Phillips v. Gordon
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Phillips. arrested for DUI, was taken to a lab facility. Ramos, a phlebotomist, took a needle from a sealed package supplied by the County Forensic Lab, cleaned Phillips’ arm, and drew two vials of blood. The county lab measured Phillips’ BAC at 0.110 percent, +/- 0.004 percent. The lab report certifies the "sample appears to be compliant with Title 17” of the California Code of Regulations. At a hearing, Phillips attempted to rebut the presumption, Evidence Code section 664, that the blood was properly collected. Phillips called one witness, Ribeiro, the president of Bay Area Phlebotomy and Laboratory Services, who testified that Ramos was a CPT, not a "qualified person" (licensed physician, RN, LVN, licensed clinical laboratory scientist, licensed clinical laboratory bioanalyst, certified paramedic, or licensed physician assistant). Phillips also established that a licensed physician had not approved the policies and procedures that Ramos followed; a qualified person had not verified Ramos’ competency to draw blood for alcohol testing before she was first allowed to do so without direct supervision; a qualified person had not reviewed Ramos’ work at least once a month; and no qualified individual was accessible for consultation within 30 minutes.
The hearing officer rejected Phillips’ arguments and ordered the suspension of Phillips’ driving privilege. The court of appeal affirmed. While Phillips rebutted the presumption that the blood test was properly performed, the evidence established the reliability of the manner of collection of Phillips’ blood.
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