DWI test ruling is overturned

Court says police officers don’t have to help suspects arrange for independent test

The state Supreme Court says police don’t have to do more than let drunken-driving suspects know they have the right to an independent blood test, then offer an opportunity to contact a provider, possibly with a phone book and a phone, if the right is invoked.

The court’s ruling, issued earlier this month, overturns the Court of Appeals, which said law enforcers need to “meaningfully cooperate” to help suspects acquire the test.

The justices, though, say the state law that allows a DWI suspect to get a secondary, independent test does not “confer any additional obligation on law enforcement to facilitate the arrestee in actually arranging for the test,” Justice Petra Jimenez Maes wrote in the court’s unanimous opinion.

The ruling comes in the case of Stefan Chakerian, who was arrested on a charge of DWI in Albuquerque in 2008. After receiving two police-conducted breath-alcohol tests, on which police say he registered as above the legal limit, Chakerian was taken to jail, where he invoked his right to arrange and receive a secondary test.

Albuquerque police say the arresting officer provided Chakerian with a phone book, phone and pen while they waited for the customary prebooking physical at the jail.

After between 10 and 30 minutes — the parties dispute how long — the officer took the items away and reported Chakerian said he was finished with them, according to court documents.

In his appeal, Chakerian says, “The officer was not being very helpful in this regard. It was basically ... ‘You have the right to do this, and that’s all I’m going to tell you.’”

And he said that while he wanted his own test, he “didn’t know where to look in the directory and there were no listings under ‘phlebotomists,’ ” according to the opinion.

Chakerian’s private attorney, D. Eric Hannum, said he hopes the ruling is not interpreted to mean that police only have to give a suspect a few minutes with a phone book and then take it away while the suspect is actively searching for someone to conduct a test.

“I don’t think it stands that all you get is 10 or 15 minutes ever,” Hannum said.

The justices also make clear in the ruling that an arrestee can use this moment to reach out to someone else to help them arrange the test, such as a friend or family member.

The ruling sends the case back to Metropolitan Court, where Chakerian must complete first-time DWI classes. Chakerian has no other criminal record.