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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCP-21-CR-2766-2004 COMMONWEAL TH IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA V. ANTHONY JOHN LUCAS CP-21-CR-2766-2004 IN RE: OMNIBUS PRETRIAL MOTION FOR RELIEF OPINION AND ORDER OF COURT Bayley, J., March 21, 2005:-- Defendant, Anthony John Lucas, is charged on an information: Count 1: Driving Under the Influence, General Impairment, 2nd Overall, 2nd Mandatory (MISDEMEANOR -- $300.00 -- $2,500.00 - 5 Days - 6 Mos.) drive after imbibing enough alcohol to render said person incapable of safe driving.1 Count 2: Driving Under the Influence - Highest Rate of Alcohol (.16+), 2nd Overall, 2d Mandatory (M1 -- $1,500.00 -- $10,000.00 - 90 Days - 5 Years) drive, operate or be in actual physical control of the movement of a vehicle after imbibing a sufficient amount of alcohol such that the alcohol concentration in said person's blood or breath is .16% or higher within two hours after a person has driven, operated or been in actual physical control of the movement of the vehicle.2 Defendant filed a motion for omnibus pretrial relief upon which a hearing was conducted on February 8,2005. We find the following facts. On August 26,2004, at 1 :39 am., Officer Warren Cornelius of the Camp Hill Borough Police was outside the 175 PaC.S. S 3802(a)(1). 275 PaC.S. S 3802(c). CR-21-CR-2766-2004 office of a Magisterial District Judge. He heard a disturbance coming from a nearby restaurant/bar. He saw a male get off the ground, get into a pickup truck, and leave. Officer Cornelius got into his patrol vehicle and followed. He lost sight of the truck for a short time but saw it again as it turned right off of 1 th Street eastbound on Market Street in the Borough of Camp Hill. Market Street is a two lane street. After going four blocks, during which Officer Cornelius observed no violations, the truck went into the Borough of Lemoyne. Officer Cornelius continued to follow the truck and saw it enter a marked left turn lane at Market and 1 ih Street. The left turn signal was on. Rather than turning left onto 1 ih Street, the truck continued straight across the intersection and into a marked left turn lane for westbound traffic on Market Street at 1 ih Street. The truck continued in the oncoming left turn lane for ten to twenty yards then moved right into the eastbound traffic lane on Market Street. In the 900 block on Market Street the truck briefly straddled the center line between the two lanes of traffic on Market Street. Officer Cornelius contacted Officer Robert Ressler of the West Shore Regional Police Department. Officer Ressler was on patrol further east on Market Street in the Borough of Lemoyne which is in his police jurisdiction. Officer Cornelius told Officer Ressler what he had observed and he described the truck he was following. Officer Cornelius then turned around. Officer Ressler was traveling westbound on Market Street approaching the intersection of 3rd Street. He saw the truck described by Officer Cornelius in the marked right turn lane for eastbound traffic turning right onto 3rd Street. The truck was stopped behind another vehicle for a red traffic signal. When the signal -2- CR-21-CR-2766-2004 changed the vehicle in front turned right but the truck went straight. While within the intersection the truck moved left into the one traffic lane for continuing eastbound traffic on Market Street, otherwise it would have hit a concrete island that is within the intersection. Officer Ressler, who had passed the truck, made a U-turn, and followed it eastbound on Market Street. He saw the truck on two separate occasions scrape the right side wheels on the curb to the right of the eastbound lane. Officer Ressler stopped the truck which was driven by defendant. After conducting an investigation at the scene he arrested defendant for driving under the influence. While at the scene, he read defendant the following chemical test warnings from the DL-26 (12-03): 1. Please be advised that you are under arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol or controlled substance in violation of Section 3802 of the Vehicle Code. 2. I am requesting that you submit to a chemical test of breath. 