FOR PUBLICATION
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE:
FREDERICK VAIANA STEVE CARTER
Voyles Zahn Paul Hogan & Merriman Attorney General of Indiana
Indianapolis, Indiana
MONIKA PREKOPA TALBOT
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
ROBERT G. KEYS, )
)
Appellant-Defendant, )
)
vs. ) No. 49A02-0312-CR-1109
)
STATE OF INDIANA, )
)
Appellee-Plaintiff. )
APPEAL FROM THE MARION SUPERIOR COURT
The Honorable William J. Nelson, Judge
Cause No. 49G07-0303-CM-33256
July 19, 2004
OPINION - FOR PUBLICATION
KIRSCH, Chief Judge
Robert G. Keys appeals his conviction for operating a vehicle with a blood
alcohol content of over .08% and less than .15%,
See footnote a Class C misdemeanor,
raising the following issue for review: whether exposure to second-hand cigarette smoke
within twenty minutes of the administration of a chemical breath test invalidates the
test results as a matter of law.
We affirm.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
On March 1, 2003, Sergeant Jan Kistler of the Marion County Sheriffs Department
observed a vehicle disregard a traffic signal, and he initiated a traffic stop.
Kistler noticed that the driver, Keys, smelled of alcohol and had slurred
speech and glassy eyes. He administered a series of field sobriety tests,
which Keys failed, and offered Keys a chemical breath test. Keys consented,
and Kistler placed him in the back of his patrol car to transport
him to the test site. While transporting Keys, Kistler smoked a cigarette.
They arrived at the test site within ten minutes, and Kistler administered
the test. The test results indicated that Keys had a blood alcohol
content of .10%. Keys was charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated
and operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol content of between .08% and
.15%.
At the bench trial, Keys objected to the admission of the results of
the chemical breath test, arguing that his exposure to smoke from Kistlers cigarette
invalidated the test results. The trial court admitted the test results over
Keyss objection, and Keys was convicted of the blood alcohol charge, but acquitted
of the operating while intoxicated charge. He now appeals.
DISCUSSION AND DECISION
Keys contends that the trial court erred in admitting the results of the
chemical breath test that Kistler administered. The evidentiary rulings of a trial
court are afforded great deference on appeal and are overturned only upon a
showing of an abuse of discretion. Reynolds v. State, 797 N.E.2d 864,
867 (Ind. Ct. App. 2003); Herrera v. State, 710 N.E.2d 931, 935 (Ind.
Ct. App. 1999). A trial courts decision to admit evidence will not
be reversed absent a showing of a manifest abuse of the trial courts
discretion resulting in the denial of a fair trial. Herrera, 710 N.E.2d
at 935.
Keys argues that his exposure to second-hand smoke from Kistlers cigarette violates the
regulations governing the administration of chemical breath tests and renders the test results
inadmissible as a matter of law. IC 9-30-6-5(d) provides that the results
of a chemical breath test are inadmissible unless the test operator, the test
equipment, and the chemicals and techniques used in the test are approved by
regulation. The regulation provides:
The following is the approved method to conduct a B.A.C. Datamaster with keyboard
test for alcohol intoxication:
(1) The person to be tested must have had nothing to eat or
drink, must not have put any foreign substance in his or her mouth
or respiratory tract, and must not smoke within twenty (20) minutes prior to
the time a breath sample is taken.
260 IAC 1.1-4-8. Keys contends that the regulations were not followed in
this case because he ingested the second-hand cigarette smoke and that the results
are therefore inadmissible.
The regulation, however, specifically spells out prohibited activities: eating, drinking, smoking, and placing
foreign substances in the mouth. It does not prohibit exposure to second-hand
smoke. Presumably, because certain activities are specifically mentioned, had second-hand smoke exposure
been intended to be a prohibited activity, it would have been mentioned as
well. See State v. Willits, 773 N.E.2d 808, 813 (Ind. 2002) (enumeration
of certain items or words creates implication that other items or words not
so specified or enumerated are excluded). Exposure to second-hand smoke is not
the equivalent of smoking and is not specifically prohibited. Accordingly, the test
results were admissible, and the trial court did not err.
See footnote
This conclusion notwithstanding, Keys could have challenged the evidence on reliability grounds by
presenting evidence, such as expert testimony, that showed that exposure to second-hand smoke
renders chemical breath test results unreliable. He failed to do so.
Although much has been written about the implications of exposure to second-hand cigarette
smoke, we have no evidence in the record before us of any reason
such exposure would interfere with a chemical breath test. Nonetheless, we note
that it would be a better practice for law enforcement officers transporting suspects
for chemical breath tests to refrain from smoking.
Affirmed.
NAJAM, J., and RILEY, J., concur.
Footnote:
See IC 9-30-5-1.
Footnote:
Keys relies on our recent decision in
Guy v. State,
805 N.E.2d 835 (Ind. Ct. App. 2004), where we interpreted the requirement in
the regulation that no foreign substance be put in the subjects mouth.
However, at trial, counsel stated [t]his is not a foreign substance objection.
Transcript at 19. Thus, we find Guy inapposite to Keyss argument.