 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Bovard v. People10/18/2004
Robert M. Bovard, the criminal defendant in the underlying prosecution, petitioned for review of the court of appeals determination in People v. Bovard, 87 P.3d 215 (Colo.App.2003). In that case, the court of appeals concluded that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction over Bovard's appeal of the final judgment of the district court entered on a jury verdict convicting him of driving under the influence of alcohol. The court of appeals refused to address the merits of Bovard's appeal because it concluded that section 13- 6-310, C.R.S. (2004) provides that further appeals from the final judgment of a district court, in a case appealed from a county court, are only by writ of certiorari.
Bovard was initially convicted in the Gunnison County Court following the court's partial denial of his motion to suppress statements and other evidence obtained during his initial contact with police. The county court issued its order without the benefit of the record of the suppression hearing because the tape had been misplaced. Bovard appealed his conviction to the district court, which ultimately tried the case de novo due to the lack of a record from the county court. The district court entered final judgment on a new jury verdict convicting Bovard of driving under the influence of alcohol. His appeal to the court of appeals followed.
We granted certiorari to determine whether the court of appeals erred in concluding that section 13-6-310 limited Bovard to his appeal from the county court to the district court, and that any further review would be by certiorari only. We now hold that section 13-6-310 governs only the district court's appellate jurisdiction, which arises when the court bases its ruling on the county court record. Accordingly, when the district court operates within the sphere of its trial court authority by conducting a trial de novo, the defendant has an appeal of right to the court of appeals from the final judgment of the district court. We therefore reverse the court of appeals' dismissal of Bovard's appeal and remand the case to that court for consideration of the substantive issues.
I. Facts and Procedural History
On October 22, 1998, Robert M. Bovard was arrested and charged in Gunnison County with one count of driving under the influence of alcohol, [FN1] and two counts of failure to stop as required at a stop sign. [FN2] The matter was set for jury trial in the Gunnison County Court. [FN3]
FN1. § 42-4-1301, C.R.S. (2004).
FN2. § 42-4-703, C.R.S. (2004).
FN3. See §§ 42-4-1705 & 1707, C.R.S. (2004) (governing county court jurisdiction in certain traffic matters).
On March 8, 1999, Bovard moved to suppress statements he made to the arresting officer, evidence obtained from his person and vehicle at the scene, the results of his roadside sobriety and breath tests, and the arresting officer's observations of his physical appearance. A tape-recorded suppression hearing was held on July 30, 1999, with *587 the arresting officer as the lone testifying witness. [FN4]
FN4. Section 13-6-309, C.R.S. (2004), authorizes the county court judge to direct that a verbatim record be kept by stenographic means or by electronic devices.
On August 20, 1999, the court informed the parties that the tapes of the hearing had been misplaced, and invited both sides to respond accordingly, by August 30, 1999. Neither the People nor Bovard responded. On September 15, 1999, the court issued an order partially granting and partially denying Bovard's motion to suppress. It denied the motion concerning all physical evidence obtained during the stop but suppressed Bovard's statements.
The court also denied Bovard's motion for rehearing, and the case went to a jury trial on September 29, 1999. At the close of the
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Colorado DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|