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Boykin v. McHenry
Citations: 643 So. 2d 984; 1993 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 179; 1993 WL 103459Docket: 2910704
Court: Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama; April 9, 1993; Alabama; State Appellate Court
Susan Mason Boykin appealed the trial court's decision affirming the Alabama Department of Public Safety's suspension of her driver’s license due to her refusal to submit to an intoxication test. The state trooper who stopped Boykin observed her speeding and weaving; upon stopping her, he noted a strong odor of alcohol and bloodshot eyes. Although she refused the “Alcosensor” test, she failed two field sobriety tests: “walk and turn” and “one-leg stand.” The trooper arrested her for driving under the influence and offered the “Intoxylizer 5000” test at the police station, which she refused, leading to a 90-day suspension of her license under the Implied Consent Law. Boykin argued that she was not arrested for driving under the influence, claiming that a lawful arrest was necessary for the implied consent provisions to apply. However, this argument was not presented at the trial level, and the court declined to consider it. Additionally, she contended that the officer did not provide a sworn report stating he had reasonable grounds to believe she was driving under the influence, thus invalidating the suspension. The department countered that the affidavit indicated reasonable grounds. Since a copy of the officer’s report was not included in the record, the court held that Boykin failed to meet her burden of proof and would not consider this argument. The judgment was affirmed, with Judge Thigpen concurring and Judge Robertson dissenting.