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Bourne v. Commonwealth3/4/2003
Argued at Alexandria, Virginia
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Dennis Roger Bourne (appellant) appeals from his jury trial convictions for driving under the influence , second offense; causing serious bodily injury while driving under the influence; and possession of marijuana. On appeal, he contends the trial court erroneously (1) concluded his consent to search and related statements made to a police officer while in the emergency room were voluntary; (2) allowed the Commonwealth to cross-examine him on matters outside the scope of direct examination; and (3) permitted the Commonwealth to impeach him with a statement the court previously had ordered suppressed. The Commonwealth challenges these assignments of error on both procedural and substantive grounds.
We hold these issues lack substantive merit. The evidence supports the conclusion that appellant's emergency room statements and consent to search were voluntary. Further, the trial court did not err in allowing the Commonwealth to cross-examine appellant about relevant matters outside the scope of direct examination and to impeach him with a statement it previously had ordered suppressed due to the lack of Miranda warnings. Thus, we affirm.
I. BACKGROUND
On July 26, 1998, the twenty-three-year-old appellant and his friend, David Eldert, were involved in a single-car accident. That accident left Eldert with "permanent" and "significant physical injuries."
When Trooper Connie Saubert arrived at the scene at 2:14 a.m., she found both appellant and Eldert had been ejected from the vehicle and "there was debris, beer cans, all sorts of items throughout the soybean field" where the crash had occurred.
Appellant was transported to the emergency room at Mary Washington Hospital. Trooper Saubert questioned appellant in the emergency room at 4:28 a.m. as he awaited medical treatment and again at 7:45 a.m. after he had been admitted and moved to a hospital room. In the emergency room interview, appellant admitted that the pants in the treatment room and the marijuana found inside the pants belonged to him. In the second interview, appellant admitted he had been driving at the time of the accident. Appellant was not advised of his Miranda rights before either interview.
Appellant was indicted for the instant offenses. Prior to trial, appellant moved to suppress both statements. The trial court denied the motion as to the emergency room interview but granted it as to the subsequent hospital room interview because it found the interview was custodial and appellant had not been Mirandized.
II. MOTION TO SUPPRESS STATEMENTS AND FRUITS OF SEARCH
A. PRESERVATION OF VOLUNTARINESS ISSUES FOR APPEAL
Prior to trial, appellant filed written motions to suppress "any and all statements" on the ground that "the statements were involuntary and in violation of his Miranda rights and/or warnings." He also filed a written motion to exclude the marijuana and related certificate of analysis "due to improper search and seizure." At the hearing on the motions, he argued that the questioning which occurred in the emergency room was a custodial interrogation and that his resulting statements were involuntary because of his "very serious mental and physical condition." We hold this argument was broad enough to include the impact of appellant's intoxication on the voluntariness of his statements. Further, in the context of appellant's written motions, we hold this argument also encompassed a challenge to the portion of his statements in which he consented to the search of his pants and admitted that the fruits of that search belonged to him. The trial court
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