State Supreme Court Issues Significant Rulings on HGN Evidence and Blood Draws in DWI Cases

Two of last week’s opinions from the North Carolina Supreme Court address significant legal issues arising in impaired driving cases. In State v. Godwin, the supreme court reversed the court of appeals, holding that the trial court was not required to explicitly recognize a law enforcement officer as an expert witness before the officer could testify to the results of a Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test.  In State v. Romano, the supreme court upheld the court of appeals’ determination that the withdrawal of blood from an unconscious impaired driving defendant violated the Fourth Amendment, notwithstanding a state statute authorizing this practice. State v. Godwin. The defendant in Godwin was stopped for speeding and was subsequently charged with driving while impaired. At trial, the State elicited testimony from the law enforcement officer who arrested the defendant about the defendant’s performance on an HGN test.The defendant objected to this testimony on the basis that the officer had not been qualified or tendered as an expert. The State argued that the officer did not have to be an expert because he was merely testifying to the administration of the test and his observations. In addition, the State argued that since the officer had successfully completed training in HGN, he was qualified to testify about the defendant’s performance on the test. After conducting its own voir dire, the trial court concluded that the officer’s training and experience rendered him qualified to testify about his administration of the HGN test and the indicators of impairment that [...]