[¶ 1] After the United States Supreme Court remanded these administrative license. suspension cases to this Court for further proceedings under Birchfield v. North Dakota, — U.S. —,
I
A
[¶ 2] Steven Beylund was arrested for driving under the influence in August 2013, and consented to a warrantless blood test incident to his arrest after being read the North Dakota implied consent advisory. The implied consent advisory states that as a condition of operating a motor vehicle on a highway in North Dakota, a driver consents to taking a test to determine whether the driver is under the influence of alcohol or drugs, that North Dakota law requires the driver to take a breath screening test and a chemical test to determine whether the driver is under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and that refusal to take the test as directed by a law enforcement officer is a crime punishable in the same manner as driving under the influence. The advisory also states that refusal to take the test as directed by a law enforcement officer may result in revocation of a driver’s license. The result of Beylund’s warrantless blood test indicated a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit, and he requested an administrative hearing under N.D.C.C. § 39-20-05 on the Department’s intention to suspend his driver’s license. Beylund did not testify at the administrative hearing. The Department suspended his driver’s license for two years, concluding the arresting officer had reasonable grounds to believe Beylund was driving under the influence of alcohol, Bey-lund was arrested and tested under N.D.C.C. ch. 39-20, and the test results showed a blood-alcohol concentration above the legal limit.
[¶ 3] We affirmed the Department’s license suspension in Beylund v. Levi,
[¶ 4] The United States Supreme Court granted petitions for writ of certiorari by Beylund, Danny Birchfleld, and a Minnesota petitioner, William Bernard
If the court on remand finds that Bey-lund did not voluntarily consent, it will have to address whether the evidence obtained in the search must be suppressed when the search was carried out pursuant to a state statute, see Heien v. North Carolina, 574 U.S. —,— ,—135 S.Ct. 580 , 537-539,190 L.Ed.2d 475 (2014), and the evidence is offered in an administrative rather than criminal proceeding, see Pennsylvania Bd. of Probation and Parole v. Scott,524 U.S. 357 , 363-364,118 S.Ct. 2014 ,141 L.Ed.2d 344 (1998). And as Beylund notes, remedies may be available to him under state law. See Brief for Petitioner in No. 14-1507, pp. 13-14.
Birchfield, at 2186-87 n.9.
B
[¶ 5] Douglas Wojahn was arrested for driving under the influence in December 2013, and consented to a warrantless blood test incident to his arrest after being read the implied consent advisory. The result of Wojahn’s warrantless blood test revealed a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit, and he requested an administrative hearing under N.D.C.C. § 39-20-05 on the Department’s intention to suspend his driver’s license. Wojahn testified at the administrative hearing he “felt obligated” to take the warrantless blood test and did not take it “freely and voluntarily.” He also testified he did not think he had a choice and felt coerced. The Department suspended Wojahn’s license for 91 days, concluding the arresting officer had reasonable grounds to believe Wojahn was driving under the influence, Wojahn was placed under arrest and tested under N.D.C.C. ch. 39-20, and the test results showed a blood-alcohol concentration above the legal limit.
[¶ 6] We summarily affirmed Wojahn’s suspension under our precedent holding statutes criminalizing a driver’s refusal to submit to a chemical test did not violate a driver’s rights under the Fourth Amendment. Wojahn v. Levi,
C
[¶ 7] On remand from the United States Supreme Court, we consolidated the two cases for reargument and directed Bey-lund, Wojahn, and the Department to submit briefs on the following issues: (1) what forum should determine the findings of fact regarding the voluntariness of consent to the warrantless blood test under the remand language of Birchfield v. North Dakota for the state court to reevaluate consent and taking into consideration the language of N.D.C.C. § 39-20-05(2); and (2) whether evidence must be suppressed in an administrative proceeding if the fact finder determines consent was not voluntary.
