DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAY SAFETY AND MOTOR VEHICLES, PETITIONER,
v.
JEFF A. COCHRAN, RESPONDENT
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The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles challenged a circuit court's decision that quashed a DUI-related driver's license suspension based solely on a defective breath test affidavit. The appellate court reversed, holding that the circuit court erred by focusing only on the affidavit's defect without considering the substantial evidence in the record as a whole.
The court held that the circuit court erred in overturning the hearing officer's decision based solely on the affidavit's defect. Even if the affidavit was defective, the additional documents in the record (including maintenance records and other sworn statements) provided substantial evidence to support the license suspension, and the circuit court was required to conduct a complete review of the record.
[1] A circuit court reviewing an administrative decision is limited to determining whether the agency accorded procedural due process, observed essential requirements of law,…
[2] An appellate court reviewing a circuit court's decision on an administrative matter is limited to determining whether the circuit court afforded procedural due process an…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The circuit court should have addressed the issue of whether or not there was substantial evidence in the record to support the hearing officer's findings. Here the additional document which clarified that the inspection included maintenance should have sufficed, even if the requirements of section 316.1934(5) apply to such hearings.”
Establishes that the circuit court's review must examine all evidence in the record, not just a single defective document, to determine if substantial evidence supports the administrative decision.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceOn May 21, 2000, Officer conducted a traffic stop of Cochran for erratic driving. The officer administered sobriety tests and a breath test, which reg…
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Petitioner State of Florida, Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, seeks certiorari review of the order of the circuit court, sitting in its appellate capacity, which quashed the suspension of Respondent Jeff Cochran’s driver’s license. We in turn quash the circuit court’s order under review here because it departs from the essential requirements of law.
The facts in this case are not in dispute. On May 21, 2000, a police officer observed Cochran driving erratically and as a result, he conducted a traffic stop. The officer detected signs Cochran was under the influence of alcohol, and he had Cochran perform sobriety tests. Cochran’s performance was poor, so the officer arrested him for driving under the influence, read the implied consent warnings and administered breath tests. Cochran’s alcohol levels registered .220, .206 and .227. The officer issued Cochran a citation for violating section 316.193, Florida Statutes (1999), pursuant to which Cochran’s driving privileges were suspended.
Cochran requested a formal review of his license suspension in accordance with section 322.2615(l)(b)(3), Florida Statutes (1999). At the hearing, the state produced Cochran’s DUI citation, his driver’s license, the arrest report, the offense incident report, the request for test affidavit, two DUI technicians’ reports, the DUI task format/implied consent affidavit, the operations procedures checklist, the intoxi-lyzer instrument printer cards, the breath test affidavit, the Department annual inspection report, and the agency monthly inspection report.
Cochran objected to the breath test affidavit because it did not contain the date of the last maintenance on the breath test machine. The hearing officer denied the objection. However the circuit court quashed the hearing officer’s decision based on the court’s prior opinion in Giovanetti v. Dep’t of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles, No. 99-13 (18th Cir. April 6, 2000). In that opinion, the court held that the breath test result affidavit, which was the only evidence in that case of the driver’s blood alcohol level, failed to comply with section 316.1934(5), Florida Statutes (1999), because the affidavit did not contain the date of the performance of the most recent maintenance of the breath testing instrument.
In a certiorari proceeding to review an administrative decision, the circuit court’s inquiry is limited to whether the administrative agency accorded the parties procedural due process, whether it observed the essential requirement of law, and whether the agency’s findings and judgments are supported by competent substantial evidence. See Florida Power & Light Co. v. City of Dania, 761 So. 2d 1089 (Fla.2000); Haines City Community Dev. v. Heggs, 658 So. 2d 523 (Fla.1995). And in turn, this appellate court is limited in reviewing the circuit court’s opinion, to determine whether the circuit court afforded procedural due process and applied the correct law. See Ivey v. Allstate Ins. Co., 774 So. 2d 679 (Fla.2000). We cannot review the record to determine whether there was competent substantial evidence to support an agency’s decision, as that responsibility lies solely with the circuit court. See Dusseau v. Metropolitan Dade County Board of County Commissioners, 794 So. 2d 1270 (Fla.2001).
Section 322.2615(7), Florida Statutes (1999) provides that the hearing officer must determine “by a preponderance of the evidence whether or not sufficient cause exists to sustain, amend or invalidate the [license] suspension.” The hearing officer must find that the police officer had probable cause to believe the person was driving or in actual physical control of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance, whether the person was placed under lawful arrest, and whether the person had an unlawful blood alcohol level. See § 322.2615(7)(a), Fla. Stat. (1999). The hearing officer’s determination may be conducted based on a review of the reports of the police officer “including documents relating to the administration of a breath test....” See § 322.2615(11), Fla. Stat. (1999).
The circuit court in this case focused solely on the affidavit of the breath test result submitted by the police officer, finding it fatally defective because it did not comply with section 316.1934(5). That statute provides an affidavit containing breath test results is admissible and presumptive proof of the results if it discloses ... (e) “the date of performance of the most recent required maintenance on such instrument.” Thus, the circuit court concluded there was no competent proof of Cochran’s blood alcohol level.
