TYLER J. ROMINES, Petitioner-Respondent v. DIRECTOR OF REVENUE, STATE OF MISSOURI ( 2019 )


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  • TYLER J. ROMINES,                                )
    )
    Petitioner-Respondent,                   )
    )
    vs.                                              )       No. SD35774
    )
    DIRECTOR OF REVENUE,                             )       Filed: August 29, 2019
    STATE OF MISSOURI,                               )
    )
    Respondent-Appellant.                    )
    APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF TEXAS COUNTY
    Honorable Judge Kerry G. Rowden
    REVERSED AND REMANDED
    In this driver's license revocation case, the Director of Revenue ("Director")
    appeals a judgment reinstating the driving privileges of Tyler J. Romines ("Driver").
    Director revoked Driver's driving privileges because Driver refused to submit to a
    chemical test of his blood alcohol content after he was arrested for driving while
    intoxicated. See § 302.574.1.1 Following a hearing, the trial court reinstated Driver's
    driving privileges, and Director appeals. Director argues the trial court misapplied the
    law when it held Director had failed to meet his burden to prove Driver was "actually
    1All statutory citations are to RSMo. Cum. Supp. (2017), unless otherwise indicated. All rule references
    are to Missouri Court Rules (2019).
    driving while intoxicated" rather than that the officer had "reasonable grounds to
    believe" Driver was driving while intoxicated. We agree, reverse the trial court's
    judgment, and remand this case to the trial court which is instructed to apply the correct
    legal analysis to the facts it found.
    Factual and Procedural Background
    On March 25, 2018, at 1:33 a.m., Officer Kenneth Reynolds ("Officer Reynolds")
    of the Houston, Missouri Police Department observed a vehicle exceeding the speed
    limit by traveling 51 miles per hour in a 35 mile per hour zone. Driver was driving the
    vehicle. After he pulled Driver over and began speaking with Driver, Officer Reynolds
    smelled "a faint odor of alcohol" coming from Driver's vehicle. Driver admitted "he'd
    drank a couple [of] beers" and had been drinking Bud Light.
    Officer Reynolds asked Driver to perform three field sobriety tests: the
    horizontal gaze nystagmus ("HGN"), the walk-and-turn, and the one-leg stand. Based
    on Driver's performance on the HGN test, Officer Reynolds concluded Driver had "been
    drinking" and was "under the influence." Officer Reynolds administered the one-leg
    stand test, where Driver "put his foot down several times." Officer Reynolds stopped
    administering this test because he was afraid Driver would fall over. Regarding the
    walk-and-turn test, Officer Reynolds stated Driver "failed to maintain the heel-to-toe
    stance" and "took the incorrect number of steps."
    Officer Reynolds advised Driver he was under arrest, read him the implied
    consent language, and requested Driver perform a portable breath test. Driver refused
    to take the breath test.
    Officer Reynolds testified he believed Driver was driving while intoxicated.
    Driver's driving privileges were revoked because of his refusal. A trial de novo was held
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    on August 10, 2018, and on September 17, 2018, the trial court reinstated Driver's
    driving privileges stating as follows:
    NOW on this 17th day of September, the [c]ourt, based on the
    credibility of the witness's testimony presented by [Director] at the
    hearing on August 10, 2018, and upon receipt and review of [Driver's] and
    [Director's] Memos in support of their respective positions, finds that
    [Director] has not met its burden on the issue of whether or not
    [Driver] was driving a motor vehicle in an intoxicated or
    drugged condition under RSMo. §302.574.4, and, therefore, finds in
    favor of [Driver].
    THEREFORE, the [c]ourt orders the [Director] to reinstate
    [Driver's] driving privilege and expunge from it[s] records any and all
    references to this action and the refusal of [Driver] to comply with RSMo.
    §§302.574 and 577.041.
    (emphasis added). A notice of appeal was timely filed.
    Standard of Review
    Appeals arising from a trial court's judgment in a driver's license revocation case
    are governed by the same standard of review as other court-tried civil cases. White v.
    Dir. of Revenue, 
    321 S.W.3d 298
    , 307 (Mo. banc 2010); Mills v. Dir. of Revenue,
    
