Najera

The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) suspended Jose Najera’s driver’s license after it found he violated Vehicle Code section 13353.2 by driving with a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 percent or more. The suspension was upheld after an administrative hearing. The superior court, however, granted Najera’s petition for a writ of mandate, overturning the suspension. The court found that Najera’s expert had successfully challenged the scientific validity of the blood test results on which the finding of a violation was based. The DMV now argues that the court erred. We affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On November 25, 2012, the Bakersfield Police Department received a call reporting a single-vehicle motorcycle accident. The caller said the driver thought he broke his nose, but did not want the police to be called because he had been drinking.

An officer arrived at the scene at 7:35 p.m. According to the police report, Najera, the motorcycle driver, said he was driving around 40 miles per hour when another driver came up beside him and yelled at him. This caused Najera to lose control, collide with the curb, and fall.

The officer smelled alcohol on Najera’s…