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State v. Cramblet5/14/2002
(not designated for permanent publication)
Billy Ray Cramblet backed into a parked vehicle as he was leaving the Chances R bar in Salem, Nebraska, and was charged with third-offense driving under the influence , second-offense refusal to submit to a chemical test, and violation of a driver's duty following an accident. He was convicted by a jury in the county court for Richardson County of refusal to submit to a chemical test and violation of a driver's duty. Cramblet appealed to the district court for Richardson County, which affirmed the convictions. On appeal, Cramblet claims that his refusal to submit to a chemical test was testimonial in nature and therefore inadmissible against him under Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S. Ct. 1602, 16 L. Ed. 2d 694 (1966), and the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In addition, Cramblet claims that demand for a chemical test was unreasonable due to the lack of evidence that he was operating a motor vehicle while he was under the influence of alcohol.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
On September 2, 2000, Officer Delbert Cochran, a deputy sheriff for Richardson County, Nebraska, investigated a property damage accident which occurred on the main street of Salem across from the Chances R bar. Cochran interviewed witnesses at the scene and was told that a black, four-wheel-drive Toyota pickup truck with Richardson County plates had backed across the street and hit a parked vehicle. Cochran received from one witness a physical description of the driver, plus the first name "Bill." Cochran contacted the Falls City Police Department and asked that they be on the lookout for the pickup.
The damaged vehicle, which belonged to Chad Lenderman, had been parked across the street from the Chances R bar, right next to the curb. Lenderman, who was in the bar, testified that the band announced that a vehicle had been hit and that he recognized his license plate number. According to Lenderman, his vehicle sustained hundreds of dollars' worth of damage, including a dent to the driver's side back fender, a broken taillight, and a scratch on the bumper. Lenderman testified that he was never contacted by the person who hit his vehicle.
Chris Beer testified that when the accident occurred, he was standing in front of the fire hall in Salem, located next to the Chances R bar, talking to Kenny Kuhlman. He saw a man get into a pickup and back across the street, he heard the crash, and he saw the parked vehicle move from the impact. According to Beer, after the accident, the pickup pulled ahead and stopped, and then Kuhlman approached the pickup to tell the driver he would ask the band to announce the accident and the license number of the damaged vehicle. Beer saw two people in the pickup but did not recognize either one of them. According to Beer, when Kuhlman went inside the bar, the pickup left. Sue Bantz, the owner of the Chances R bar, also observed a small pickup back out and hit a vehicle on the opposite side of the street.
After the band made its announcement, Kuhlman returned outside to find the black pickup gone. He testified that he gave Cochran a description and the license plate number of the black pickup, which he had written on his hand. He also described the driver to Cochran and told Cochran he recognized the passenger in the vehicle as "Mr. Feighner."
Officer Jameson Baker of the Falls City Police Department testified that he received information describing the suspect pickup at approximately 10:45 p.m. He began to search for the vehicle, which he believed he had seen before in a particular neighborhood. He found the pickup parked in front of Cramblet's residence in Falls City. Baker knocked on
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