DEREK JOHN BREITBACH, Petitioner-Appellant, vs. IOWA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, MOTOR VEHICLE DIVISION, Respondent-Appellee.
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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
No. 7-376 / 06-1887
Filed July 12, 2007
DEREK JOHN BREITBACH,
Petitioner-Appellant,
vs.
IOWA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION,
MOTOR VEHICLE DIVISION,
Respondent-Appellee.
________________________________________________________________
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Guthrie County, Peter A. Keller,
Judge.
Derek Breitbach appeals from the district court order affirming the Iowa
Department of Transportation’s revocation of his driver’s license. AFFIRMED.
Chad Boehlje of Boehlje Law Firm, P.L.C, Pella, and John Reich of Reich
Law Firm, Adel, for appellant.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, and Noel C. Hindt, Assistant Attorney
General, for appellee.
Considered by Huitink, P.J., and Zimmer and Vaitheswaran, JJ.
2
VAITHESWARAN, J.
The Department of Transportation revoked Derek Breitbach’s driver’s
license for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated. The district court affirmed
the agency decision.
On appeal, Breitbach contends reasonable grounds did not exist for the
arresting deputy to believe he operated his motor vehicle while intoxicated. See
Iowa Code § 321J.12 (2005). “The reasonable grounds test is met when the
facts and circumstances known to the officer at the time action was required
would have warranted a prudent person’s belief that an offense has been
committed.” Pointer v. Iowa Dep’t of Transp., 546 N.W.2d 623, 625 (Iowa 1996)
(citations omitted).
The final agency decision-maker adopted the fact findings of an
administrative law judge on this issue. That administrative law judge made the
following key findings: (1) Breitbach “advised Deputy Long that he had just driven
to the location to pick up” two individuals at a tavern and (2) Breitbach “admitted
having consumed alcoholic beverages earlier at home before driving to pick up
his friends.”
The parties agree that our review of these fact findings is for
substantial evidence. Iowa Code § 17A.19(10)(f). They also agree that we are
statutorily obligated to view the record as a whole. Id. § 17A.19(10)(f)(3) (stating
adequacy of evidence supporting a particular fact finding “must be judged in light
of all the relevant evidence in the record cited by any party that detracts from that
finding as well as all of the relevant evidence in the record cited by any party that
supports it.”).
3
The cited fact findings are supported by the testimony of Deputy Long and
another deputy at the scene. 1 While there is contradictory evidence indicating
that Breitbach drove to the bar hours before he was apprehended, consumed
alcohol at the bar, and was neither in or around his car when he was
apprehended, “[i]t is the commissioner’s duty as the trier of fact to . . . weigh the
evidence, and decide the facts in issue.” Arndt v. City of Le Claire, 728 N.W.2d
389, 394-95 (Iowa 2007).
Because substantial evidence supports the agency’s key fact findings on
whether the deputy had reasonable grounds to believe Breitbach was operating a
motor vehicle while intoxicated, we affirm.
AFFIRMED.
1
A deputy also testified that he smelled alcohol on Breitbach and that Breitbach failed
field sobriety tests and a breath test.
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