William Jerry Wimbish appeals his conviction for driving a motor vehicle while intoxicated, in violation of Code § 18.2-266, and the mandatory ten-day jail sentence he received as required by Code § 18.2-270. Wimbish raises two issues on appeal. First, he argues that the admission of the “Certificate of Blood Alcohol Analysis” by the trial court violated his confrontation right under the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Second, he argues that the trial court erred by sentencing him to ten days in jail as required by Code § 18.2-270 because Code § 18.2-270 contains an unconstitutional mandatory presumption. For the
I. Background
“Under familiar principles of appellate review, we view the evidence and all reasonable inferences fairly deducible from that evidence in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, the party that prevailed below.”
Banks v. Commonwealth,
Standing at the Mercedes’ window, O’Connell asked the driver for his driver’s license and registration card. O’Connell immediately smelled alcohol on the driver’s breath. O’Connell also observed that the driver’s speech was slurred, his eyes were bloodshot, and he had a difficult time taking his driver’s license out of his pocket. The driver’s license identified him as William Jerry Wimbish (“Wimbish”). O’Connell asked Wimbish to step out of the vehicle. Wimbish stepped out of the vehicle and “swayed heavily” as he walked. He admitted that he had just left a party where he had consumed four beers and two margaritas, consuming the last drink an hour earlier. He stated that he felt intoxicated. Wimbish failed a field sobriety test and refused to take another stating: “There’s no need to do any more tests. You know I’ve had too much to drink.” O’Connell placed Wimbish under arrest and took him to the magistrate’s office.
At the magistrate’s office, O’Connell, a licensed breath test operator, conducted a breath test on Wimbish using the Intoxilyzer 5000. As part of his ongoing training as a breath test operator, O’Connell had recently completed a recertification course through the Department of Forensic Science (“the Department”). In conducting the test, O’Connell completed each step pursuant to a checklist (“the Checklist”) provided by the Department. The Checklist contains eleven steps for conducting a breath test.
Following the test, the Intoxilyzer 5000 printed the results on a pre-printed form entitled “CERTIFICATE OF BLOOD ALCOHOL ANALYSIS” (“the Certificate of Analysis”). The Certificate of Analysis form contained a number of blank fields that were filled in by a printer attached to the Intoxilyzer 5000. Some of this information was entered by the machine operator, including 1) the name of the accused, 2) the name of the jurisdiction, 3) the name and license number of the breath test operator and the date the officer’s license expires, and 4) the name of the agency conducting the test. Other information printed upon the certificate by the Intoxilyzer 5000 was generated by the machine itself, including 1) the test equipment’s number, 2) the last date on which the test equipment was tested, 3) the date and time the breath sample was taken, and 4) the sample’s alcohol content. The information provided by the Intoxilyzer on the Certificate of Analysis also indicated that Wimbish’s breath had an alcohol content of .22 grams per 210 liters of breath, which is over the statutory limit of 0.08 grams per 210 liters of breath. The Certificate of Analysis indicated that the Intoxilyzer had been tested on November 30, 2005. 1
At the bottom of the Certificate of Analysis is an attestation clause that states:
I certify that the above is an accurate record of the test conducted; that the test was conducted with the type of equipment and in accordance with the methods approved by the Department of Forensic Science; that the test was conducted in accordance with the department’s specifications; that the equipment on which the breath test was conducted has been tested withinthe past six months and found to be accurate; that prior to administration of the test the accused was advised of his right to observe the process and see the blood alcohol reading on the equipment used to perform the breath test, and that I possess a valid license to conduct such test, given under my hand this_day of _, 20__
O’Connell wrote the date of the test in the blank spaces in the attestation clause and signed his name in the box beneath the attestation clause marked “BREATH TEST OPERATOR.”
Wimbish was subsequently convicted in general district court of driving while intoxicated, in violation of Code § 18.2-266. Wimbish appealed that conviction to the circuit court. Before trial, Wimbish made a motion asking the trial court to suppress the Certificate of Analysis, arguing that its admission would violate his right of confrontation under the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The trial court denied his motion, holding that the Certificate of Analysis was not testimonial and therefore did not implicate the Sixth Amendment. The trial court subsequently found Wimbish guilty of driving while intoxicated, in violation of Code § 18.2-266.
After being found guilty, but prior to sentencing, Wimbish argued that the relevant sentencing provision of Code § 18.2-270 is unconstitutional because it contains an unconstitutional mandatory presumption. The trial court rejected his argument and sentenced him to the mandatory ten days in jail pursuant to Code § 18.2-270. This appeal follows.
II. Analysis
A. The Constitutionality of Admitting the Certificate of Analysis
In his first question presented, Wimbish argues that the admission of the Certificate of Analysis violated his right to confrontation under the Sixth Amendment. Specifically, Wimbish claims that the test results provided by the Intoxilyzer 5000 and certain statements made by O’Connell in the attestation clause are testimonial hearsay.
