Judge Gia Morris
Dzvonyk was charged with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence, among other things. He moved to suppress the results of a chemical test arguing it was taken in violation of his constitutional rights as his consent to its administration was not voluntary as he was not given instructions in his native language. Dzvonyk argued he did not understand his ability to refuse to submit to the test. The court held a hearing to determine the voluntariness of Dzvonyk's consent. A video of the administration of the test revealed an officer requested Dzvonyk take the breath test in English, followed by a question if defendant understood the officer. Dzvonyk nodded and responded he would take the test. The court found prosecutors met their burden in establishing the chemical test was done within the parameters of Vehicle & Traffic Law §1194. It stated while the preferred method would have been to provide an interpreter, Dzvonyk appeared to understand the request to provide a breath sample. Also, the court stated a motorist did not have a constitutional right to refuse to submit to a chemical test, thus rejected Dzvonyk's argument that admitting the result when he did not understand he had a right to refuse the test was unconstitutional. Hence, suppression was denied.
