Motor Vehicle Admin. v. Medvedeff

Motor Vehicle Administration v. Ariel A. Medvedeff, No. 15, September 2019 Term. Opinion by Hotten, J. MARYLAND TRANSPORTATION ARTICLE— DRIVER’S LICENSES— TEST REFUSAL— ADMINISTRATIVE REMEDIES— IMPLIED CONSENT, ADMINISTRATIVE PER SE LAW— Pursuant to Md. Code § 16-205.1 of the Transportation Article, the Court of Appeals held that the administrative law judge erred in finding that a detaining officer did not have reasonable grounds to believe that an occupant of the vehicle was driving or attempting to drive while impaired or under the influence of alcohol, when he observed the driver of the vehicle failing to stop at a stop sign, and upon approaching the driver’s side of the vehicle, found Respondent seated in the driver’s seat, smelling of alcohol. Under the reasonable grounds standard articulated in Md. Code § 16-205.1, Petitioner was not required to prove that Respondent was actually driving or attempting to drive the vehicle while impaired or under the influence of alcohol; instead, Petitioner met its burden because there were sufficient facts based on the surrounding circumstances to support the officer’s belief that Respondent was driving or attempting to drive while impaired or under the influence. Accordingly, the Court of Appeals reversed the decision of the Office of Administrative Hearings and the Circuit Court for Carroll County.

Circuit Court for Carroll County Case No. C-06-CV-18-000090 Argued: October 7, 2019 IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF MARYLAND No. 15 September Term, 2019 __________________________________ MOTOR VEHICLE ADMINISTRATION v. ARIEL A. MEDVEDEFF __________________________________ Barbera, C.J., McDonald, Watts, Hotten, Getty, Booth, Wilner, Alan M. (Senior Judge, Specially Assigned), JJ. __________________________________ Opinion by Hotten, J. __________________________________ Filed: December 19, 2019 Pursuant to Maryland Uniform Electronic Legal Materials Act (§§ 10-1601 et seq. of the State Government Article) this document is authentic. 2019-12-19 11:38-05:00 Suzanne C. Johnson, Clerk This appeal was taken from a decision of the Circuit Court for Carroll County, which affirmed the decision of an Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”), holding that an officer did not have reasonable grounds to believe Ariel Medvedeff (“Respondent”) was driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle while impaired, when the officer approached the vehicle following a traffic infraction, observed Respondent sitting in the driver’s seat, and smelled alcohol on her breath and person. The Motor Vehicle Administration (“Petitioner”) appealed the decision by the ALJ and the circuit court, and presents a single issue for our review: Did the administrative law judge err in imposing his credibility determinations and inferences from circumstances at the scene of the drunk driving arrest to make a legal determination that the detaining officer lacked reasonable grounds to suspect that [Respondent], who was seated in the driver’s seat after a traffic stop, was driving the vehicle, and therefore the officer could not request that she take an alcohol concentration test under Transportation Article § 16-205.1? For reasons we shall explain infra, we answer that question in the affirmative and reverse the decision of the Circuit Court for Carroll County.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND The administrative show-cause hearing elicited the following facts. On December 30, 2017 at approximately 11:45 p.m., Deputy Kathleen Yox (“Deputy Yox”) and another unnamed deputy from the Carroll County Sheriff’s Department conducted a routine traffic stop of a vehicle they observed failing to stop at a stop sign in Westminster, Maryland. The vehicle—a Ford F-350 pick-up truck—made a right turn at the stop sign instead of coming to a complete stop. As a result of the traffic infraction, Deputy Yox pulled behind the pick- up truck and attempted to pull the driver over.

Upon noticing the police vehicle, the driver of the pick-up truck traveled for a short distance before turning left into a shopping center parking lot, where Deputy Yox approached the vehicle from behind. At that time, Deputy Yox observed Respondent sitting in the driver’s seat. A man, who was later identified during the traffic stop as Anthony Crany (“Mr. Crany”), was seated in the back of the truck, behind Respondent. Upon approach, Deputy Yox detected the odor of alcohol on Respondent’s breath and person.

Accordingly, Deputy Yox requested that Respondent exit the vehicle and submit to a series of Standard Field Sobriety Tests (“SFSTs”) to ascertain whether she had been driving while under the influence of or impaired by alcohol. Respondent complied with the request to exit the vehicle, while Mr. Crany remained in the backseat. One of the SFSTs Deputy Yox performed on Respondent was a Preliminary Breath Test. The Preliminary Breath Test sample determined that Respondent had a blood alcohol concentration (“BAC”) level of 0.14.1 Because Respondent’s BAC exceeded the legal limit of 0.08, Deputy Yox determined that she was impaired.

