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Murphy v. State10/16/2001
DATE OF TRIAL COURT JUDGMENT: 01/18/2000
TRIAL JUDGE: HON. MIKE SMITH
COURT FROM WHICH APPEALED: PIKE COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT
NATURE OF THE CASE: CRIMINAL - FELONY
TRIAL COURT DISPOSITION: 01/18/2000: OPERATION OF MOTOR VEHICLE WHILE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF INTOXICATING LIQUOR RESULTING IN DEATH: 25 YEARS, WITH LAST 5 YEARS SUSPENDED PROBATION FOR 5 YEARS; FINE OF $10,000 AND RESTITUTION OF $15,000 AND $6,000 FUNERAL EXPENSES.
DISPOSITION: AFFIRMED - 10/16/2001
. A Pike County grand jury indicted the Appellant, James Murphy, under Miss. Code Ann.§ 63-11-30(4) (Rev. 1996), for the operation of a motor vehicle while intoxicated resulting in death. Following a trial, the jury found Murphy guilty of the crime charged. The circuit court sentenced Murphy to twenty-five years imprisonment in the custody and control of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, with five years suspended. Aggrieved, Jones cites the following issues on appeal.
I. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN DENYING JURY INSTRUCTION D-11 THAT SET FORTH MURPHY'S VERSION OF THE FACTS;
II. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED WHEN IT ADMITTED INTO EVIDENCE RESULTS OF BLOOD TESTS TAKEN AT SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER;
III. WHETHER MURPHY IS ENTITLED TO A NEW TRIAL UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF MCDUFF V. STATE;
IV. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN DENYING JURY INSTRUCTION D-10 THAT SET FORTH A DEFINITION OF INTOXICATION; AND
V. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED WHEN IT INSTRUCTED THE JURY THAT A FINDING OF SIMPLE NEGLIGENCE WOULD BE SUFFICIENT UNDER § 63-11-30.
STATEMENT OF THE FACTS
. On the morning of October 24, 1998, James Murphy, while driving south on Highway 51, crossed over into the northbound lane and collided head-on with the vehicle driven by Mrs. Elsie H. Elliott. Mrs. Elliott suffered numerous injuries to her chest and abdominal regions which caused her death soon after the collision.
. Murphy, an insulin-dependant diabetic, testified that while on his way home from the Desperado Club, a bar just off Highway 51, his blood sugar lowered, causing him to lose control of his car. However, Murphy also admitted that he consumed several beers while in the Desperado Club.
. Two individuals, other than Murphy and Elliott, witnessed the accident. Ms. Beulah Hall testified that she had been driving behind Murphy just prior to the accident. She claimed that Murphy's vehicle began swerving off the road about a mile before the collision site. Ms. Hall then described how Murphy veered into the northbound lane and remained there, for a significant amount of time, until the collision. Charles Lewis, the second witness, had been driving behind Mrs. Elliott. Mr. Lewis corroborated Ms. Hall's account of the accident, noting that Murphy's vehicle had been traveling in the northbound lane for so long that he (Lewis) had time to stop his vehicle and view the accident.
. Shortly after the accident, Simone Ott, an employee for the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, pulled over and attempted to render assistance. Ms. Ott helped Murphy out of his vehicle. She testified that "I could still smell, the alcohol, it was very strong coming from him . . . he was having to prop himself up against the vehicle, very unsteady." As Murphy exited the car Officer Chillis Crawford, Deputy Sheriff John Foreman, and an ambulance arrived.
. Deputy Sheriff Foreman attempted to question Murphy about the accident. According to Foreman, Murphy would not speak to him. However, Foreman testified that when he walked up to Murphy he "could smell a strong, stron
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