OCR Text |
Show Court denies appeal of license loss A Vernal man who lost his driver's license becaase he refused to retake a portion of the sobriety test has had his appeal denied by the Utah Supreme Court. In adding yet another clarification to Utah's implied consent statute, the high court ruled that Carl II. Powell, arrested in Vernal March 13, 1979, had failed to meet the "reasonable" requests of the police officer even though he took the test. Mr. Powell appealed forfeiture of his license on the basis of his breathalyzer examination and chemical analysis of the results. The question on appeal had been whether an officer has discretion to require a defendant to do more than merely activate a light signaling that an adequate amount of air had been provided. The light Is activated when 52. Sec of lung air is expended by the defendant into a chamlxT. The court ruled, however, that It Is the quality of expended breath, not the quantity, which is the determining factor. In an opinion written by JuHtice Gordon R. Hall, the court ruled that an officer could not obtain a second sample after an analysis had been (lone on the first merely because the officer was not satisfied with the results. The Supreme Court held that In delendant s refusing, his license must be revoked. |