    568 S.W.3d 904
    , 906-07 (Mo. App. W.D. 2019). That is, the trial court's judgment will
    be affirmed "unless there is no substantial evidence to support it, unless the decision is
    contrary to the weight of the evidence, or unless the trial court erroneously declares or
    applies the law." Hinnah v. Dir. of Revenue, 
    77 S.W.3d 616
    , 620 (Mo. banc 2002).
    Legal issues are reviewed de novo. 
    White, 321 S.W.3d at 308
    . "When the facts relevant
    to an issue are contested, the reviewing court defers to the trial court's assessment of the
    evidence." 
    Id. "This Court
    will not affirm a circuit court judgment that erroneously
    declares or applies the law." Strup v. Dir. of Revenue, 
    311 S.W.3d 793
    , 796 (Mo.
    banc 2010); see 
    White, 321 S.W.3d at 307-08
    .
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    Discussion
    Under Missouri's implied consent law, any person operating a vehicle on
    Missouri highways "shall be deemed to have given consent . . . to a chemical test . . . for
    the purpose of determining the alcohol or drug content of the person's blood" if certain
    statutory prerequisites are met. § 577.020.1; see Ross v. Dir. of Revenue, 
    311 S.W.3d 732
    , 734 (Mo. banc 2010). If a driver refuses to submit to a chemical test, he or she will
    be served with a notice of license revocation. § 302.574.1. The driver may request a
    hearing. § 302.574.4.2
    "The Director bears the burden of establishing a prima facie case for license
    revocation by a preponderance of the evidence." 
    Howe, 575 S.W.3d at 250
    . At the
    hearing, the only issues before the court as applicable to this case are:
    (1) Whether the person was arrested or stopped;
    (2) Whether the officer had:
    (a) Reasonable grounds to believe that the person was driving a motor
    vehicle while in an intoxicated or drugged condition;
    ...
    (3) Whether the person refused to submit to the test.
    5. If the court determines any issue not to be in the affirmative, the court
    shall order the director to reinstate the license or permit to drive.
    § 302.574.4 and .5; see Davis v. Dir. of Revenue, 
    416 S.W.3d 826
    , 829 (Mo. App.
    S.D. 2013). The Director's failure to prove any of these three elements requires the
    driver's license to be reinstated. 
    Howe, 575 S.W.3d at 250
    ; see § 302.574.5.
    2 The provisions currently found in § 302.574.4 were previously located in § 577.041.4. Howe v. Dir. of
    Revenue, 
    575 S.W.3d 246
    , 250 n.3 (Mo. App. E.D. 2019).
    4
    Neither party disputes that Driver was driving the vehicle or that Driver refused
    to submit to the chemical test. Director challenges the trial court's judgment as a
    misapplication of the law "in that the court found only that the Director had not proven
    that [Driver] was actually driving while intoxicated, but [§] 302.574 requires only that
    the Director prove that the officer had reasonable grounds to believe that [Driver]
    was driving while intoxicated." (emphasis added). Driver conceded that "the wording of
    the court's ruling . . . was incorrect" and "[a]dmitedly, the order . . . misstated the
    standard under RSMo § 302.574.4."
    We agree. The language of the judgment misstates the law. The proper standard
    to determine whether an officer has reasonable grounds to believe a person has been
    driving a motor vehicle while intoxicated was stated in Hager v. Director of
    Revenue as follows:
    Reasonable grounds is virtually synonymous with probable cause. Probable
    cause exists when the facts and circumstances warrant a person of reasonable
    caution to believe that an offense has been or is being committed, based on the
    circumstances as they appear to a prudent, cautious and trained police officer.
    Whether there is probable cause to arrest depends on the information in the
    officer's possession prior to the arrest. There is no precise test for determining
    whether probable cause exists; rather, it is based on the particular facts and
    circumstances of the individual case.
    
    284 S.W.3d 192
    , 196 (Mo. App. S.D. 2009) (internal citations and quotation marks
    omitted).
    The relevant inquiry is not whether the person "actually was driving [while
    intoxicated] but whether the officer who requested the test had reasonable grounds to
    believe that the licensee was driving while intoxicated." 
    Hinnah, 77 S.W.3d at 622
    (emphasis added); 
    Davis, 416 S.W.3d at 829
    ; 
    Hager, 284 S.W.3d at 196
    . Here,
    Director's burden pursuant to § 302.574 is to show whether the officer had "reasonable
    5
    grounds to believe" Driver was driving while intoxicated. See Auck v. Dir. of
    Revenue, 
    483 S.W.3d 440
    , 444 (Mo. App. E.D. 2016) ("[T]here is no requirement that
    the Director prove that the person actually was driving, or that he actually was
    intoxicated while doing so."). We cannot infer or speculate as to what conclusion the
    trial court would have reached had the trial court used the correct legal standard. See
    Stirling v. Maxwell, 
    45 S.W.3d 914
    , 916 (Mo. App. W.D. 2001) (holding remand was
    necessary after trial court applied the wrong standard because the appellate court could
    not "infer what its judgment would have been if the correct standard were employed.").
    Decision
    The trial court's judgment is reversed. The case is remanded for determination of
    whether the facts found by the trial court were sufficient to have provided Officer
    Reynolds with reasonable grounds to believe Driver was driving while intoxicated.
    MARY W. SHEFFIELD, J. – OPINION AUTHOR
    WILLIAM W. FRANCIS, JR., P.J. – CONCURS
    DANIEL E. SCOTT, J. – CONCURS
    6
    

Document Info

Docket Number: SD35774

Judges: Judge Mary W. Sheffield

Filed Date: 8/29/2019

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 8/29/2019