The record in this case indicates that the affidavit in question stated the date of the agency’s last inspection of the machine, but not the date of the last required maintenance. The last agency inspection in this case was on April 26, 2000-less than a month before the test. However, an additional document in the record, also submitted to the hearing officer-the alcohol testing program form-indicates the required maintenance was performed on the same day. Further, the sworn arrest report contains the breath test results, as does the incident report and the traffic citation.
We disagree that the possible defect in the affidavit alone is a sound basis to overturn the hearing officer’s findings which support the license suspension. The circuit court should have addressed the issue of whether or not there was substantial evidence in the record to support the hearing officer’s findings. Here the additional document which clarified that the inspection included maintenance should have sufficed, even if the requirements of section 316.1934(5) apply to such hearings.1 Further, as described above, there was other evidence presented in the record regarding Cochran’s blood alcohol level, including the arrest affidavit and maintenance records. See Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles v. Nikollaj, 780 So. 2d 943 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001); Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles v. Perry, 751 So. 2d 1277 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000); Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles v. McGill, 616 So. 2d 1212 (Fla. 5th DCA), rev. denied, 626 So. 2d 206 (Fla.1993).
We conclude that the circuit court erred in overturning the hearing officer based solely on the affidavit form, without determining whether there was competent sub stantial evidence to sustain the hearing officer’s decision. See, e.g., Dusseau. In so doing, the circuit court departed from the essential requirements of law. Accordingly, we grant the petition for writ of certiorari, and remand for a determination of whether there was competent and substantial evidence in the record to sustain the license suspension.
PETITION GRANTED and ORDER QUASHED; REMANDED.
THOMPSON, C.J., and PALMER, J., concur. . That provision applies to trials and the admissibility of affidavits as exceptions to the hearsay rule.
We grant respondent’s motion for rehearing and clarification of our written opinion in this case in part. The two DUI technicians’ affidavits were stricken because they were not in the record on appeal below.
Accordingly, we delete any reference to them in this opinion. However, we affirm the balance of the opinion in toto.
THOMPSON, C.J., and PALMER, J., concur.
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Dep't of Hwy. Safety & Motor Vehicles v. Luttrell, 983 So. 2d 1215 (Fla. 5th DCA 2008)…essential requirements of law had been observed, and whether the administrative order was supported by competent substantial evidence. See City of Deerfield Beach v. Vaillant, 419 So. 2d 624 (Fla.1982); Dep’t of Highway & Motor Vehicles v. Cochran, 798 So. 2d 761 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001). This court’s review is limited to determining whether the circuit court afforded procedural due process and whether the circuit court applied the correct law. See Conahan v. Dep’t of Highway & Motor Vehicles, 619 So. 2d 988 (Fla…
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Dep't of Hwy. Safety & Motor Vehicles v. Berne, 49 So. 3d 779 (Fla. 5th DCA 2010)…t of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles v. Lazzopina, 807 So. 2d 77, 77 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001); Dep't of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles v. Neff, 804 So. 2d 519, 520 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001); Dehart at 1080; Dep't of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles v. Cochran, 798 So. 2d 761, 762 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001); Mowry at 658; Russell, 793 So. 2d at 1076; see also State [*785] Farm Florida Ins. Co. v. Lorenzo, 969 So. 2d 393, 398-99 (Fla. 5th DCA 2007) ("Moreover, we note the error could have a pervasive, widespread effect in other…
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Dep't of Hwy. Safety & Motor Vehicles v. Dehart, 799 So. 2d 1079 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001)…quired maintenance on the intoxilyzer one day prior to Dehart’s arrest. This proof was sufficient. See Dep’t of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles v. Russell, 793 So. 2d 1073 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001); Dep’t of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles v. Cochran, 798 So. 2d 761 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001); see also Dep’t of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles v. Nikollaj, 780 So. 2d 943 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001) (holding that where driver received adequate notice of the reason for his license suspension, circuit court misapplied the law b…
Previewing 3 of 10 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Haines City Cmty. Dev. v. Leila Heggs, 658 So. 2d 523 (Fla. 1995)
- Farren Ivey v. Allstate Ins. Co., 774 So. 2d 679 (Fla. 2000)
- Fla. Power & Light Co. v. City OF Dania, 761 So. 2d 1089 (Fla. 2000)
- Dusseau v. Metro. Dade Cnty. Bd. OF Cnty. Comm'rs, 794 So. 2d 1270 (Fla. 2001)
- Dep't of Hwy. Safety & Motor Vehicles v. Perry, 751 So. 2d 1277 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000)
- Dep't of Hwy. Safety & Motor Vehicles v. Krist Nikollaj, 780 So. 2d 943 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001)
- Dep't OF Hwy. Safety & Motor Vehicles v. Emmett Bruce McGILL, 616 So. 2d 1212 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993)