JOSEPH THOMAS WISSEL, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Wissel appeals his DUI conviction, challenging whether the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's procedures for preparing stock solutions used to test breath-test instruments must be promulgated under the Florida Administrative Procedures Act. The appellate court holds that such procedures are implicit in the administrative rules and need not be separately codified.
The court held that procedures which are implicit and incidental to procedures explicitly provided for in a properly adopted administrative rule do not require further separate codification through additional rules adopted pursuant to Chapter 120. The specific details regarding preparation of simulator vapor mixtures and testing procedures are implicit in the scientific requirements already expressed in Administrative Rules 11D-8.005 and 11D-8.006.
[1] Procedures that are implicit and incidental to procedures explicitly provided for in a properly adopted rule or regulation do not require further codification by a separa…
[2] The specific details of mixing or producing a simulator vapor solution for breath test instruments, cleaning glassware, or the type and source of glassware are considered…
Previewing 2 of 3 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“We hold that procedures that are implicit and incidental to procedures otherwise explicitly provided for in a properly adopted rule or regulation do not require further codification by a further adopted rule or regulation.”
Establishes the core holding that implicit procedures need not be separately codified in administrative rules.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceWissel was charged with DUI under Florida Statutes section 316.193. He filed motions to suppress, which were denied. He proceeded to a county court ju…
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CAMPBELL, Acting Chief Judge.
Appellant, Joseph Thomas Wissel, challenges his judgment and sentence for D.U.I. in violation of section 316.193, Florida Statutes (1993), entered following a county court jury trial that took place after his motions to suppress were denied. The county court judge certified to this court the following issue as one of great public importance:
Does either State v. Reisner, or Florida Statutes Chapter 120, require that procedures adopted and employed by the FDLE in preparing the stock solution which is used by local police agencies as the standard to test the accuracy of each registered intoxUyzer machine pursuant to Administrative Rules 11D-8.006 be promulgated and adopted in accordance with Chapter 120 of the Florida Statutes? 584 So. 2d 141 (5th DCA Fla. 1991).
We have accepted jurisdiction pursuant to Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.030(b)(4)(a) and, as we will explain, answer the certified question in the negative and affirm.
The certified question posed to us essentially asks whether every step, aspect or procedure employed in the simulation tests used to inspect breath test instruments pursuant to Florida Administrative Code Rules 11D-8.005 and 11D-8.006 must be expressly prescribed by rule or regulation required by section 316.1932(l)(f)l and adopted pursuant to chapter 120, The Florida Administrative Procedures Act. We hold that procedures that are implicit and incidental to procedures otherwise explicitly provided for in a properly adopted rule or regulation do not require further codification by a further adopted rule or regulation. In our opinion, to hold otherwise belies statutory intent and/or common sense.
Rule llD-8.005(l)(a) and (b) and Rule llD-8.006(l)(a) and (b) are identical (except for the required minimum number of tests) in providing for the method of testing breath test instruments for accuracy. Those rules provide as follows:
When conducting an ... inspection in accordance with this rule, the ... technician shall make the following cheeks for accuracy and alcohol-free reading:
(a) Accuracy — Simulator tests will be completed for each test instrument using vapor mixtures containing alcohol at con centrations of 0.050g/210L, 0.100g/210L and 0.200g/210L_
The observed values must fall within the following ranges at each concentration: 0.050g/210L Acceptable range: 0.095-0.105g/210L, 0.200g/210L Acceptable range: 0.190-0.210g/210L.
(b) Alcohol-Free Solution — Simulator tests will be completed for each test instrument using an alcohol-free vapor mix-ture_ The alcohol-free solution standard for the instrument requires that no reading be more than 0.010g/210L.
Appellant argues that there is no properly adopted rule or regulation that defines “vapor mixture” or that specifies the “procedures” on how to mix or produce a simulator vapor solution; on how to clean the glassware utilized; the type of glassware to be used; or from what source the stock solution should be obtained. We conclude that such details of the manner of conducting the simulator tests required by Rules 11D-8.005 and 11D-8.006 are implicit and inherent in the details of the scientific requirements specifically expressed in the rules.
While addressing different issues than are raised by this appeal, the decision in State v. Friedrich, 681 So. 2d 1157 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996), is helpful and instructive in understanding our conclusions as to the issue raised before us. The court in Friedrich stated: “The ... attack on the admissibility, in general, of the results of the breath tests based on the range of composition of the stock solution is speculative and theoretical.”
We likewise conclude that appellant’s attack, based on the lack of a rule or regulation to cover every step of the testing procedures for breath test instruments, is not only speculative and theoretical, but also hyper-technical.
Affirmed.
PARKER, J., and HALL, VINCENT T., Senior Judge, concur.
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Goodman v. Fla. Dep't of Law Enf't, 203 So. 3d 909 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016)…ny of the choices made in the testing laboratories across the State, The rules at issue, when combined with basic laboratory practices, are sufficient to protect the safety and interests of the court system and defendants alike. See Wissel v. State, 691 So. 2d 507, 507-08 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997) (holding “that procedures that are implicit and incidental to procedures otherwise explicitly provided for in a properly adopted rule or regulation dó not require further codification by a further adopted rule or regulatio…
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Goodman v. Fla. Dep't OF LAW Enf't, 238 So. 3d 102 (Fla. 2018)…o. 2d at 699. Accordingly, we conclude that Rule 11D-8.012 facially ensures reliable blood test results and any question as to the accuracy of a particular test is best determined on a case-by-case basis. See Vuong, 149 So. 3d 174 ; Wissel v. State, 691 So. 2d 507, 508 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997) (rejecting an "attack, based on the lack of a rule or regulation to cover every step of the testing" because it was "not only speculative and theoretical, but also hyper-technical"); Friedrich, 681 So. 2d 1157 ; see also Stat…
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Jenkins v. State, 855 So. 2d 1219 (Fla. 1st DCA 2003)…t forth in this chapter...." . We are not holding that section 316.1932, as it existed at the time of this challenge, required the promulgation of the COA form as a rule. Our holding is based on the requirements of chapter 120. See Wissel v. State, 691 So. 2d 507 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997). We note that section 316.1932 was amended by chapter 2000-226, Laws of Florida, to explicitly require FLDE’s Alcohol Testing Program to promulgate rules for testing and inspecting the breath machines. . Even if Miles II did appl…
Previewing 3 of 4 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- State v. Reisner, 584 So. 2d 141 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991)
- State v. Friedrich, 681 So. 2d 1157 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996)