Summary
The North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed Christopher Lee Devine’s criminal judgment and the denial of his motion to suppress blood-test results. The court held that the exclusionary rule formerly codified in N.D.C.C. § 39-20-01(3)(b) applied only to tests administered under N.D.C.C. § 39-20-01, not to a blood test obtained under § 39-20-01.1 following a motor-vehicle accident involving death or serious bodily injury. The court therefore did not address Devine’s remaining arguments.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the incomplete implied-consent advisory required suppression of the chemical blood-test results under the exclusionary rule formerly codified in N.D.C.C. § 39-20-01(3)(b).
- Whether that statutory exclusionary rule applies to a blood test obtained under N.D.C.C. § 39-20-01.1 after a motor-vehicle accident causing death or serious bodily injury.
Holdings
- The exclusionary rule formerly codified in N.D.C.C. § 39-20-01(3)(b) applies only to tests administered under N.D.C.C. § 39-20-01 and does not apply to a test administered under N.D.C.C. § 39-20-01.1.
- The district court did not err in denying Devine's motion to suppress the blood-test results, and the criminal judgment is affirmed.
Key quotations
“The statutory language is unambiguous, applies the exclusionary rule only to tests administered under N.D.C.C. § 39-20-01, and does not extend the exclusionary rule to tests administered under N.D.C.C. § 39-20-01.1.” (¶ 14)
“Because the test at issue was administered under N.D.C.C. § 39-20-01.1, the exclusionary rule did not apply, and the district court did not err in denying Devine’s motion to suppress.” (¶ 15)
Factual background
On March 23, 2019, officers responded to a two-vehicle accident involving Devine's vehicle. One passenger died and two others sustained injuries requiring medical treatment. After obtaining a search warrant, officers obtained Devine's blood sample, but the implied-consent advisory omitted the warning that refusal to submit to a urine or breath test is a crime punishable in the same manner as driving under the influence.
Procedural history
After a fatal motor-vehicle accident, law enforcement obtained a search warrant for Devine's blood and collected a sample after reading him an incomplete implied-consent advisory. The Cass County District Court ruled the blood-test results admissible because the warrant made further consent unnecessary and entered judgment following Devine's conditional guilty plea. The North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed.