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State v. Wright10/7/2005
I. Facts
This case arises from the Defendant's conviction for DUI. The Maury County Grand Jury indicted the Defendant for DUI, fifth offense, and for violating the implied consent law. At the Defendant's bench trial, the following evidence was presented: Dana Lovell testified that she was employed by the county clerk's office, and, in 2002, she was living at 4010 Park Drive in Columbia, Tennessee. She said that, around 3:15 a.m. one morning, the Defendant knocked on her door, and, after hearing the knock at her door, she "peeped out" her window and saw a van in her driveway with one of the tires straddling the culvert next to her driveway. Lovell testified that she did not recall if the Defendant was sober, and she was so busy screaming at the Defendant that she did not notice the state of his condition. She did not recall for sure if she told the officers that the Defendant was "drunker than hell."
On cross-examination, Lovell testified that she did not see the Defendant inside his van, and she did not see the Defendant drive the van. On redirect, she said that there was no one else with the Defendant when he knocked on her door. Lovell said that she did not see anyone else in the area who could have driven the van, but she did see a man down the road. She testified that the Defendant did not tell her that anyone else drove the van.
Officer David Roachell, an officer for the Columbia Police Department, testified that, on July 25, 2002, he responded to an accident call, which was called in by someone on Park Drive. Officer Roachell recalled that, when he arrived at Park Drive, he encountered the Defendant standing next to a white vehicle that was "high centered" on a concrete abutment. The officer said that when he saw the Defendant he believed that the Defendant was inebriated past the legal limit. He asked the Defendant to come out to the street, and the Defendant shook his head "no" and walked briskly towards the residence. He and another officer then ushered the Defendant back to the street to talk about the incident. Officer Roachell testified that he noticed that the Defendant had bloodshot eyes, was unsteady on his feet, and was emanating a strong odor of alcohol. On cross-examination, Officer Roachell testified that no accident report was filed as a part of the investigation. He said that the Defendant was standing two feet behind the driver's side door of the white van when the officers arrived.
Officer Paul McCormick, with the Columbia Police Department, testified that, on July 25, 2002, he responded to an accident call around 3:00 a.m. that was called in by someone on Park Drive. He testified that, when he arrived at the residence, he saw the Defendant standing in the driveway, and the Defendant appeared very unsteady on his feet. He testified that the Defendant's van appeared to have hit a brick abutment while turning from Park Drive into the driveway. The officer said that he had been to basic and advanced accident reconstruction schools. On cross-examination, Officer McCormick testified that he and Officer Roachell arrived at the scene at about the same time, and he did not observe the Defendant drive the van. He also did not see the Defendant occupying or in physical control of the van, and he did not advise the Defendant of his Miranda rights at any time. To his recollection, Officer Roachell went into the driveway and ushered the Defendant back into the street.
On redirect examination, Officer McCormick testified that the Defendant was not in custody when he admitted that he was driving the van, rather, the Defendant admitted to driving the van while Officer McCormick was conducting a "kind of on-the-scene" investigation. Office
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