3. It is my duty as a police officer to inform you that if you refuse to submit to the chemical test, your operating privilege will be suspended for at least one year. In addition, if you refuse to submit to the chemical test, and you are convicted of, plead to, or adjudicated delinquent with respect to violating Section 3802(a) of the Vehicle Code, because of your refusal, you will be subject to the more severe penalties set forth in Section 3804(c) of the Vehicle Code, which include a minimum of 72 hours in jail and a minimum fine of $1,000.00. 4. It is also my duty as a police officer to inform you that you have no right to speak with an attorney or anyone else before deciding whether to submit to testing and any request to speak with an attorney or anyone else after being provided these warnings or remaining silent when asked to submit to chemical testing will constitute a refusal, resulting in the suspension of your operating privilege and other enhanced criminal sanctions if you are convicted of violating Section 3802(a) of the Vehicle Code. (Emphasis added.) Defendant agreed to a test of his breath. Officer Ressler took him to a booking -3- CR-21-CR-2766-2004 center where a breath test was conducted. Defendant had previously been arrested on November 21, 1998, for driving under the influence under the prior law at 75 PaC.S. Section 3731.3 He was convicted on February 23, 1999. Defendant raises the following claims in his omnibus pretrial motion for relief. I. ACT 24 OF 2003, AS IT AMENDED ~ 6308, VIOLATES THE PA. CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE I, ~ 8 AND ARTICLE I, ~ 1 AND 4TH AMENDMENT OF THE U.S. CONSTITUTION (FACIALLY AND AS APPLIED TO THE DEFENDANT) AND VIOLATES THE SEPARATION OF POWERS DOCTRINE OF THE STATE AND FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONS. Defendant seeks to suppress all evidence obtained by Officer Ressler after he was stopped, maintaining that the officer did not have probable cause to stop his vehicle. He argues: 75 PaC.S.A. S6308, as amended by Act 24 of 2003, violates the Pa Constitution, Article I, S8 and Article I, S1 and the 4th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution by requiring a lesser standard to stop a motor vehicle than permitted by the Pa and U.S. Constitutions. See Commonwealth v. Whitmyer, 542 Pa 545, 668 A.2d 1113 (1995); Commonwealth v. Gleason, 785 A.2d 983 (Pa 2001). The actions by the Legislature of amending 75 PaC.S.A. S6308 by Act 24 of 2003 violates the separation of powers doctrine of the State and Federal Constitutions by destroying actions by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court regarding the "probable cause" requirement. See Commonwealth v. Sutlev, 474 Pa 256, 378 A.2d 780 (1977). Section 6308(b) of the Vehicle Code provides: 375 PaC.S. Section 3731 has been repealed and replaced with 75 PaC.S. Sections 3801-3817. -4- CR-21-CR-2766-2004 (b) Authority of police officer.-Whenever a police officer is engaged in a systematic program of checking vehicles or drivers or has reasonable suspicion that a violation of this title is occurring or has occurred, he may stop a vehicle, upon request or signal, for the purpose of checking the vehicle's registration, proof of financial responsibility, vehicle identification number or engine number or the driver's license, or to secure such other information as the officer may reasonably believe to be necessary to enforce the provisions of this title. (Emphasis added.) The words "has reasonable suspicion that a violation of this title is occurring or has occurred" in this Section replaced the words "has articulable and reasonable grounds to suspect a violation of this title" in former Section 6308(b). Defendant argues that reasonable suspicion is a lesser standard than probable cause to stop a single vehicle, and probable cause is the minimum standard required by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. In Commonwealth v. Gleason, 785 A.2d 983 (Pa. 2001), the Supreme Court stated that the "articulable and reasonable grounds to suspect a violation" standard in former Section 6308 of the Vehicle Code and "probable cause" amounted to "nothing more than a distinction without a difference." In Commonwealth v. Swanger, 453 Pa. 107 (1973), the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania stated: If the alleged basis of a vehicular stop is to permit a determination whether there has been compliance with the motor vehicle code of the Commonwealth, it is encumbent [sic] upon the officer to articulate specific facts possessed by him at the time of the questioned stop, which would provide probable cause to believe that the vehicle or the driver was in violation of some provision of the Code.4 We do not have to make any analysis of whether the standard to stop a single 4 Reaffirmed in Commonwealth v. Whitmyer, 668 A.2d 1113 (Pa. 1995). -5- CR-21-CR-2766-2004 vehicle has been lowered in the new Section 6308(b), and if so whether the section violates the constitutions of the United States and Pennsylvania. Officer Ressler had probable cause to believe that defendant violated Section 3111 (a) of the Vehicle Code, which provides: (a) General rule.