JAMES BLORE, PETITIONER,
v.
HON. EUGENE J. FIERRO, CIRCUIT COURT JUDGE, AND CIRCUIT COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, ELEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT OF FLORIDA IN AND FOR DADE COUNTY, RESPONDENTS
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The court denied a writ of prohibition challenging the state's right to appeal a breath test suppression order. The court held that breath test results constitute evidence obtained by search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment, thereby authorizing state appeals under Rule 9.140(c)(1)(B).
The State's appeal is authorized by Rule 9.140(c)(1)(B) because breath test results are evidence obtained by search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment. Breath tests implicate bodily integrity concerns similar to blood tests and therefore constitute searches within the meaning of the rule.
[1] A state may appeal an order suppressing evidence obtained by search and seizure before trial.
[2] A breath test administered to determine alcohol content constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment.
Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Obtaining and examining the evidence may also be a search, (citations omitted) if doing so infringes an expectation of privacy that society is prepared to recognize as reasonable.”
Establishes the standard for when obtaining physical evidence constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligencePetitioner James Blore sought to prohibit an appellate court from exercising jurisdiction over the State's appeal of an order suppressing breath test …
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PER CURIAM.
Petitioner, James Blore, seeks a writ of prohibition restraining the Appellate Division of the Circuit Court from exercising jurisdiction over this appeal. We deny the writ of prohibition.
The underlying issue is whether the State has the right to appeal an order suppressing breath test results under Rule 9.140(c)(1)(B), of the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure. Because this issue frequently arises in driving under the influence cases, it is necessary to explain our reasons for denying the writ.
Petitioner contends that the State’s appeal of an order suppressing breath test results, because the breath testing device was not maintained in compliance with H.R.S. regulations, is not authorized by law under Rule 9.140(c)(1)(B). Respondent asserts that the state’s appeal is authorized by Rule 9.140(c)(1)(B), because the petitioner’s breath test results were obtained by “search and seizure.” We agree with respondent.
Rule 9.140(c)(1)(B), Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure, provides:
(1) Appeals permitted. The State may appeal an order
(B) suppressing before trial confessions, admissions, or evidence obtained by search and seizure.
In Skinner v. Railway Labor Executives’ Association, 489 U.S. 602, 616, 109 S.Ct. 1402, 103 L.Ed.2d 639 (1989), the Supreme Court noted that where government seeks to obtain physical evidence from a person, the Fourth Amendment may be relevant at several levels. “Obtaining and examining the evidence may also be a search, (citations omitted) if doing so infringes an expectation of privacy that society is prepared to recognize as reasonable.” Id., 489 U.S. at 616, 109 S.Ct. at 1412.
The Skinner court stated “[W]e have long recognized that a ‘compelled intru-sio[n] into the body for blood to be analyzed for alcohol content’ must be deemed a Fourth Amendment search.” See Schmerber v. California, 384 U.S. 757, 767-768, 86 S.Ct. 1826, 16 L.Ed.2d 908 (1966). The court then found this rationale was equally applicable to breath tests and stated:
Subjecting a person to a breathalyzer test, which generally requires the production of alveolar or “deep lung” breath for chemical analysis, see, e.g., California v. Trombetta, 467 U.S. 479, 481, 104 S.Ct. 2528 81 L.Ed.2d 413 (1984) implicates similar concerns about bodily integrity and, like the blood-alcohol test we considered in Schmerber, should also be deemed a search.
Skinner, 489 U.S. at 616-617, 109 S.Ct. at 1412.
Based upon the above analysis, we disagree with the Second District’s holdings in State v. Townsend, 479 So. 2d 306 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985), and State v. Gemignani, 545 So. 2d 929 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989), that a breath test was not “evidence obtained by search and seizure” and certify conflict. Because petitioner’s suppressed breath test result was evidence obtained by a search, the Circuit Court, Appellate Division has jurisdiction to entertain a state appeal pursuant to Rule 9.140(c)(1)(B). Accordingly, the petition for writ of prohibition is denied.
Prohibition denied; conflict certified.
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Blore v. Fierro, 636 So. 2d 1329 (Fla. 1994)…OVERTON, Justice. James Blore seeks review of Blore v. Fierro, 618 So. 2d 762 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993), in which the district court held that a breathalyzer test is a “search” as contemplated by rule 9.140(c)(1)(B), Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure, so that, pursuant to the rule, the State could appeal a trial court order that…
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State v. FRY, 621 So. 2d 529 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993)…ted. FRANK, C.J., and PARKER and PATTERSON, JJ., concur. . The Third District has recently certified conflict with State v. Townsend, 479 So. 2d 306 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985), and State v. Gemignani, 545 So. 2d 929 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989), in Blore v. Fierro, 618 So. 2d 762 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993). Apparently, the difference between the two constitutional provisions was not brought to the courts' attention in those cases. In any event, those cases involved the jurisdiction of the district court to review county court orders…
Authorities Cited
- Schmerber v. California, 384 U.S. 757 (U.S. 1966)
- Skinner v. Ry. Labor Executives' Ass'n, 489 U.S. 602 (U.S. 1989)
- California v. Trombetta, 467 U.S. 479 (U.S. 1984)
- Mendonsa v. Abel J. Mendonsa, 479 So. 2d 306 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985)
- State v. Gino J. Gemignani, 545 So. 2d 929 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989)