Davenport

Alfred Larue Davenport appeals from the denial by the superior court of his petition under Vehicle Code section 13559 to set aside the order of the Department of Motor Vehicles (Department) suspending Davenport’s driving privileges for four months under sections 13353.2 and 13353.3, subdivision (b)(1) and requiring a license reinstatement fee and proof of financial responsibility under section 13353.4, for driving a vehicle when he had more than .10 percent by weight of alcohol in his blood.

The central issue of the appeal is whether the Department can rely upon the rebuttable presumption contained in Evidence Code section 664 to satisfy its burden of proof at a hearing under section 13558 as to the reliability of chemical test results offered to prove the licensee was driving with a blood-alcohol concentration that violated section 13353.2.

We conclude that the Department may rely on that presumption to show that such test results were obtained in compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements. This presumption affects the burden of proof (Evid. Code, § 660) and in the absence of contradictory evidence is alone sufficient to support a finding. Indeed, under…