-Unless otherwise directed by a uniformed police officer or any appropriately attired person authorized to direct, control or regulate traffic, the driver of any vehicle shall obey the instructions of any applicable official traffic-control device placed or held in accordance with the provisions of this tile, subject to the privileges granted the driver of an emergency vehicle in this title. First, Officer Ressler saw defendant in a lane marked for right turn only fail to turn right and instead drive straight into the intersection toward a concrete island before moving left into the only eastbound lane. While defendant disputes that there is evidence that the intersection was marked to allow only a right turn in the right lane, we are satisfied that there is sufficient evidence to support our finding that the right lane was marked for a right turn only on August 26,2004.5 Second, Officer Ressler had a reliable report from Officer Cornelius that constituted probable cause for him to believe that defendant violated Section 3111 (a) by failing to make a left turn from the marked left turn lane at the intersection of Market and 1 ih Street in the Borough of Lemoyne. Third, Officer Ressler had a reliable report from Officer Cornelius that constituted probable cause to believe that defendant violated Section 3301 of the Vehicle Code by failing to drive on the right side of Market Street for the ten to twenty yards he was in -6- CR-21-CR-2766-2004 the oncoming left turn lane after proceeding through the intersection at 1 ih Street. Section 3301 provides: (a) General rule.-Upon all roadways of sufficient width, a vehicle shall be driven upon the right half of the roadway except as follows: . .. (Emphasis added.) None of the five exceptions in the statute applied to defendant when he drove into the oncoming left turn lane on Market Street. Fourth, based on defendant's erratic driving which constituted a safety hazard, Officer Ressler had probable cause to believe that he was violating the Vehicle Code by operating while under the influence of alcohol to a degree that rendered him incapable of safe driving. First, Officer Ressler had a reliable report from Officer Cornelius that the vehicle defendant was driving on Market Street in the Borough of Lemoyne, (a) had just failed to make a left turn from the left turn lane at 1 ih Street, and then moved completely into the oncoming turn lane for ten to twenty yards before it moved into the eastbound lane, and (b) in the 900 block of Market Street briefly straddle the center line between the two lanes. Second, Officer Ressler saw defendant, (a) drive into the intersection at 3rd Street toward a concrete island where there was no continuing eastbound lane before he moved left into the eastbound lane, and (b) on two separate occasions scrape the right side wheels on the curb of the eastbound lane. See Commonwealth v. Mickley, 846 A.2d 686 (Pa. Super. 2004), and Commonwealth v. Klopp, 863 A.2d 1211 (Pa. Super. 2004). 5 Those markings are shown on the photograph marked as Commonwealth Exhibit 2. -7- CR-21-CR-2766-2004 II. MOTION TO SUPPRESS BECAUSE DEFENDANT WAS READ A DEFICIENT AND MISLEADING DL-26 WHICH RESULTED IN AN UNKNOWING, UNINTELLIGENT AND COERCED CONSENT TO THE TAKING OF THE BREATH TEST. Defendant seeks to suppress the results of his breath test for blood alcohol content, maintaining that the following part of the warning that Officer Ressler read him from DL-26 (12-03) does not conform with Section 1547(b)(2)(ii) of the Vehicle Code: [i]f you refuse to submit to the chemical test, you are convicted of, plead to . . . violating Section 3802(a) of the Vehicle Code, because of your refusal, you will be subject to the more severe penalties set forth in Section 3804(c) of the Vehicle Code, which include a minimum of 72 hours in jail and a minimum fine of $1,000. (Emphasis added.) Section 1547 of the Vehicle Code provides in part: (b) Suspension for refusal.