Molenda

After respondent Sandra Lorraine Molenda was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, the arresting officer issued an administrative order suspending her driving privilege. After an administrative hearing, the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) upheld the suspension of Molenda’s driving privilege. Molenda petitioned the superior court for a writ of mandate, challenging the DMV’s order on the ground that the forensic laboratory report of her blood test results, which the DMV used to prove that Molenda was under the influence, was hearsay and did not meet the requirements of Evidence Code section 1280, the public employee records exception to the hearsay rule. The court held that the laboratory report of the blood test results did not meet the requirements of the public employee records exception to the hearsay rule because the report was not “made at or near the time of’ the testing as required by Evidence Code section 1280, subdivision (b). The court also excluded the evidence of Molenda’s preliminary alcohol screening (PAS) test results because the foundational facts necessary for their admission had not been established. The court concluded that there was…