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Meeks v. State12/4/2001
DATE OF TRIAL COURT JUDGMENT: 09/25/2000
TRIAL JUDGE: HON. JANNIE M. LEWIS
COURT FROM WHICH APPEALED: HOLMES COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT
NATURE OF THE CASE: CRIMINAL - MISDEMEANOR
TRIAL COURT DISPOSITION: DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE - FIRST OFFENSE: FINED $437 AND BE REQUIRED TO PAY ALL COST OF THE COURT; DEFENDANT'S DRIVER'S LICENSE AND DRIVING PRIVILEGES SHOULD BE SUSPENDED FOR NINETY DAYS
DISPOSITION: REVERSED AND RENDERED - 12/4/01
. Timothy Meeks was originally convicted of DUI-First Offense in the justice court of Holmes County, Mississippi. He appealed this conviction to the Holmes County Circuit Court which affirmed the justice court's conviction in a de novo bench trial. He now appeals that decision to this court. Aggrieved, Meeks assigns the following issues as error:
I. Whether the trial court erred in denying Meeks' motion for directed verdict.
II. Whether there was probable cause to have Meeks take a breath test.
III. Whether there was probable cause to require Meeks to blow into the portable breath test.
IV. Whether the trial court erred in allowing evidence of the breath test results without requiring that the State show that the machine was properly calibrated.
V. Whether an Intoxilyzer 5000 reading of .10% is enough to prove Meeks is guilty of Mississippi Code Annotated Section 63-11-30(1) (1972) beyond a reasonable doubt given the margin of error of ñ .003% for said machine.
. Our analysis of Meeks' fourth issue results in our reversing and rendering the circuit court's judgment of Meeks' conviction of DUI first offense.
FACTS
. On May 21, 2000, at approximately 9:55 p.m., Timothy Meeks was driving north on Mississippi Highway 17 while towing a trailer. Trooper Lecarius Oliver of the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol, traveling south on Mississippi Highway 17, passed Meeks and noticed that the trailer was being towed without working taillights. Trooper Oliver stopped Meeks and asked him to step to the rear of the vehicle. Trooper Oliver informed Meeks that he stopped him because the taillights on the trailer were not working. While talking to Meeks, Trooper Oliver noted the smell of alcohol on Meeks' breath and asked if he had been drinking. Meeks indicated that he had consumed a few beers.
. Trooper Oliver gave Meeks a field sobriety test which consisted of asking him to recite the alphabet, beginning with the letter "G" and ending with the letter "Z." Trooper Oliver testified that Meeks could not recite the letters requested. Trooper Oliver then conducted a portable breath test. When Meeks failed both tests, Trooper Oliver transported him to the Holmes County Sheriff's Department to give him the Intoxilyzer 5000 test. In route, Trooper Oliver radioed to request that the intoxilyzer be turned on. He testified that he was certified to administer such a test. Before the test, Trooper Oliver advised Meeks of his rights, after which, Meeks chose to take the test.
. Trooper Oliver stated that he followed the operational checklist for the intoxilyzer, provided by the Mississippi Department of Public Safety and checked the calibration log, which indicated the machine was working properly at that time. The results indicated that Meeks had a blood alcohol content of .10.
ISSUE AND ANALYSIS
Whether the trial court erred in allowing evidence of the breath test results without requiring that the State show that the machine was properly calibrated.
. Meeks contends that the trial court should not have considered the breath test results withou
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