- (1) If any person placed under arrest for a violation of section 3802 is required to submit to chemical testing and refuses to do so, the testing shall not be conducted but upon notice by the police officer, the department shall suspend the operating privilege of the person as follows: (i) Except as set forth in subparagraph (ii), for a period of 12 months. (ii) For a period of 18 months if any of the following apply: (A) The person's operating privileges have previously been suspended under this subsection. (B) The person has, prior to the refusal under this paragraph, been sentenced for: (I) an offense under section 3802; (II) an offense under former section 3731; (III) an offense equivalent to an offense under subclause (I) or (II); or (IV) a combination of the offenses set forth in this clause. (Emphasis added.) -8- CR-21-CR-2766-2004 (2) It shall be the duty of the police officer to inform the person that: (i) the person's operating privilege will be suspended upon refusal to submit to chemical testing; and (ii) upon conviction, plea or adjudication of delinquency for violating section 3802(a), the person will be subject to the penalties provided in section 3804(c) (relating to penalties). (Emphasis added.) (c) Test results admissible in evidence.-In any summary proceeding or criminal proceeding in which the defendant is charged with a violation of section 3802 or any controlled substance in the defendant's blood, as shown by chemical testing of the person's breath, blood or urine, which tests were conducted by qualified persons using approved equipment, shall be admissible in evidence. (e) Refusal admissible in evidence.-In any summary proceeding or criminal proceeding in which the defendant is charged with a violation of section 3802 or any other violation of this title arising out of the same action, the fact that the defendant refused to submit to chemical testing as required by subsection (a) may be introduced in evidence along with other testimony concerning the circumstances of the refusal. No presumptions shall arise from this evidence but it may be considered along with other factors concerning the charge. (Footnotes omitted.) Section 3802 provides: (a) General impairment.- (1) An individual may not drive, operate or be in actual physical control of the movement of a vehicle after imbibing a sufficient amount of alcohol such that the individual is rendered incapable of safely driving, operating or being in actual physical control of the movement of the vehicle. Section 3804(a) provides: (a) General impairment.-An individual who violates section 3802(a) (relating to driving under influence of alcohol or controlled substance) shall be sentenced as follows: (1) For a first offense, to: (i) undergo a period of probation not to exceed six months; (ii) pay a fine of $300 . . . -9- CR-21-CR-2766-2004 (2) For a second offense, to: (i) undergo imprisonment for not less than five days nor more than six months; (ii) pay a fine of not less than $300 nor more than $2,500 (3) For a third or subsequent offense, to: (i) undergo imprisonment of not less than ten days nor more than two years; (ii) pay a fine of not less than $500 nor more than $5,000 Section 3804(c) provides: (c) Incapacity; highest blood alcohol; controlled substances.-An individual who violates section 3802(a)(1) and refused testing of blood or breath or an individual who violates section 3802(c) or (d) shall be sentenced as follows: (1) For a first offense, to: (i) undergo imprisonment of not less than 72 consecutive hours nor more than six months; (ii) pay fine of not less than $1,000 nor more than $5,000 . . . (2) For a second offense, to: (i) undergo imprisonment of not less than 90 days nor more than five years; (ii) pay fine of not less than $1,500 . . . (3) For a third or subsequent offense, to (i) undergo imprisonment of not less than one year nor more than five years; (ii) pay a fine of not less than $2,500 . .. (Emphasis added.) Section 3806(b) provides that "the calculation of prior offenses for purposes of sections. . . 