City of Kent v. Beigh

Division One of the Court of Appeals affirmed a ruling that suppressed the results of an alcohol blood test in a driving under the influence case. We affirm the result reached by Division One but for different reasons.

The first question is whether RCW 46.20.308(3) provides the sole authority for an officer to request a motorist to submit to a blood test. A plain reading of the implied consent statute reveals that it does not.

The second question is whether a motorist whose breath twice registers an “interference detected” during a breath alcohol test is deemed to have a physical injury,…