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State v. Laney11/30/2005
In a bench trial, a veteran Metro Nashville police officer testified that on February 26, 2003, at approximately 3:15 a.m., he saw a white Corvette occupied by two people, parked and blocking the entrance to the Best Western Hotel on Division Street. The two people were engaged in a "pretty obvious," "heated," and "animated" argument. The officer testified that he pulled his cruiser in behind the Corvette. The Corvette's engine was running, and the defendant exited the Corvette from the driver's side and approached the officer, who remained in the cruiser. The defendant explained that he was arguing with his girlfriend and could not calm her.
The officer testified, " s I was talking to him, I detected an obvious odor of alcohol." Upon observing that the defendant had bloodshot eyes and was very talkative, the officer requested that the defendant take field sobriety tests. He testified that the defendant then took, and failed, the horizontal gaze nystagmus, walk-and-turn, and one-legged-stand tests. The officer narrated the defendant's deficient performances on the walk-and-turn and one-legged-stand tests. Based upon the defendant's failure of the field sobriety tests, the officer determined that the defendant was impaired and unable to legally operate a motor vehicle. The defendant declined to take a breath-alcohol test. The officer arrested the defendant for DUI.
Karen Brooks testified that, on February 26, 2003, she and the defendant had driven to Nashville from Miami for her to record songs that either she or she and the defendant had written, that they were registered guests at a hotel across the street from the Best Western on Division Street, and that she and the defendant were occuping the defendant's Corvette when the officer drove up.
According to Ms. Brooks, prior to the couple's encounter with the police officer, they had attended a recording session in Hendersonville. In the recording session, Ms. Brooks became upset with the defendant because he tried to impose his opinions of how to perform the songs on her and the musicians. Ms. Brooks testified that, when the session ended, she drove the Corvette, which belonged to the defendant, back to Division Street because she was familiar with the roads and streets around Nashville. During the drive, the couple argued over the evening's events and over Ms. Brooks's decision not to stay in the hotel with the defendant that night. She testified that she parked the car at the Best Western and shut down the engine; the couple got out but continued their argument. After they stood by the car for some time, the defendant suggested that they get back into the car so they could sit down. When they did so, the defendant sat in the driver's seat and Ms. Brooks sat in the passenger seat. Ms. Brooks had retained the Corvette's keys. She testified that, after sitting in the car for some time, she "got cold reached over and put the key in the car and turned it on and turned on the heater." Ms. Brooks testified that the defendant never drove the car during that evening and early morning. She testified that, when the couple re-occupied the car after standing outside, the defendant had no intention of driving the car; his purpose was to persuade Ms. Brooks to stay.
The defendant testified at trial that, although he doubted that he was intoxicated, he had consumed beer during the evening. His testimony about the couple's use of his Corvette following the recording session closely mirrored that of Ms. Jackson.
After hearing the evidence, the trial court convicted the defendant of DUI and imposed a sentence of 11 months, 29 days, to be suspended upon the completion of ten days' confinement.
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