During the course of administering the SFSTs, the alleged passenger, Mr. Crany, exited the vehicle and approached the other deputy. Mr. Crany insisted that Respondent had not been driving the vehicle when they were stopped. Instead, Mr. Crany alleged that he was the driver and that Respondent agreed to switch seats with him so that it appeared Respondent was driving at the time of the traffic violation. In light of this new narrative, the unnamed deputy A breath test is “[a] test of a person’s breath...to determine alcohol concentration.” 1 Md. Code (Repl.

Vol. 2012), Transportation Article (“TRANSP.”) §16–205.1(a)(1)(iii)(1). 2 administered a series of SFSTs on Mr. Crany, which revealed that Mr. Crany was also impaired. Ultimately, both occupants were placed under arrest and transported to the local police station for a breathalyzer test (“breath test”), where Respondent was informed of her right to refuse the test. She was also informed of the potential administrative consequences should she refuse the breath test.2 After receiving this information and signing the DR-15 “Advice of Rights” form, Respondent refused to submit to the breath test and the officers confiscated her driver’s license.3 Respondent challenged the suspension of her driving privileges before the Office of Administrative Hearings.4 The Administrative Proceeding The ALJ heard this case on May 15, 2018 and considered testimony from Respondent and Mr. Crany. Respondent testified that she and Mr. Crany were traveling from a restaurant in Westminster—where they both had been drinking alcohol—when Mr. Crany ran the stop sign.

Mr. Crany and Respondent testified that they switched seats “almost immediately” after pulling into the parking lot to avoid negative consequences for Mr. Crany, who was afraid a drunk driving arrest would interfere with his security 2 “Once a law enforcement officer has detained a suspected drunk driver, the officer is to advise the detainee, among other things, of the possible administrative sanctions for refusal to take the breath test and for test results that show a blood alcohol concentration above certain levels.” Motor Vehicle Admin. v. Krafft, 452 Md. 589, 594 , 158 A.3d 539, 542 (2017) (citing [TRANSP.] § 16-205.1(b)(2)). The officer meets this requirement by “reading, and providing the driver with, a form created by the MVA for that purpose, known as the DR-15 [or Advice of Rights] form.” Id. 3 An officer is to confiscate the driver’s license if the individual refuses to take the test or, alternatively, complies with the request and fails. TRANSP. § 16-205.1(b)(3). 4 TRANSP. § 16-205.1(f)(1). 3 clearance at work. They alleged that Mr. Crany stopped in the parking lot, turned the vehicle off, and climbed over the center console into the backseat with the car keys, while Respondent entered the driver’s seat.

Both parties also testified that Mr. Crany exited the vehicle as Respondent began the field sobriety tests and advised the other deputy on the scene that Respondent had not been driving. Respondent testified that, after she had observed Mr. Crany exit the vehicle and advise the other deputy that he had been the one driving, Respondent confirmed Mr. Crany’s assertion to Deputy Yox. Respondent maintained that she had not operated the vehicle that evening. Deputy Yox and the other deputy on the scene did not appear or testify at the show-cause hearing to corroborate or contradict this version of events.

Respondent then moved, through counsel, for “No Action,”5 arguing that the deputies did not observe her driving or attempting to drive, and merely sitting in the driver’s seat of a motor vehicle while impaired or under the influence is not sufficient for a driving under the influence (“DUI”) arrest. Respondent further argued that it was not possible for her to operate or attempt to operate the vehicle while intoxicated because the truck had been stopped when Deputy Yox observed her sitting in the driver’s seat, and the keys were in the backseat with Mr. Crany at that time. The ALJ interpreted the Motion for No Action as a motion “based on [the] argument that the MVA has failed to meet its burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that the Licensee was driving or attempting to drive[,]” 5 “If the ALJ finds that the criteria [under TRANSP. § 16-205.1] has not been met, the ALJ takes “no action”—i.e., overturns the suspension.” Krafft, 452 Md. at 596 , 158 A.3d at 543 (citing COMAR 11.11.02.07A). 4 and clarified that the appropriate standard in a test refusal case is whether the detaining officer has reasonable grounds to believe the Licensee was driving or attempting to drive. See Krafft, 452 Md. at 607–08, 158 A.3d at 550 .

At the conclusion of the evidence, the ALJ determined that the investigating officers did not have reasonable grounds to believe Respondent was operating or attempting to operate a motor vehicle6 at the time she was detained and asked to submit to a breathalyzer, as required under TRANSP. § 16-205.1(b). The ALJ reached this conclusion based on the “credible” testimony of Respondent and her witness, Mr. Crany, as well as the DR-15A certification prepared by Deputy Yox. Specifically, in his findings of fact and conclusions of law, the ALJ stated that he found the following by a preponderance of the evidence: The Officer did not have reasonable grounds to believe that the Licensee was driving or attempting to drive at the time that the officer requested that the Licensee take the test. The Licensee testified, and a corroborating witness who was present, testified credibly that she did not drive the vehicle at all on the date of the incident.

