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State v. Holladay5/12/2004
Defendant, James C. Holladay ("Holladay"), was charged with DWI (third offense), following an automobile accident involving two vehicles. He was tried by jury in the Fourth Judicial District Court, Parish of Ouachita, Louisiana, and was convicted as charged. Holladay now appeals his conviction and sentence. For the following reasons, we affirm.
FACTS
On March 31, 1999, Holladay was involved in an automobile accident when the car he was driving was hit from the rear as he was turning into his driveway off Louisiana Highway 841 and Prairie Road. Trooper James McGee, ("McGee") of the Louisiana State Police was dispatched to the scene to investigate the accident. Upon his arrival, McGee was told that Holladay sustained a cut on his head and was inside the ambulance. A paramedic attending to Holladay advised McGee that Holladay had a "strong odor of alcoholic beverage on his breath." At trial, McGee testified that after he entered the ambulance, he noticed that Holladay's breath had a "pretty strong" odor of alcohol and that his eyes were glassy. Holladay was transported to St. Francis Hospital, where the Horizontal Gaze Nystamus (HGN) test was administered. He scored the maximum score of six possible points, indicating that Holladay was intoxicated. When Holladay was discharged from the hospital, McGee took him to his police car. McGee testified that Holladay was unsteady on his feet and "very unsure with his movements." While at police headquarters, McGee had Holladay perform other field sobriety tests. According to McGee's testimony, Holladay was swaying and had to use his arms for balance when he did the one-leg stand test. While performing the walk-and-turn test, McGee testified that Holladay began the test before told to do so, he did not touch heel-to-toe, he lost his balance while walking, he used his arms for balance, and he turned incorrectly. Holladay refused to take the breath-alcohol test. Following the field sobriety tests, McGee interviewed Holladay, whereupon he admitted that he was driving his vehicle when the accident occurred. Upon further questioning, Holladay admitted that he had been drinking prior to the accident, although he stated that he had only one beer. Based on the field sobriety tests and observations of Holladay, McGee was of the opinion that despite the elapse of time since the collision, Holladay "was still over the legal limit of alcohol." Following these events, Holladay was arrested.
On April 27, 1999, Holladay was charged by bill of information with Driving While Intoxicated (Third Offense). A trial on the merits began on February 3, 2003. During trial, Holladay filed a Motion to Quash. Subsequent to hearing all the evidence in the case, the trial judge denied Holladay's motion. Holladay was found guilty as charged by a unanimous jury. On February 10, 2003, Holladay was sentenced to serve four years at hard labor with the first 30 days to be served without probation, parole or suspension of sentence. The remaining portion of the sentence was suspended and Holladay was placed on five years supervised probation. Holladay was also fined $2,000, as required by La. R. S. 14:98, plus court costs. This appeal by Holladay ensued.
DISCUSSION
Holladay raises two assignments of error on appeal. In his first assignment of error, Holladay contends that the evidence was insufficient to sustain the conviction because the arresting officer found no evidence that Holladay was operating his vehicle in an erratic or unsafe manner. Although the record does not reflect that Holladay filed a motion for post-verdict judgment of acquittal pursuant to La. C. Cr. P. art. 821, this court will consider sufficiency arguments in the absence of such a
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