II
[¶ 8] The Administrative Agencies Practice Act, N.D.C.C. ch. 28-32, governs our review of an administrative decision sus
1. The order is not in accordance with the law.
2. The order is in violation of the constitutional rights of the appellant.
3. The provisions of this chapter have not been complied with in the proceedings before the agency.
4. The rules or procedure of the agency have not afforded the appellant a fair hearing.
5. The findings of fact made by the agency are not supported by a preponderance of the evidence.
6. The conclusions of law and order of the agency are not supported by its findings of fact.
7. The findings of fact made by the agency do not sufficiently address the evidence presented to the agency by the appellant.
8. The conclusions of law and order of the agency do not sufficiently explain the agency’s rationale for not adopting any contrary recommendations by a hearing officer or an administrative law judge.
[¶9] We do not make independent findings of fact or substitute our judgment for that of the agency; rather, we determine only whether a reasoning mind reasonably could have concluded the agency’s findings were supported by the weight of the evidence from the entire record. Power Fuels, Inc, v. Elkin,
III
[¶ 10] Beylund and Wojahn argue their consent to the warrantless blood test was involuntary as a matter of law under language in Birchfield,
[¶ 11] The Department argues the results of the blood tests are admissible in an administrative proceeding even if the drivers’ consent to the tests was involuntary, because the exclusionary rule does not apply to civil administrative proceedings under Pa. Bd. of Prob. & Parole v. Scott,
A
[¶ 12] Wojahn testified at his administrative hearing he “felt obligated” and coerced to take the test and did not take it “freely and voluntarily.” Beylund did not testify at his administrative hearing. Although the records in these two administrative proceedings pertaining to the drivers’ reasons for consenting to a war-rantless blood test are different, for purposes of these appeals only, we assume both drivers’ consent to a warrantless blood test as involuntary. We thus consider whether the evidence obtained as a result of the warrantless blood tests must be suppressed in an administrative license suspension proceeding under the remand language in Birchfield v. North Dakota,
B
[¶ 13] In Scott,
We have emphasized repeatedly that the government’s use of evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment does not itself violate the Constitution. See, e.g., United States v. Leon,468 U.S. 897 , 906,104 S.Ct. 3405 ,82 L.Ed.2d 677 (1984); Stone v. Powell,428 U.S. 465 , 482, 486,96 S.Ct. 3037 , 49 L.Ed,2d 1067 (1976). Rather, a Fourth Amendment violation is ‘“fully accomplished’” by the illegal search or seizure, and no exclusion of evidence from a judicial or administrative proceeding can “‘cure the invasion of the defendant’s rights which he has already suffered.’ ” United States v. Leon, supra, at 906,104 S.Ct. 3405 (quoting Stone v. Powell, supra, at 540,96 S.Ct. 3037 (White, J., dissenting)). The exclusionary rule is instead a judicially created means of deterring illegal searches and seizures. United States v. Calandra,414 U.S. 338 , 348,94 S.Ct. 613 ,38 L.Ed.2d 561 (1974). As such, the rule does not “proscribe the introduction of illegally seized evidence in all proceedings or against all persons,” Stone v. Powell, supra, at 486,96 S.Ct. 3037 , but applies only in contexts “where its remedial objectives are thought most efficaciously served,” United States v. Calandra, supra, at 348,94 S.Ct. 613 ; see also United States v. Janis,428 U.S. 433 , 454,96 S.Ct. 3021 ,49 L.Ed.2d 1046 (1976) (“If ... the exclusionary rule does not result in appreciable deterrence, then, clearly, its use in the instant situation is unwarranted”). Moreover, because the rule is prudential rather than constitutionally mandated, we have held it to be applicable only where its deterrence benefits outweigh its “substantial social costs.” United States v. Leon,468 U.S. at 907 ,104 S.Ct. 3405 .