The Licensee got behind the wheel after the vehicle was stopped by the police officer for a traffic violation. She was then asked to exit and perform SFSTs, which she failed. She does not dispute that she consumed alcohol on the evening in question. While she was performing SFSTs, the passenger exited the vehicle and indicated to another police officer who was present at the scene that he had been the one actually driving.

He was then subjected to SFSTs, arrested, and transported to the station. While at the station, both the Licensee and the passenger were asked to take the test. At this point in time, the police officer was aware that the passenger had indicated that the Licensee had not been driving, and therefore[,] did not have reasonable grounds at that time to believe that the Licensee had been driving based on the fact that the passenger had told the other officer that he was the driver and had been arrested and also asked to take a test, which he consented to. Other indicia that the police officer did not have reasonable grounds to believe the Licensee was driving include the fact that the keys 6 TRANSP. § 11-114 defines “drive” as “to drive, operate, move, or be in actual physical control of a vehicle, including the exercise of the control over or the steering of a vehicle being towed by a motor vehicle.” 5 were in the possession of the passenger, who was in the back seat when the police officers came upon the car.

The ALJ accepted Respondent and Mr. Crany’s testimony that the vehicle was turned off and the keys were in the backseat with Mr. Crany when Deputy Yox initiated the traffic stop. Accordingly, the ALJ found that the officers could not have reasonably believed Respondent was driving when they approached the vehicle. The ALJ also found that the police were “aware” that Mr. Crany was driving when they arrived at the police station and asked Respondent to submit to a breathalyzer. The ALJ found that there could not have been reasonable grounds to believe she was driving at the time the breathalyzer would have been administered because the deputies knew, before arriving at the station, that Mr. Crany and Respondent had “switched operation of the vehicle,” and Mr. Crany was the driver at all relevant times—not Respondent.

In rendering findings of fact and conclusions of law, the ALJ relied heavily on the DR-15 incident report/certification that Deputy Yox prepared, which stated that the officers found “through investigation that passenger [and] driver switched operation of the vehicle.” Based on these findings, the ALJ took “no action” on the order of suspension and Respondent’s driving privileges were reinstated. The Circuit Court Proceeding Petitioner sought judicial review of the ALJ’s determination that, at the time Respondent was asked to submit to the chemical breath test, the officers were “aware that the passenger had indicated that [Respondent] had not been driving and therefore did not have reasonable grounds.” The Circuit Court for Carroll County upheld the ALJ’s 6 determination, finding that the incident report was “pivotal” to the final decision because it reflected that the passenger and driver had switched positions. The circuit court also upheld the ALJ’s credibility finding. In reviewing the “credible testimony of the witnesses” in conjunction with the incident report and officer certification, the circuit court found that it was reasonable for the ALJ to reach this conclusion.

The Motor Vehicle Administration subsequently petitioned this Court to review the decision of the administrative agency pursuant to Md. Code (Repl. Vol. 2012), § 12-305 of the Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article. STANDARD OF REVIEW In reviewing the decision of an administrative agency, this Court “look[s] through” the decision of the circuit court and directly evaluates the decision of the agency. Brutus 630, LLC v. Town of Bel Air, 448 Md. 355, 367 , 139 A.3d 957, 964 (2016).

We review the legal conclusions of an administrative agency de novo, “accord[ing] some weight to an [administrative] agency’s interpretation and application of a statute that it administers.” Krafft, 452 Md. at 603 , 158 A.3d at 547 (citing Motor Vehicle Admin. v. Shea, 415 Md. 1, 15 , 997 A.2d 768, 776 (2010)). Findings of fact, however, are reviewed based on “substantial evidence” from the record. Id. Under the “substantial evidence” test, a reviewing court looks at the relevant evidence to determine “whether a reasoning mind reasonably could have reached the factual conclusion the agency reached.” CashCall, Inc. v. Md. Comm’r of Fin.

Regulation, 448 Md. 412, 426 , 139 A.3d 990, 999 (2016) (citation omitted). While the reviewing court is tasked with assessing whether the evidence is sufficient to support the administrative 7 agency’s final determination, the reviewing court should not “substitute its judgment for the expertise of those persons who constitute the administrative agency [from which the appeal is taken].” Gigeous v. E. Correctional Inst., 363 Md. 481, 496 , 769 A.2d 912, 922