the state pursuant to authority for the taking of a blood sample conferred by the statute. Said the court:
In this case, the state did not request the taking of Strong’s blood under the implied consent law, and the state is not claiming, nor may it claim, the presumptive validity or meaning of the blood test in accordance with those statutory provisions. We hold that, if a defendant, or someone on his behalf, requests blood to be taken and tested, the test samples and results are subject to seizure by a proper warrant or disclosure by discovery, the same as other scientific tests providing material and relevant evidence. Further, either the state or the defendant may have the blood test evidence admitted on establishing the traditional predicates for admissibility, including test reliability, the technician’s qualifications, and the test results’ meaning.
Strong, 504 So. 2d at 759-60.
Accordingly, we reverse and remand for further proceedings. Upon remand, the state must show that the reports or findings based on the examination of the appel-lee’s blood sample were seized by a proper warrant or disclosure by discovery and then the blood test evidence may be admitted subject to the establishment of a proper predicate and foundation for the admission of scientific evidence as stated in Strong.
REVERSED and REMANDED.
ERVIN and NIMMONS, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
State v. Polak, 598 So. 2d 150 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992)…the implied consent statutes, and that such evidence continues to be subject to traditional rules regarding admissibility of evidence. Miller v. State, 597 So. 2d 767 (Fla.1991). See also State v. Strong, 504 So. 2d 758 (Fla.1987); State v. Walther, 519 So. 2d 731 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988); State v. Quartararo, 522 So. 2d 42 (Fla. 2d DCA), review denied, 531 So. 2d 1354 (Fla.1988). However, the blood alcohol content evidence in the case at bar was obtained solely upon the defendants’ implied consent. It is well est…
-
Hosmer v. State, 523 So. 2d 184 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988)…than the community control sentencing range, when he violated community control. It is well settled that a plea bargain constitutes a valid reason for a guideline departure sentence. Holland v. State, 508 [*186] So. 2d 5 (Fla.1987); Smith v. State, 519 So. 2d 731 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988); Denmark v. State, 519 So. 2d 20 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987); Marrow v. State, 518 So. 2d 479 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988); Lawson v. State, 497 So. 2d 288 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986); Quarterman v. State, 506 So. 2d 50 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987); Bass v. State,…
-
Robertson v. State, 569 So. 2d 861 (Fla. 5th DCA 1990)…give blood samples under the implied consent law,” including sections 316.1932, -.1933 and -.1934, Florida Statutes (1987), may render inadmissible test results taken in violation of the statute. Strong, 504 So. 2d at 759; see also State v. Walther, 519 So. 2d 731 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988). We are frankly unsure whether this extra-statutory track for proof of violation of section 316.193, Florida Statutes, exists in a fact situation like Quartararo and the present case where blood was taken under compulsion for in…
Previewing 3 of 6 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- State v. Strong, 504 So. 2d 758 (Fla. 1987)
- Campbell v. State, 423 So. 2d 488 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982)
- Strong v. State, 465 So. 2d 549 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985)