Recognizing these costs, we have repeatedly declined to extend the exclusionary rule to proceedings other than criminal trials. Id. at 909,104 S.Ct. 3405 ; United States v. Janis, supra, at 447,96 S.Ct. 3021 . For example, in United States v. Calandra, we held that the exclusionary rule does not apply to grand jury proceedings; in so doing, we emphasized that such proceedings play a special role in the law enforcement process and that the traditionally flexible, nonadversarial nature of those proceedings would be jeopardized by application of the rule.414 U.S. at 343-346, 349-350 ,94 S.Ct. 613 . Likewise, in United Statesv. Janis, we held that the exclusionary rule did not bar the introduction of unconstitutionally obtained evidence in a civil tax proceeding because the costs of excluding relevant and reliable evidence would outweigh the marginal deterrence benefits, which, we noted, would be minimal because the use of the exclusionary rule in criminal trials already deterred illegal searches. 428 U.S. at 448, 454 ,96 S.Ct. 3021 . Finally, in INS v. Lopez-Mendoza,468 U.S. 1032 ,104 S.Ct. 3479 ,82 L.Ed.2d 778 (1984), we refused to extend the exclusionary rule to civil deportation proceedings, citing the high social costs of allowing an immigrant to remain illegally in this country and noting the incompatibility of the rule with the civil, administrative nature of those proceedings. Id at 1050,104 S.Ct. 3479 .
Scott,
[¶ 14] In Scott, the Supreme Court said application of the exclusionary rule in that case would alter the traditionally flexible administrative nature of state parole revocation proceedings while providing only minimal deterrence benefits because application of the exclusionary rule in the criminal context already provides significant deterrence for unconstitutional searches.
[¶ 15] In Holte,
“A license suspension proceeding under^ 39-20-05, N.D.C.C., ‘is an exercise of the police power for the protection of the public.’ ” Williams v. North Dakota State Highway Com’r,417 N.W.2d 359 , 360 (N.D. 1987) [quoting Asbridge v. North Dakota State Highway Com’r,291 N.W.2d 739 , 750 (N.D. 1980)]. One of the purposes of our implied-consent law is “to provide an efficient means of gathering reliable evidence of intoxication or nonintoxication.” Asbridge, supra, at 750. To make use of the evidence gathered, our Legislature has provided that the results of a fairly administered chemical test “must be received in evidence” in any “criminal action or proceeding arising out of acts alleged to have been committed by any person while driving ... under the influence of intoxicating liquor.” Section 39-20-07, N.D.C.C. Generally, constitutional protections afforded in criminal proceedings are not applicable in administrative license-suspension proceedings. Holen v. Hjelle, 396 N.W.2d 290 (N.D. 1986).
In view of the legislative purpose to gather reliable evidence of intoxication or nonintoxication, the legislative direction to receive in evidence the results of fairly administered chemical tests, our previous holdings that an affirmative refusal is necessary to withdraw the implied consent to take the test, and the role of administrative suspension proceedings in protecting the public, we agree with the rationale of the Iowa Supreme Court in refusing to extend the exclusionary rule to civil proceedings as enunciated in Westendorf v. Iowa Dep’t of Transp.,400 N.W.2d 563 , 557 (Iowa 1987):
“The benefit of using reliable information of intoxication in license revocation proceedings, even when that evidence is inadmissible in criminal proceedings, outweighs the possible benefit of applying the exclusionary rule to deter unlawful conduct. Consequently, the exclusionary rule formulated under the fourth and fourteenth amendments was inapplicable in this license revocation proceeding.”
[¶ 16] In Fasching v. Backes,
[¶ 17] We have recognized the minimal due process required in an administrative agency proceeding is not synonymous with the due process requirements in judicial proceedings. Holen v. Hjelle,
[¶ 18] Our caselaw involving administrative license proceedings is consistent with the rationale of Scott and does not require exclusion of the results of blood tests in administrative license proceedings
The hearing must be recorded and its scope may cover only the issues of whether the arresting officer had reasonable grounds to believe the individual had been driving or was in actual physical control of a vehicle in violation of section 39-08-01 or equivalent ordinance; ... whether the individual was placed under arrest; ... whether the individual was tested in accordance with section 39-20-01 or 39-20-03 and, if applicable, section 39-20-02; and whether the test results show the individual had an alcohol concentration of at least eight one-hundredths of one percent by weight.
