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State v. Sheehan12/6/2005
Submitted on Briefs: January 26, 2005
Donald Lee Sheehan ("Sheehan") appeals his conviction in the District Court for the Seventh Judicial District, Richland County, of driving while under the influence of alcohol ("DUI"), fourth or subsequent offense, a felony. We affirm.
Sheehan raises the following issue on appeal:
Did the District Court err, and thereby violate due process, by denying defendant an opportunity to present an alternative scenario at trial to explain his apparent state of intoxication?
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
During the early morning hours of February 20, 2003, Anna Christenson, Eddie Cook, and Arnot Schmitt ("Christenson," "Cook," and "Schmitt") were returning to Sidney, Montana, on Montana Highway 16. About three miles south of town, they came upon Sheehan, who was jumping up and down on the side of the highway and waving as though he needed help. Christenson stopped the car, and they got out to offer assistance.
They noticed that Sheehan appeared to be injured. He had blood on his forehead and nose, his hands were cut up, and he had some trouble walking. Christenson observed that Sheehan's speech was slurred, and when Cook and Schmitt got within about three feet of Sheehan, they smelled the odor of an alcoholic beverage. The three deduced that Sheehan had been involved in a car accident or a fight, although Sheehan denied it. He stated that he had shot himself and needed a ride to the hospital. Although seeing no gunshot wound, the three took the claim seriously and drove Sheehan to the Sidney Health Center.
Upon arriving, Sheehan was admitted to the emergency room, where Holly O'Connor ("O'Connor" or "Nurse O'Connor"), the charge nurse, observed Sheehan's injuries, the odor of alcohol coming from Sheehan and his disorientation, concluding that he was intoxicated. A physical examination of Sheehan revealed a spot of dried blood about one centimeter across located in the upper right quadrant of his abdomen, and x-rays confirmed the presence of a .22 caliber bullet in that area. As a result, he was taken to surgery, although the slug was not recovered.
Due to Sheehan's gunshot wound, Nurse O'Connor contacted law enforcement, and Officer Arnson and Officer Rosaaen of the Sidney Police Department responded. Upon arriving, Officer Arnson asked Sheehan where the shooting incident had taken place, and he initially advised her "that he did not want to get a DUI." Later, however, he stated that he had shot himself three or four hours prior to arriving at the Sidney Health Center, and that after shooting himself, he had gone to the Cattle-ac bar, where he had been drinking and had gotten into a fight. He informed Officer Arnson that the gun used in the shooting was in the vehicle he had been driving.
Officer Rosaaen read Sheehan the Implied Consent Advisory, and Sheehan agreed to provide a sample of his blood for the purpose of testing his blood alcohol concentration ("BAC"). His blood was drawn at 2:45 a.m., and an analysis of the sample by the state crime lab disclosed a BAC of 0.12 grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of full blood. A second blood test was administered around that same time by hospital personnel in conjunction with Sheehan's surgery, and the results of that test revealed a BAC of 0.18.
The vehicle Sheehan had been driving was found the next day, about three miles south of Sidney. Deputy Gary Hofer of the Richland County Sheriff's Office, who conducted the accident investigation, determined that the vehicle had been traveling north on Highway 16 and, upon reaching a curve or bend in the highway, had continued in a straight
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