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State v. Goldston10/8/1999
The Defendant, Robert Goldston, was indicted by the Bradley County Grand Jury for driving under the influence following his involvement in an automobile accident which occurred on November 9, 1996. Prior to trial, he filed a motion to suppress the results of blood tests conducted at two different hospitals shortly after the accident. The trial court denied his motion. On April 9, 1998, the Defendant was tried by jury and found guilty of DUI. The trial court sentenced him to eleven months and twenty-nine days incarceration, with the balance suspended after ten days in jail, and fined him $600.00. He now appeals his conviction as of right, pursuant to Rule 3 of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure.
The Defendant presents four issues on appeal, which we have consolidated into one issue: whether the trial court erred by allowing introduction of the results of his blood alcohol tests. Although the Defendant in his brief enunciates four separate issues, he fails to argue each separately, instead condensing the four into one single argument. We therefore will address the four questions raised, although not separately argued, by the Defendant as one sole issue, the resolution of which will encompass analysis of all four questions.
On November 9, 1996, the Defendant, a police officer with the Cleveland Police Department, and his friend, Marcus Enos, were returning home from a night club in the Defendant's car. Shortly after 1:00 a.m., the Defendant lost control of his vehicle, which slid into an embankment across the street from an intersection. Law enforcement and medical personnel were dispatched to the site of the accident to administer aid.
Deputy Shaunda Efaw of the Bradley County Sheriff's Department was among the first to arrive. She recognized the Defendant, with whom she had worked, as the driver of the vehicle. Efaw testified at trial that although both the Defendant and his passenger had suffered serious injuries, both were conscious when she arrived. She also stated that when she questioned him, the Defendant responded that he was "okay."
Lieutenant Mike Boggess of the Bradley County Sheriff's Department was dispatched to the scene of the accident and arrived soon after Deputy Efaw. He explained that the intersection where the accident occurred had been the site of several accidents, enough that a fire hydrant which previously set at the intersection had been relocated to a position further down the road. Boggess testified that upon approaching the Defendant's car, he smelled an odor of alcohol emanating from the vehicle. He also recognized the Defendant, whom he knew from work. He stated that the Defendant, who was conscious and "realized [he'd] been in an accident," was "thrashing about like he was going to try to climb out" of the vehicle, so he encouraged the Defendant to stay still until an ambulance arrived.
Trooper Charles D. McVey of the Tennessee Highway Patrol also responded to the call concerning the Defendant's accident. He stated that he noted a "strong odor of alcoholic beverage about the vehicle" and skid marks approximately 168 feet in length, which crossed into the wrong side of the road, leading to the point of impact. He also testified that approximately an hour and a half after responding to the accident, he visited the Defendant at Bradley Memorial Hospital, where the Defendant had been transported by medical personnel after the accident, and asked the Defendant whether he would submit to a blood alcohol test. McVey stated that the Defendant responded by shaking his head, thereby declining the test.
However, despite the Defendant's refusal of the test, a blood alcohol test was administered on blood d
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