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167 Vt. 565

701 A.2d 1055

Docket No. 96-549.

State v. Berini

STATE of Vermont v. Christopher M. BERINI.

Supreme Court of Vermont

Decided July 28, 1997.

Supreme Court of Vermont · decided 1997-07-28

Key passage — most relied on by later courts

“While not slavish adherents to stare decisis . . . we generally require more than mere disagreement to overturn a decision, particularly one of such recent vintage.”

quoted by 2 later decisions, including Ira Martel v. Connor Contracting, Inc., Jason Clark, and Stephen Connor, Coyle v. Coyle

Relies on Cooperative Fire Insurance v. White Caps, Inc. · State v. Fuller · State v. Garvey

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1997-07-28

How this case has been cited

Cited by 25 later decisions — most recently May 2023 · most notably Chittenden v. Waterbury Center Community Church, Inc. (1998), 227 Wis. 2d 213 - State v. Reitter (1999)

25 state decisions

1201997200020102020decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

¶1*1056 Before AMESTOY, C.J., and GIBSON, DOOLEY, MORSE and JOHNSON, JJ.

¶2

ENTRY ORDER

¶3The State appeals an order of the Orange District Court suppressing defendant's refusal to submit to a breath test because he was not afforded an opportunity to consult with an attorney. We affirm.

¶4Defendant was arrested for driving under the influence. The arresting officer informed defendant of his right to speak with an attorney before deciding whether to submit to a breath test. Defendant refused to provide a sample without the advice of an attorney. Despite numerous attempts, the officer was unable to contact defendant's lawyer or a public defender. After approximately one hour, the officer asked defendant to provide a sample, but defendant declined to submit without consulting an attorney. The officer concluded that this constituted a refusal.

¶5Defendant moved to suppress the refusal on the ground that he was denied the opportunity to consult with counsel. Under the authority of State v. Garvey, 157 Vt. 105, 107, 595 A.2d 267, 268 (1991), the trial court granted the suppression motion. The State thereupon moved for permission to take an interlocutory appeal. V.R.A.P. 5(b). The court granted the motion.

¶6Vermont's implied-consent statute gives a person from whom a breath test has been requested by a law enforcement officer a right to consult an attorney prior to deciding whether to take the test. State v. Fuller, 163 Vt. 523, 526, 660 A.2d 302, 304 (1995); 23 V.S.A. § 1202(c). In Garvey we held that a defendant's license may not be suspended where the "refusal is premised on the state's inability to provide him with a consultation with a lawyer before he was required to make up his mind whether to take the test." 157 Vt. at 106, 595 A.2d at 268. We specifically rejected the State's contention that the statute authorized the officer to record a refusal if, after thirty minutes, a lawyer could not be found. Id.

¶7Garvey plainly controls in this case. Although the State invites the Court to reconsider and reverse Garvey, it offers no new evidence or persuasive rationale to demonstrate that the case was wrongly decided. While not slavish adherents to stare decisis, see Cooperative Fire Ins. Ass'n v. White Caps, Inc., ___ Vt. ___, ___, 694 A.2d 34, 35 (1997), we generally require more than mere disagreement to overturn a decision, particularly one of such recent vintage.

¶8Affirmed.

¶9GIBSON, Justice, dissenting.

¶10I agree that this case is similar in all material respects to State v. Garvey, 157 Vt. 105, 595 A.2d 267 (1991). Nevertheless, because I believe the majority continues to misconstrue 23 V.S.A. § 1202(c), see id. at 107-08, 595 A.2d at 268-69 (Gibson, J., dissenting), I respectfully dissent.

¶11In doing so, I note the Legislature recently acted to remove all doubt about the extent of a person's right to counsel prior to deciding whether to take an evidentiary DUI test. 1997, No. 56, § 2 ("The person must make a decision about whether or not to submit to the test or tests at the expiration of the 30 minutes regardless of whether a consultation took place.").

¶12Accordingly, I would overrule Garvey and reverse the trial court decision. I am authorized to say that Chief Justice AMESTOY joins in this dissent.

¶13The State appeals an order of the Orange District Court suppressing defendant’s refusal to submit to a breath test because he was not afforded an opportunity to consult with an attorney. We affirm.

¶14Defendant was arrested for driving under the influence. The arresting officer informed defendant of his right to speak with an attorney before deciding whether to submit to a breath test. Defendant refused to provide a sample without the advice of an attorney. Despite numerous attempts, the officer was unable to contact defendant’s lawyer or a public defender. After approximately one hour, the *566officer asked defendant to provide a sample, but defendant declined to submit without consulting an attorney. The officer concluded that this constituted a refusal.

¶15Defendant moved to suppress the refusal on the ground that he was denied the opportunity to consult with counsel. Under the authority of State v. Garvey, 157 Vt. 105, 107, 595 A.2d 267, 268 (1991), the trial court granted the suppression motion. The State thereupon moved for permission to take an interlocutory appeal. VR.A.E 5(b). The court granted the motion.

¶16Vermont’s implied-consent statute gives a person from whom a breath test has been requested by a law enforcement officer a right to consult an attorney prior to deciding whether to take the test. State v. Fuller, 163 Vt. 523, 526, 660 A.2d 302, 304 (1995); 23 V.S.A. § 1202(c). In Garvey we held that a defendant’s license may not be suspended where the “refusal is premised on the state’s inability to provide him with a consultation with a lawyer before he was required to make up his mind whether to take the test.” 157 Vt. at 106, 660 A.2d at 268. We specifically rejected the State’s contention that the statute authorized the officer to record a refusal if, after thirty minutes, a lawyer could not be found. Id.

¶17Garvey plainly controls in this case. Although the State invites the Court to reconsider and reverse Garvey, it offers no new evidence or persuasive rationale to demonstrate that the case was wrongly decided. While not slavish adherents to stare decisis, see Cooperative Fire Ins. Ass’n v. White Caps, Inc., 166 Vt. 355, 356, 694 A.2d 34, 35 (1997), we generally require more than mere disagreement to overturn a decision, particularly one of such recent vintage.

¶18 Affirmed.

Gibson, J.,

¶19dissenting. I agree that this case is similar in all material respects to State v. Garvey, 157 Vt. 105, 595 A.2d 267 (1991). Nevertheless, because I believe the majority continues to misconstrue 23 V.S.A. § 1202(c), see id. at 107-08, 595 A.2d at 268-69 (Gibson, J., dissenting), I respectfully dissent.

¶20In doing so, I note the Legislature recently acted to remove all doubt about the extent of a person’s right to counsel prior to deciding whether to take an evidentiary DUI test. 1997, No. 56, § 2 (“The person must make a decision about whether or not to submit to the test or tests at the expiration of the 30 minutes regardless of whether a consultation took place.”).

¶21Accordingly, I would overrule Garvey and reverse the trial court decision. I am authorized to say that Chief Justice Amestoy joins in this dissent.

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