State v. Mark Spencer King
Docket: 01C01-9608-CR-00343
Court: Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee; September 18, 1997; Tennessee; State Appellate Court
Original Court Document: View Document
Mark Spencer King was convicted of driving under the influence (DUI) after a bench trial, with the key issue being the admissibility of his chemical breath test results. King argued that evidence from the test, which showed a blood alcohol content of .14, should be excluded due to the unconstitutionality of the 1995 amendment to Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-10-408(b). The trial court acknowledged the unconstitutionality of the statute as amended but opted to apply the prior statutory standard, leading to the admission of the test results despite King's objections. The original statute prior to the 1995 amendment provided that a blood alcohol content of 0.10 or more created a presumption of impairment, while the 1995 amendment stated it constituted conclusive proof of impairment. The latter was deemed unconstitutional by the Attorney General shortly after the amendment took effect. In 1996, the Tennessee General Assembly reverted the statute to its pre-1995 form. The appellate court upheld the trial court's decision, confirming the 1995 amendment was unconstitutional and affirming the application of the previous statute, which allowed the breath test results to serve as an inference of impairment under Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-10-401. The court concluded that an unconstitutional statute is void from its enactment date and does not alter the validity of prior constitutional statutes.