Miyamoto

The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) appeals a judgment granting Martin Dean Miyamoto’s petition for writ of administrative mandamus and ordering the DMV to set aside its order suspending Miyamoto’s driver’s license after he was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. The trial court ruled that the forensic laboratory report (Lab Report) of Miyamoto’s blood test results was inadmissible hearsay and that the Lab Report failed to meet the requirements of the public employee records exception to the hearsay rule (Evid. Code, § 1280) 1 because the DMV did not establish that the Lab Report was prepared at or near the time of the analysis of Miyamoto’s blood sample.

The DMV argues that the trial court erred when it concluded that the Lab Report was inadmissible hearsay and asserts that, as a matter of law, the Lab *1213 Report was admissible under section 1280 because the Lab Report states that the test results were recorded at the time of the analysis. The DMV also contends that the court erred in finding in favor of Miyamoto because Miyamoto, not the DMV, had the burden of proof in the trial court. We conclude that the Lab Report was admissible under the…

I write separately to memorialize my perception that this case exemplifies the unfortunate cloud of confusion that surrounds the “abuse of discretion” standard of review. Properly viewed, the trial court’s ruling here was not an exercise of discretion but an application of a rule of law. The trial court had no discretion to decide what the applicable law was or to determine its logical effect in light of the facts found. Its legal analysis was either correct or incorrect. Since this court’s power to decide questions of law is paramount to that of the trial court, we are entitled and indeed obliged to reverse any ruling that we find rests upon an error of law, provided of course the error was prejudicial.

At bottom the concept of “discretion” is one of latitude. It means that on certain types of issues, the trial court’s ruling will survive review even if the members of the reviewing court might have ruled otherwise. Such a standard has two proper functions. One is to shield rulings on issues that the trial court has presumptively superior competence to decide correctly. The most obvious and familiar example of this is where the court makes a finding of fact on conflicting…

McADAMS, J.—

The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) appeals a judgment granting Martin Dean Miyamoto's petition for writ of administrative mandamus and ordering the DMV to set aside its order suspending Miyamoto's driver's license after he was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. The trial court ruled that the forensic laboratory report (Lab Report) of Miyamoto's blood test results was inadmissible hearsay and that the Lab Report failed to meet the requirements of the public employee records exception to the hearsay rule (Evid. Code, § 1280) [1] because the DMV did not establish that the Lab Report was prepared at or near the time of the analysis of Miyamoto's blood sample.

The DMV argues that the trial court erred when it concluded that the Lab Report was inadmissible hearsay and asserts that, as a matter of law, the Lab Report was admissible under section 1280 because the Lab Report states that the test results were recorded at the time of the analysis. The DMV also contends that the court erred in finding in favor of Miyamoto because Miyamoto, not the DMV, had the burden of proof in the trial court. We conclude that the Lab Report was admissible under the…