The admissibility of evidence is within the discretion of the trial court, and we review its decisions only for abuse of discretion.
Blain v. Commonwealth,
The Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution mandates that “in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right ... to be confronted with the witnesses against him.” U.S. Const. amend. VI. That “bedrock procedural guarantee applies to both federal and state prosecutions.”
Crawford v. Washington,
In
Crawford,
the Supreme Court of the United States set out to clarify its Confrontation Clause jurisprudence in order to ensure that it remained “faithful to the Framers’ understanding” of the confrontation right.
Id.
at 59, 124 S.Ct. at
1369. The Court noted that the Confrontation Clause targeted a specific “evil,” namely the “civil-law mode of criminal procedure, and particularly its use of
ex parte
examinations as evidence against the accused.”
Id.
at 49,
For the first time, the Court in
Crawford
distinguished between “testimonial” and “non-testimonial” statements. The Court reasoned that the Confrontation Clause protects against “testimonial” statements because, by its own language, it only “applies to ‘witnesses’ against the accused—in other
The issue in this case is whether portions of the Certificate of Analysis, namely the breath test results and the attestation clause, are “testimonial” and, thus, subject to the Confronta tion Clause. Because the portions of the Certificate of Analysis that Wimbish complains of include “statements” from two different sources—O’Connell and the Intoxilyzer 5000—we must address each separately.
1. Breath Test Results
Wimbish first challenges the results of the breath test produced by the Intoxilyzer 5000. In order to assess Wimbish’s argument, it is necessary first to understand the source generating the data or “statement” that Wimbish complains of and then determine whether that source is a “witness.” The “statement” that Wimbish’s breath-alcohol content was “.22 grams per 210 liters of breath” was generated by the Intoxilyzer 5000 indicating the device’s analysis of his breath. Thus, the Intoxilyzer 5000 was the purported “witness” making the alleged out-of-court “statement.”
The Confrontation Clause protects criminal defendants from the “admission of testimonial
statements
of a
witness
who did not appear at trial.”
Id.
at 53-54,
Although Virginia courts have not addressed whether a machine that analyzes the alcohol content of breath is a “witness” that can make “statements” for the purpose of the Confrontation Clause, we addressed a similar issue in
Penny v. Commonwealth,
With a call trap device, there exists no out-of-court declarant who could be subject to cross-examination. The scientific advances of modern technology have enabled the call trap device to make and record the occurrence of electronic events. No human entered into the call trap device the conclusion that the phone in Penny’s residence had completed a contact with the phone in Hamilton’s residence.
Id.
at 498-99,
The Intoxilyzer 5000, like the call trap device in
Penny,
is not a witness or declarant capable of making statements. Here, as in
Penny,
no human entered into the Intoxilyzer 5000 the conclusion that Wimbish’s breath alcohol content was .22 grams per 210 liters of breath. Wimbish blew into the machine, the machine analyzed his breath and reported the results of its analysis. The machine was the sole source of the test results.
2. Attestation Clause
Wimbish claims that two of the assertions O’Connell made in the attestation clause are testimonial. The relevant portion of the attestation clause states: “I certify ... that the test was conducted with the type of equipment and in accordance with the methods approved by the Department of Forensic Science [and] that the equipment on which the breath test was conducted has been tested within the past six months and found to be accurate.” Wimbish claims that the Confrontation Clause barred admission of O’Connell’s assertions 1) that the test was conducted in accordance with approved methods and 2) that the machine had been tested in the past six months. We address each assertion separately.
a. O’Connell’s Assertion That He Used Approved Methods
Wimbish argues that O’Connell’s assertion that he conducted the breath test “with the type of equipment and in accordance with the methods approved by the Department” is hearsay because O’Connell could not answer certain questions about the Department’s methods on cross-examination. O’Connell explained that he was able to follow the Department’s approved methods because he had received training from Alka Lohman (“Lohman”), the Director of the Department’s Division of Forensic Science Breath Section. Wimbish claims that he had a right under the Sixth Amendment to confront Lohman because she had instructed O’Connell on the Department methods that he was purportedly testifying about.
“ ‘Hearsay evidence is testimony in court, or written evidence, of a statement made out of court, the statement being offered
In
Oulds v. Commonwealth,
Likewise, O’Connell’s testimony in this case was not offered to prove the content of the Department’s breath analysis methods. Nor was his testimony offered to prove the content of the training that O’Connell received from Lohman. The attestation clause merely states his opinion that he complied with the Department’s approved methods.
