Special Action from the Superior Court in Pima County The
Honorable Deborah Bernini, Judge No. CR20173611-001 AFFIRMED
Opinion
of the Court of Appeals, Division Two 244 Ariz. 417 (App.
2018) VACATED
Mary
C. Trejo, Chief Public Defender, Tucson Public Defender's
Office, Kristina Bohn (argued), Deputy Public Defender,
Tucson, Attorneys for Alexis Marie Diaz
Michelle L. Behan (argued), Behan Ramsell, P.L.L.C., Tucson,
Attorneys for Amicus Curiae Arizona Attorneys for Criminal
Justice
Michael G. Rankin, Tucson City Attorney, Alan L. Merritt,
Deputy City Attorney, Jennifer Stash, Mari L. Worman
(argued), Prosecuting City Attorneys, Tucson, Attorneys for
State of Arizona and Tucson City Prosecutors Office
JUSTICE PELANDER authored the opinion of the Court, in which
CHIEF JUSTICE BALES, VICE CHIEF JUSTICE BRUTINEL, and
JUSTICES TIMMER, BOLICK, GOULD, and LOPEZ joined.
OPINION
PELANDER, JUSTICE
¶1
Under Arizona's implied consent statute, a law
enforcement officer may obtain a blood or breath sample from
a person arrested for driving under the influence
("DUI") only if the arrestee expressly agrees to
the test. We today hold that, apart from any constitutional
considerations, the statute itself does not require that the
arrestee's agreement be voluntary.
I.
¶2
On April 2, 2016, Alexis Diaz was arrested and later charged
with DUI. After the arrest, the investigating officer read
her the following "admin per se" admonition:
Arizona law states that a person who operates a motor vehicle
at any time in this state gives consent to a test or tests of
blood, breath, urine or other bodily substances for the
purpose of determining alcohol concentration or drug content.
The law enforcement officer is authorized to request more
than one test and may choose the types of tests.
If the test results are not available, or indicate an alcohol
concentration of 0.08 or above . . . then your Arizona
driving privilege will be suspended for not less than 90
consecutive days.
If you refuse, or do not expressly agree to submit to, or do
not successfully complete the tests, your Arizona driving
privilege will be suspended. The suspension will be requested
for 12 months, or for two years if you've had a ...