Martinez-Orta was stopped by police for failure to dim his headlights.  After the officer observed that Martinez-Orta had bloodshot eyes and slurred speech, he believed that Martinez-Orta was impaired and had Martinez-Orta exit his vehicle and sit in the front seat of the officer’s patrol car while the officer checked Martinez-Orta’s license and registration.  The officer then detected the odor of alcohol and obtained a warrant for blood draw, which showed BAC of .237.  At trial, the nurse who administered the blood draw testified regarding the blood draw, and at the conclusion of the trial, the trial court found Martinez-Orta guilty of operating a vehicle with BAC over .15 and failure to dim headlights.  On appeal, Martinez-Orta argues that the trial court erred in admitting the blood test results, raising the following issues:  (1) whether the traffic stop was unlawfully prolonged because he claims that the officer placed Martinez-Orta in the patrol car without reasonable suspicion; and (2) whether a proper foundation was laid because he contends that the nurse failed to follow the required physician-approved protocols for the blood draw under Indiana Code section 9-30-6-6.

The scheduled panelists are Judge May, Judge Weissmann, and Judge Foley.