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Claxton v. City of Lynchburg9/29/1992
rived and that he was driving a vehicle at some undetermined time, he alleges that the evidence does not prove that he was driving while intoxicated. Thus, the crux of Claxton's argument is that the City failed to prove that the driving and intoxication were contemporaneous.
Before reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence, we must first decide whether Claxton's statements to Officer Smith constitute a confession. Claxton urges us to find that his statements to Officer Smith amounted to an admission, not a confession. The City, however, contends that these statements amount to a full confession because Claxton admitted all the elements of the crime.
A confession is "'a statement admitting or acknowledging all facts necessary for conviction of the crimes'" charged, while an admission admits of "'facts tending to prove guilt but falling short of an admission to all essential elements of the crime.'" Caminade v. Commonwealth, 230 Va. 505, 510, 338 S.E.2d 846, 849 (1986) (quoting E. Cleary, McCormick's Handbook of the Law of Evidence, § 144, at 362 (3d ed. 1984)). Claxton's statements to Officer Smith revealed that he had been driving a motor vehicle, he had an accident while driving, and he had consumed alcohol earlier that day. He also stated that he thought he had consumed too much alcohol to be driving, that he was unlawfully in someone else's yard, and that he expected to go to jail and be punished. Because Claxton admitted that he was driving while intoxicated, we hold that these statements constitute a confession of guilt.
Having found that these statements constitute a confession, rather than an admission, we must next decide whether the evidence was sufficient to prove the corpus delicti of DUI.
"In Virginia an extrajudicial confession of an accused that he committed the offense with which he is charged is not, alone and uncorroborated, adequate proof of the corpus delicti." Jefferson v. Commonwealth, 6 Va. App. 421, 424, 369 S.E.2d 212, 214 (1988). "Where 'the commission of the crime has been fully confessed by the accused, only slight corroborative evidence is necessary to establish the corpus delicti.'" Id. (quoting Clozza v. Commonwealth, 228 Va. 124, 133, 321 S.E.2d 273, 279 (1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1230, 84 L. Ed. 2d 370, 105 S. Ct. 1233 (1985)). The corroborative evidence is sufficient if, when taken with the evidence of the confession, it proves the commission of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Id. See also Reid v. Commonwealth, 206 Va. 464, 468,
144 S.E.2d 310, 313 (1965). Therefore, the issue is whether the independent evidence produced by the City, when considered with Claxton's confession, established Claxton's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Officer Smith received a call reporting a single car accident at 1823 Ivy Street. When Smith arrived at the residence a few moments later, he saw Claxton standing next to the driver's side door of a vehicle. The car was in the front yard, resting "up against" the concrete landing of the house. Officer Smith testified that Claxton's eyelids were very heavy and he swayed back and forth as he talked. Smith detected a very strong odor of alcohol on Claxton's breath. This evidence provides more than "slight corroborative evidence." Accordingly, we hold that Officer Smith's testimony, taken together with Claxton's confession, provides sufficient evidence establishing the corpus delicti. See Wheeling v. City of
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