Consequently, Wimbish’s argument that he was denied the right to cross-examine Lohman must fail. O’Connell’s statement that “the test was conducted with the type of equipment and in accordance with the methods approved by the Department of Forensic Science” is not hearsay. It is not “what others have told him, or what he has heard said by others.”
Cross,
b. O’Connell’s Assertion That the Machine Had Been Tested in the Past Six Months
O’Connell’s statement that “the equipment on which the breath test was conducted has been tested within the past six months and found to be accurate” is clearly hearsay, but that does not end the analysis. O’Connell admitted that he was not present when the machine was tested and that he only knew of the test because “that is what is in the sheet in the log book.” Wimbish argues that the admission of O’Connell’s hearsay statement violated his rights under the Confrontation Clause because it was testimonial. We disagree.
Since
Crawford
was decided, several other jurisdictions have addressed the issue of whether similar maintenance logs are testimonial.
3
Those courts that have held that mainte
nance logs are nontestimonial have
Crawford
explicitly excluded business records from its definition of testimonial.
Crawford,
Furthermore, the Intoxilyzer 5000 maintenance logs do not pose a confrontation issue because they are not prepared “against” any particular defendant. This reasoning is consistent with our holding in
Michels.
In
Michels,
we held that certificates from the Delaware Secretary of State certifying that two entities were not licensed as limited liability companies in Delaware were nontestimonial.
Michels,
Likewise, in
Anderson v. Commonwealth,
The maintenance log at issue in this case is not evidence “against” any particular defendant. The logs are not created in anticipation of litigation against any one person and do not contain any accusations of criminal wrongdoing. As required by administrative rule, the Intoxilyzer 5000 would be tested and the log would be kept regardless of whether or not the machine is ever used. These logs are merely “documents establishing the existence or absence of some objective fact, rather than detailing the criminal wrongdoing of the defendant.”
Michels,
In sum, we hold that none of the statements that Wimbish complains of in the Certificate of Analysis implicate the Confrontation Clause. We therefore hold that the trial court did not err in admitting the Certificate of Analysis into evidence.
B. The Constitutionality of Code § 18.2-270
Wimbish next argues that the mandatory minimum sentencing requirement contained in Code § 18.2-270 violates the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution because it contains a mandatory presumption. Code § 18.2-270 states in pertinent part:
any person violating any provision of § 18.2-266 shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor with a mandatory minimum fine of $250. If the person’s blood alcohol level as indicated by the chemical test administered as provided in this article was at least 0.15, but not more than 0.20, he shall be confined in jail for an additional mandatory minimum period of five days or, if the level was more than 0.20, for an additional mandatory minimum period of 10 days.
Wimbish argues that the statute requires the fact finder to determine whether the accused’s blood alcohol level exceeded the statutory threshold of 0.15 or 0.20 at the time of the offense. From that premise, Wimbish reasons that the statute requires the fact finder to presume that, because an accused’s blood alcohol level exceeded the statutory threshold at the time of testing, it also exceeded the threshold levels at the time of the offense.
That is not the case. The accused’s blood alcohol level at the time of the offense is irrelevant for the purpose of whether or not the enhanced sentence applies under Code § 18.2-270. For a defendant to be eligible for Code § 18.2-270’s enhanced mandatory sentencing, the Commonwealth must prove two elements: 1) that the accused violated a provision of Code § 18.2-266 and 2) that the accused’s “blood alcohol level as indicated by the chemical test administered as provided in this article was at least 0.15.” Thus, sentencing pursuant to Code § 18.2-270 does not require proof of the accused’s blood alcohol level at the time of the offense. It simply mandates a minimum sentence if the accused has been convicted of driving while intoxicated and his blood alcohol level “as indicated by the chemical test” exceeded the threshold level. Therefore, Code § 18.2-270 does not require the fact finder to presume or infer anything. Thus, we hold that Code § 18.2-270 is constitutional and affirm the trial court’s decision to sentence Wimbish to a mandatory term of ten days in jail.
III. Conclusion
Based on the foregoing, we hold that the trial court’s admission of the Certificate of Analysis did not violate the Confrontation Clause and that Code § 18.2-270 does not contain an unconstitutional presumption. Therefore, we affirm Wimbish’s conviction.
Affirmed.
Notes
. O’Connell also testified that a logbook is kept with the Intoxilyzer 5000 that contains a record of every time the machine is tested for accuracy and that the log also indicated that the machine had been tested on November 30, 2005.
. We acknowledge that courts in other jurisdictions have held certain types of scientific reports to be testimonial. However the reports in those cases were generally either produced or interpreted by a scientist or a technician.
See Thomas v. United States,
. An overwhelming majority of those courts have held that such logs are not testimonial.
See Abyo v. State,
. We recently reaffirmed
Michels’
holding in
Jasper v. Commonwealth,
