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Karamychev v. Dist. of Columbia5/10/2001
Appeal from the Superior Court of the District of Columbia (Hon. Tim Murphy, Trial Judge)
Argued April 12, 2001
Following a bench trial, Filip Karamychev was convicted of driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor (DUI), in violation of D.C. Code § 40-716 (b) (1998). On appeal, he contends that the results of three roadside sobriety tests administered to him on the scene should have been suppressed on Miranda grounds. Karamychev also claims that the arresting officer should not have been permitted to testify as an expert regarding the administration of one of these tests. Finally, Karamychev asserts that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction. We affirm.
I.
Officer Ephriam Williams, then a twelve-year veteran of the Metropolitan Police Department, testified that on October 31, 1997, at about 3:15 a.m., he was on patrol in the area of Connecticut Avenue and M Street, N.W., in Washington, D.C. Suddenly, Officer Williams heard the screeching of tires . Turning his attention to the source of the noise, Williams saw a two-door Mitsubishi automobile make a right turn onto M Street, which is one-way westbound at that location. The Mitsubishi then proceeded east on M Street, against the flow of traffic, at what Officer Williams described as a "high rate of speed." Williams was able to stop the vehicle after it had travelled about two blocks in the wrong direction.
The driver of the Mitsubishi turned out to be appellant Filip Karamychev, then eighteen years of age. Karamychev, a native of Russia, testified that he had been in the United States approximately four or five years, "off and on." When Officer Williams approached the Mitsubishi, he detected "a strong odor of alcohol emanating from the vehicle." Officer Williams ordered Karamychev to step out of the car. According to Williams, Karamychev's eyes "seemed reddish," his speech "was kind of loud," and he "seemed to have a problem maintaining his balance."
Suspecting that Karamychev may have been drinking, Officer Williams proceeded to administer three roadside sobriety tests, including the horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN) test, the "walk and turn" test, and the "one-leg stand" test. These tests are designed to determine whether the motorist's physical coordination has been affected by consumption of intoxicating liquor. According to Officer Williams, Karamychev's performance on each of these tests indicated that he was under the influence of alcohol.
Officer Williams placed Karamychev under arrest and transported him to the Second District station house. Williams testified that, at the police station, Karamychev's breath still smelled of alcohol. Williams read Karamychev the "Implied Consent Form," PD 29, which contains an explanation of the consequences of a suspect's refusal to take certain chemical tests for the presence of alcohol, including the "breathalyzer." According to Williams, Karamychev declined to consent to the tests. Karamychev was then formally charged with DUI.
At his trial, Karamychev took the witness stand in his own defense. He stated that on the evening of October 30, 1997, he and some friends were having a party at a bar near Dupont Circle. Karamychev acknowledged that between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., he had consumed five or six bottles of beer. He claimed, however, that he had no more to drink thereafter, except that before the group left the bar at about 2:15 a.m., "I took just one sip to make my throat wet."
Karamychev stated that as he was driving his friends home, and apparently travelling west on M Street, one of the passengers told Karamychev that the group's destination, Catholi
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