01-2542 State v. Young

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John B. Young appeals from an order revoking his driving privileges for one year. Young contends that the arresting officer failed to comply with the standardized field sobriety testing requirements established in the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) training manual; therefore, the officer did not have probable cause to request Young to submit to an evidentiary test of his blood. This court concludes that there is no legal authority in Wisconsin that stands for the proposition that only the field sobriety tests approved by the NHTSA must be given or that the results must match the results described in the NHTSA manual before an arresting officer has sufficient probable cause to request a driver to submit to a chemical test of his or her blood.

Young’s second contention is that his fear of needles is a reasonable basis to refuse to submit to a blood draw and the circuit court erred in holding that his refusal was unreasonable. This court concludes that an arresting officer is not required to consider a lawfully arrested driver’s request for an alternative test. Absent a reasonable objection, the officer has the authority to decline to administer the alternate test requested by the driver.

Because Young’s objection for refusing a blood draw was not reasonable, the circuit court’s order is affirmed.

This opinion will not be published.

Dist II, Walworth County, Gibbs, J., Anderson, J.

Attorneys:

For Appellant: Timothy P. Swatek, Lake Geneva

For Respondent: Phillip A. Koss, Elkhorn