[¶ 19] At the administrative hearing, the regularly kept records of the director and the state crime laboratory may be introduced and establish prima facie their content without further foundation. N.D.C.C. § 39-20-05(4). Section 39-20-07, N.D.C.C., describes the interpretation of chemical tests and says evidence of the results of a chemical analysis of a person’s blood, breath, or urine is admissible upon the trial of any civil or criminal action or proceeding. Under N.D.C.C. § 39-20-07(5), the results of a chemical analysis must be received in evidence when the sample was properly obtained and the test fairly administered. See Holte,
[¶ 20] At the close of the administrative hearing, the hearing office shall notify the person of the hearing officer’s decision and shall immediately deliver a copy of the decision to the person. N.D.C.C. § 39-20-05(5). If the hearing officer’s decision is adverse to the person, the hearing officer shall immediately take possession of the person’s temporary operator’s permit and report the decision to the director within ten days. N.D.C.C. § 39-20-05(5). Section 39-20-06, N.D.C.C., authorizes judicial review of the Department’s decision “within seven days after the date of the hearing under section 39-20-05 as shown by the date of the hearing officer’s decision, section 28-32-42 notwithstanding, by serving on the director and filing a notice of appeal and specifications of error in the district court.”
[¶ 21] The streamlined administrative procedures in N.D.C.C. ch. 39-20 and the issues designated for consideration at an administrative hearing under N.D.C.C. § 39-20-05(2) are consistent with the flexible administrative parole revocation procedures analyzed in Scott. The administrative hearing is designed to resolve limited issues in an expedited manner and a hearing officer is not required to conduct a criminal trial. Asbridge,
[¶ 22] A majority of courts have considered similar provisions and concluded the exclusionary rule does not apply to civil administrative license suspension proceedings. See Nevers v. State,
[¶ 23] The significant societal costs for drunk driving were extensively chronicled in Birchfield v. North Dakota,
[¶ 24] We reject the drivers’ reliance on the general provisions in N.D.C.C. §§ 28-32-24(3) and 28-32-46(2). Section 28-32-24(3), N.D.C.C., provides that upon proper objection, evidence that is excludable on constitutional grounds may be excluded in an adjudicative agency proceeding. In Richter v. N.D. Dep’t of Transp.,
[¶ 25] These cases involve the admissibility of the results of blood tests, which the legislature has directed must be received into evidence under N.D.C.C. § 39-20-07(5) when the sample was properly obtained and the test fairly administered. Section 39-20-07(5), N.D.C.C., is a specific statute addressed to the admissibility of the results of a chemical test and provides the results must be received in evidence when the test has been fairly administered. That specific statute for the admissibility of the results of the blood tests is part of the flexible administrative procedure for license suspension and revocation proceedings. Specific statutory provisions control over general provisions. See N.D.C.C. § 1-02-07. We conclude the specific statutory procedure for administrative license proceedings and the civil nature of those proceedings does not require exclusion of the results of the blood tests in the administrative proceedings.
[¶ 26] Section 28-32^16(2), N.D.C.C., says a court must affirm an agency decision unless the decision violates the appellant’s constitutional rights. In Scott,
C
[¶ 27] To the extent Beylund arid Wo-jahn argue the implied-consent laws violate the doctrine of unconstitutional conditions, we rejected that argument in Beylund,
IV
[¶ 28] We conclude the exclusionary rule does not require exclusion of the results of the warrantless blood tests in these civil administrative license suspension proceedings. We therefore affirm the judgments affirming the license suspensions of Wo-jahn and Beylund.
[¶ 29] Gerald W. VandeWalle, C. J.
Carol Ronning Kapsner
Dale V. Sandstrom, S.J.
Daniel J. Crothers
[¶ 30] The Honorable Jerod E. Tufte was not a member of the Court when this case was heard and did not participate in this decision. Surrogate Judge Dale Y. Sandstrom, sitting.
Notes
. See State v. Bernard,
