State v. HooverState v. Hoover
Lead Opinion
I. Factual and Procedural Background
{¶ 2} In the early morning hours of September 8, 2006, Deputy Kelly S. Nawman stopped a car after she saw it cross the center line by a tire’s width. Upon approaching the vehicle, she detected a strong scent of intoxicants. Corey Hoover, the appellee and cross-appellant in this case, was the driver. He admitted to having drunk some alcohol before driving, and he performed poorly on the field sobriety tests. Hoover was then arrested and was read his Miranda rights. After being taken to the Union County Sheriffs Office, he was asked to submit to a breath-alcohol test, but he refused.
{¶ 3} Hoover was charged with violating
{¶ 4} The trial court overruled the motion to dismiss, and Hoover entered a no-contest plea. The court found Hoover guilty, and because he had a prior DUI conviction within the previous six years, sentenced him to 60 days in jail (with 40 days suspended) under
{¶ 5} On October 29, 2007, the Third District Court of Appeals reversed the judgment of the trial court, in part. It held that the enhanced sentencing under
{¶ 6} Both parties appealed. The state argues that the court of appeals erred in finding the sentence enhancement unconstitutional; Hoover argues that his conviction should have been overturned because the court should have declared
{¶ 7} The case is now before us upon the acceptance of a discretionary appeal and cross-appeal. State v. Hoover,
II. Law and Analysis
{¶ 8} We first acknowledge that statutes enjoy a strong presumption of constitutionality. State v. Carswell,
A. The Criminal Statute
{¶ 9} Hoover argues that
{¶ 10} “No person who, within twenty years of the conduct described in division (A)(2)(a) of this section, previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a violation of this division, a violation of division (A)(1) or (B) of this section, or a municipal OYI offense shall do both of the following:
{¶ 12} “(b) Subsequent to being arrested for operating the vehicle * * *, being asked by a law enforcement officer to submit to a chemical test or tests under [
{¶ 13} There are three elements of a charge brought pursuant to
B. The Implied-Consent Statute
{¶ 14}
{¶ 15} “Any person who operates a vehicle * * * within this state * * * shall be deemed to have given consent to a chemical test or tests of the person’s whole blood, blood serum or plasma, breath, or urine to determine the alcohol, drug of abuse, controlled substance, metabolite of a controlled substance, or combination content of the person’s whole blood, blood serum or plasma, breath, or urine if arrested for a violation of division (A) or (B) of [
{¶ 16} Furthermore, under
{¶ 18} “
{¶ 19} The United States Supreme Court has held that if an officer has probable cause to arrest a driver for DUI, the result of an analysis of a blood sample taken over the driver’s objection and without consent is admissible in evidence, even if no warrant had been obtained. Schmerber v. California (1966),
C. Refusal to Consent
{¶ 20} To summarize, a driver’s refusal to submit to chemical testing when arrested on probable cause for DUI can result in two consequences. The driver receives an ALS under
{¶ 21} It is crucial to note that the refusal to consent to testing is not, itself, a criminal offense. The activity prohibited under
{¶ 22} Hoover contends, however, that he has a constitutional right to revoke his implied consent and that being forced by threat of punishment to submit to a
{¶ 23} Furthermore, the request to submit to a chemical test does not occur until after probable cause to arrest exists. In this case, the arresting officer pulled Hoover over after she saw him drive across the center line. She smelled a strong odor of intoxicants as she approached his car. Hoover admitted that he had been drinking. He then performed poorly on field sobriety tests. Because
{¶ 24} This court’s statement in State v. Gustafson (1996),
{¶ 25} An administrative license suspension is an automatic consequence of a refusal to take a chemical test.
{¶ 26} Furthermore, we have held that “[i]n Ohio, a license to operate a motor vehicle is a privilege, and not an absolute property right.” Doyle v. Ohio Bur. of Motor Vehicles (1990),
{¶ 27} The subsection under which Hoover was charged,
{¶ 28} The dissent argues that this court has already answered the question before us in Wilson v. Cincinnati (1976),
III. Conclusion
{¶ 30} We hold that
Judgment affirmed in part and reversed in part.
Notes
. “DUI” seems to be the most popular term, but “OMVI” (operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated) and “OVI” (operating a vehicle while under the influence) are also used to refer to these offenses.
. Citations to
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting.
{¶ 31} The majority’s interpretation of
{¶ 32} This court’s previous cases regarding sanctions for a DUI defendant’s failure to consent to chemical tests have all involved license suspensions: “This court has historically and repeatedly characterized driver’s license suspensions imposed pursuant to Ohio’s implied consent statutes as being civil in nature and remedial in purpose.” State v. Gustafson (1996),
{¶ 33} The majority states in ¶ 21, “It is crucial to note that the refusal to consent to testing is not, itself, a criminal offense.” Rather than crucial, that point is insignificant:
(¶ 34} The majority relies heavily upon this court’s decision in Westerville v. Cunningham (1968),
{¶ 35} This court has previously answered the question whether a person can face criminal sanctions for failure to consent to a search. In Wilson v. Cincinnati (1976),
{¶ 36} “Where a municipal ordinance requires the owner of real property to tender a certificate of housing inspection to a prospective buyer, and such certificate may be obtained only by allowing a warrantless inspection of the property, the imposition of a criminal penalty upon the owner’s failure to tender the certificate violates the owner’s rights under the Fourth Amendment to the
{¶ 37} As this court noted in Wilson, “[generally, a search to which an individual consents meets Fourth Amendment requirements. Katz v. United States (1967),
{¶ 38} In Wilson, this court held that the coercive nature of a potential criminal penalty negated any consent to search: “In the case before us, the coercion represented by the sole alternative of possible criminal prosecution clearly negates any ‘consent’ which may be inferred from the allowance of the inspection and, therefore, the validity of such searches upon the basis of consent is not sustainable.” Wilson at 144,
{¶ 39} This case is not about whether police officers could have legally executed a chemical test on Hoover. A search can meet the requirements of the Fourth Amendment even if it is executed without a suspect’s consent. Officers could have sought a warrant to obtain a test. Further, the United States Supreme Court has held that when a defendant refuses to consent to a taking of his blood for chemical analysis, a blood sample taken over his objection and without his consent is admissible in evidence, even if no warrant had been obtained, if the officer had probable cause to arrest for DUI. Schmerber v. California (1966),
{¶ 40} The issue here is whether the state can criminalize a person’s failure to consent to a warrantless search or, in other words, force a consent to search through the coercive power of threatened jail time. Although consent is implied by
{¶ 41} Imposing criminal sanctions for failure to consent goes far beyond the state’s power — recognized in Gustafson,