Monday, June 5, 2017

Minneapolis DWI Attorney F. T. Sessoms Blogs on Minnesota DWI: This Week's Featured Minnesota DWI Case

The Minnesota DWI Case Of The Week is State v. Norgaard (Decided June 5, 2017, Minnesota Court of Appeals, Published) which stands for the proposition that the State can admit the results of a DataMaster test without expert testimony as to the reliability of the testing machine.

In Norgaard, the Defendant was arrested for DWI and agreed to submit to a breath test at the police station.  The DataMaster breath test result was 0.13.  

Trial took place on January 5, 2016. Norgaard waived his right to a jury trial (never a good idea).  The arresting officer testified that he administered the breath test with a DataMaster breathalyzer, that he is trained to operate the device, and that he is a certified DataMaster operator. He further explained the limitations of the breathalyzer and how he administers the test. The state introduced the results of the breath test. Norgaard objected, arguing that the state failed to produce evidence regarding the reliability of the DataMaster breathalyzer.

The district court took judicial notice of the fact that the commissioner of public safety had approved the DataMaster breathalyzer. Norgaard again objected, arguing that the district court could not take judicial notice in a criminal case.  The district court found Norgaard guilty of driving with an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more and the Defendant appealed but to no avail.

In its opinion, the Court of Appeals notes that, "Judicial notice of adjudicative facts is not appropriate in criminal cases" but "Adjudicative facts are facts about the parties, their activities, properties, motives, and intent."  The Appellate Court then observed, "Courts regularly take notice of legislative facts, such as statutes, caselaw, and regulations, in criminal cases.  Here, the district court took judicial notice that the commissioner of public safety has approved the DataMaster breathalyzer as an "infrared or other approved breath-testing instrument." Minn. Stat. § 169A.03, subd. 11 (2014); see Minn. R. 7502.0425 (2015). Minn. Stat. § 634.16 (2014) permits the admission of any breath test performed by a fully trained individual using an approved breath-testing instrument, "without antecedent expert testimony that [the instrument] provides a trustworthy and reliable measure of the alcohol in the breath." The Court held the district court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the test results.

Moral Of The Story:  Once again proving that if you choose to represent yourself, you have a fool for a client.



If you or a loved one have been arrested for a Minnesota DWI, feel free to contact Minneapolis DWI Attorney, F. T. Sessoms at (612) 344-1505 for answers to all of your Minnesota DWI questions.

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