3804 (relating to penalties) shall include any conviction. . . within the ten years before the present violation occurred for any of the following: . . . (2) an offense under former section 3731.6 Defendant was convicted of driving under the influence on 6 Subsection (b) of Section 3806 was clarified by Senate Bill 133, signed by the governor on November 29, 2004, that added the words "section 3803 (relating to grading)." -10- CR-21-CR-2766-2004 February 23, 1999 for an offense that occurred on November 21, 1998. Therefore, any conviction on the current charges will be a second offense for penalty purposes. Having undertaken a test of his blood alcohol content, if he is now convicted of violating Section 3802(c), the highest rate of alcohol, (.16% or higher), a misdemeanor in the first degree, it will carry a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of ninety days and the maximum of five years. 75 PaC.S. S 3804(c)(2). If he is convicted of violating only -11- CR-21-CR-2766-2004 Section 3802(a)(1), general impairment, that is an ungraded misdemeanor that will carry a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five days and a maximum of six months. Section 3804(a)(2). In a civil license suspension case, this court concluded in Garner v. Commonwealth of Pa., Department of Trans., Bureau of Driver Licensing, 53 Cumberland L.J. 165 (2004), Hess, J., where the driver refused a test and because of a prior DUI conviction faced a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of ninety days, that the warnings from DL-26 provided by an officer before the refusal did not comply with Section 1547(b)(2)(ii). In reversing a license suspension based on Section 1547(b)(1), the Court stated: Here, [defendant] was informed that he faced a minimum of seventy-two hours in jail. In fact, he faced a minimum of ninety days in jail. The information which was given to him was, plainly put, misleading. Moreover, [defendant] was discouraged from seeking any clarification by the admonition that if he did so, he would be deemed to have refused the test. In Commonwealth v. Jaggers, et aI., (224 Criminal 2004, Mercer County, December 30,2004), Reed, J., the Court of Common Pleas of Mercer County, in a test refusal case of a defendant with a prior conviction, concluded that the defendant must be informed of all the penalties in subsection 3804(c), not just the minimum penalties. The Court suppressed the test refusal in the criminal case because the warnings from DL-26 "[o]nly provides the penalties set forth in subsection 3804(c)(1) and fails to provide the penalties set forth in subsections 3804(c)(2) or (3)." -12- CR-21-CR-2766-2004 Former Section 1547(b) set a civil sanction of a license suspension for refusing to take the test, and the admission of the refusal into evidence at a criminal trial. The new Section 1547(b) retains both. It also requires a warning of "the penalties provided in Section 3804(c)" that have increased when a person is convicted of violating Section 3802(a)(1) has refused to take a test. Section 3802(a)(1) makes it illegal to operate a motor vehicle "after imbibing a sufficient amount of alcohol such that the individual is rendered incapable of safely driving." That is the section that must be changed when, because of a refusal, there is no test of blood alcohol content. If there has been a test and a person's blood alcohol content within two hours of driving is at least 0.08%, then depending on how high the blood alcohol content is, a person may be prosecuted under Section 3802(a)(2), (b) or (c). In the case sub judice, defendant took the breath test of his blood alcohol content. Any suppression remedy that may be applicable for a failure to give a required warning under Section 1547(b)(2)(ii) when there is a refusal to take a test that results in a prosecution for violating Section 3802(a)(1), does not apply when a test is taken. Defendant argues that the warning given to him by Officer Ressler that upon conviction of driving under the influence he would be "subject to the more severe penalties set forth in Section 3804(c) of the Vehicle Code, which include a minimum of 72 hours in jail and a minimum fine of $1,000," when in fact he could be subject to a minimum sentence of more than seventy- two hours in jail and a fine greater than $1,000, resulted in him making an unknowing, unintelligent and coerced consent to take the test. That is illogical. If he has been -13- CR-21-CR-2766-2004 advised that there were more severe penalties for refusal to take a test, it would have been even more likely that he would have consented. Accordingly, we will deny the motion to suppress the results of the breath test. III. MOTION TO STRIKE/DISMISS REFERENCE IN THE INFORMATION TO COUNT "1" AND COUNT "2" OF ~ 3802. This court addressed this issue and rejected in it Commonwealth v. Altice, (CP-21-CR-1717 -2004, December 28, 2004). A copy of Altice is attached hereto and incorporated herein in support of a denial of the relief requested. IV. 1. MOTION TO DISMISS AND/OR SUPPRESS DUE TO THE UNCONSTITUTIONALITY OF ~ 3802. 