 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Vanreenan v. State7/7/2004
NOTICE Memorandum decisions of this court do not create legal precedent. See Alaska Appellate Rule 214(d) and Paragraph 7 of the Guidelines for Publication of Court of Appeals Decisions (Court of Appeals Order No. 3). Accordingly, this memorandum decision may not be cited as binding precedent for any proposition of law.
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND JUDGMENT
Following a jury trial, Robert VanReenan was convicted of felony driving while intoxicated and driving while his license was suspended. VanReenan's major issue on appeal is his contention that Superior Court Judge Mark I. Wood erred in refusing to bifurcate his driving while intoxicated trial. VanReenan had wanted the jury to first decide whether he had driven while intoxicated, and, in a separate proceeding, to determine whether the State proved that he had prior driving while intoxicated convictions. VanReenan also contends that Judge Wood abused his discretion in allowing the State to introduce evidence suggesting that VanReenan's license plate had been altered to show a more recent registration and erred in admitting prejudicial information which appeared on VanReenan's notice of license suspension. In addition, VanReenan contends that the State failed to actually introduce the judgments from his prior driving while intoxicated convictions and therefore did not present sufficient evidence that he had committed felony driving while intoxicated. We reject VanReenan's arguments and affirm his conviction.
Factual and procedural background
On January 1, 2002, at 6:00 a.m., Fairbanks Police Officer Pearl Jean Turney noticed a car with a broken taillight while on patrol. Officer Turney radioed the police dispatcher with the vehicle's license plate number. The dispatcher reported that the vehicle's registration had expired in 1999. Officer Turney activated her overhead lights, but the driver did not immediately pull over. Officer Turney then activated her siren, and the driver pulled over shortly thereafter.
Officer Turney then contacted the driver - VanReenan. Officer Turney observed that VanReenan's speech was slurred, that his eyes were bloodshot, and that he smelled of alcohol. VanReenan also had difficulty turning his ignition off when asked. VanReenan admitted to Officer Turney that he did not have a valid driver's license.
At this point Officer Turney asked VanReenan to perform three field sobriety tests: the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, the walk and turn test, and the one-leg stand test. VanReenan failed all three. Officer Turney arrested VanReenan for driving while intoxicated and driving while license suspended. VanReenan was then transported to the Fairbanks Police Department, where his breath alcohol content was measured at .156 percent.
One week later VanReenan was indicted for felony driving while intoxicated (He had previously been convicted of driving while intoxicated in 1997 and 2001.) He was also charged by information with driving while license suspended. VanReenan pleaded not guilty to both charges.
Judge Wood did not abuse his discretion in denying
VanReenan's motion to bifurcate his trial Judge Wood required the parties to file all motions by Monday of the week prior to the trial. On the day that trial was set to begin, just prior to jury selection, VanReenan made an oral motion to bifurcate his trial, arguing that the evidence of his prior driving while intoxicated convictions should not be presented to the jury until they had deliberated and found that the State had proved the other elements of the offense. The State opposed the motion for bifurcation on the grounds that the motion was untimely. The State also argued that the former driv
Page 1 2 3 4 5 Alaska DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|