2. ACT 24 OF 2003, CHAPTER 38, ~ 3802 AND ITS RELATED PROVISIONS VIOLATES PROCEDURAL DUE PROCESS UNDER ARTICLE I, ~ 9 OF THE PA. CONSTITUTION AND THE 5TH AND 14TH AMENDMENTS OF THE U.S. CONSTITUTION FACIALLY AND AS APPLIED TO THE DEFENDANT. 3. CHAPTER 38 OF ACT 24 OF 2003, ~ 3802 AND ITS RELATED PROVISIONS VIOLATES EQUAL PROTECTION GUARANTEED BY THE STATE AND FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONS, FACIALLY AND AS APPLIED TO THE DEFENDANT, IN THAT IT TREATS SIMILARLY SITUATED PERSONS -14- CR-21-CR-2766-2004 DIFFERENTLY AND SUCH DIFFERENT TREATMENT IS NOT RATIONALLY RELATED TO THE PROTECTION FROM INTOXICATED DRIVERS. 4. DEFENDANT WAS ADVISED THAT THERE WAS NO RIGHT TO AN ATTORNEY AT THE TIME OF A REQUEST FOR THE CHEMICAL TEST WHICH VIOLATES HIS 6TH AMENDMENT (U.S. CONSTITUTION) AND ARTICLE I, ~ 9 (PA. CONSTITUTION) RIGHT TO COUNSEL, FACIALLY AND AS APPLIED TO HIM. The issues raised in the above four claims were rejected by this court in Commonwealth v. Neufeld, _ Cumberland L.J. _ (CP-21-CR-1393, January 19, 2005). The analysis in that case which is attached hereto and incorporated herein is made a part of this opinion. V. ACT 24 OF 2003 VIOLATES THE CONSTITUTIONAL AND DUE PROCESS PROTECTIONS AGAINST EX POST FACTO LAWS IN VIOLATION OF U.S. CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE I, ~ 10 AND PA. CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE I, ~ 17, FACIALLY AND AS APPLIED TO THE DEFENDANT AND IMPROPERLY PROVIDES FOR AN IMPERMISSIBLE RETROACTIVE APPLICATION. Defendant is charged with driving under the influence on August 26, 2004. The new driving under the influence law at 75 PaC.S. Sections 3801-3817 went into effect on February 1,2004. For the reasons set forth in Commonwealth v. Neufeld, supra, attached hereto and incorporated herein, this ex post facto claim is without merit. VI. ACT 24 OF 2003 VIOLATES THE DEFENDANT'S RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY -15- CR-21-CR-2766-2004 JURY. As set forth in the information, defendant is charged with "Driving Under the Influence - Highest Rate of Alcohol (.16+), 2nd Overall, 2nd Mandatory," a misdemeanor of the first degree under Section 3804(c)(2) of the Vehicle Code. The maximum penalty for a misdemeanor of the first degree is five years imprisonment. 18 Pa. C. S. Section 1104(1). There is a right to a jury trial because the maximum penalty is more than six months, Blanton v. City of North Las Vegas, Nevada, 489 U.S. 538, 109 S.Ct. 1289,203 L.Ed.2d 550 (1989). As this court said in Commonwealth v. Altice, supra, notwithstanding how the information is worded defendant can only be convicted of one count of violating Section 3802 of the Vehicle Code even if there is an alternative basis for convicting him. The alternative basis set forth in the information is "Driving Under the Influence, General Impairment, 2nd Overall, 2nd Mandatory," an ungraded misdemeanor under Section 3804(a)(2) of the Vehicle Code. While a violation of this Section is an ungraded misdemeanor carrying a maximum penalty of six months imprisonment under Section 3804(a)(2) of the Vehicle Code, it is still for a jury to determine whether defendant is guilty of violating Section 3804(c)(2) of the Vehicle Code or the lesser included offense of Section 3804(a)(2). For the foregoing reasons, the following order is entered. ORDER OF COURT AND NOW, this day of March, 2005, the motion of defendant for omnibus pretrial relief, IS DENIED. -16- CR-21-CR-2766-2004 -17 - CR-21-CR-2766-2004 Geoffrey Mcinroy, Esquire Assistant District Attorney John Mancke, Esquire F or Defendant :sal -18- By the Court, Edgar B. Bayley, J. COMMONWEAL TH IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA V. ANTHONY JOHN LUCAS CP-21-CR-2766-2004 IN RE: OMNIBUS PRETRIAL MOTION FOR RELIEF ORDER OF COURT AND NOW, this day of March, 2005, the motion of defendant for omnibus pretrial relief, IS DENIED. By the Court, Edgar B. Bayley, J. Geoffrey Mcinroy, Esquire Assistant District Attorney John Mancke, Esquire F or Defendant :sal