 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Rafferty v. State8/1/2001
Appeal from the Circuit Court for Lee County; William J. Nelson, Judge.
Cornelius G. Rafferty appeals his judgments and sentences for DUI manslaughter and DUI serious bodily injury. We find merit in two of the issues Rafferty raises and conclude that the trial court erred in (1) denying Rafferty's motion to suppress his statements to law enforcement officers, and (2) granting the State statutory presumptions of admissibility of the blood alcohol test results and impairment. The resolution of these two issues renders the State's cross-appeal of Rafferty's downward departure sentence moot.
On August 5, 1997, Rafferty was driving a sports utility vehicle on Interstate 75 in Lee County. He lost control of the vehicle, and it overturned killing his six-year-old son and leaving his fiancée, who was also the mother of his children, a paraplegic. Rafferty's older son survived the accident. Paramedics, police, and the fire department arrived on the scene beginning at about 7:30 p.m. Rafferty was taken to the hospital and treated for a broken clavicle, a compression fracture of his spine, and lacerations requiring stitches to his face, head, and ear. Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) Trooper Manuel Smyrnios smelled the odor of alcohol coming from Rafferty and requested a blood draw some time between 9:25 p.m. and 11 p.m. At approximately 1 a.m., FHP Trooper James McPherson advised Rafferty of his Miranda rights and conducted a taped interview of Rafferty in a hospital room with FHP Trooper Linda Ann Powell. Rafferty told the police that he had been driving about sixty or sixty-five miles per hour, that it was heavily raining, and that he was in the far right-hand lane just prior to the accident. He said that he drank about two, possibly three, beers that night.
The State subsequently charged Rafferty with DUI manslaughter and DUI serious bodily injury. Rafferty filed a motion to suppress challenging the admission of his taped statement to law enforcement officers and a motion to dismiss for speedy trial violation. The trial court denied the motions, and the case proceeded to a jury trial. Just prior to trial, Rafferty filed a motion in limine challenging the admissibility of the blood alcohol test results. The trial court denied the motion, and defense counsel objected at trial to both the admission of the test results and the jury instruction regarding a presumption of impairment which flowed from the test results. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) crime laboratory analyst testified that the results of the blood alcohol test indicated that Rafferty had a blood alcohol level between .08 and .15 at the time of the accident. The blood alcohol level at the time of testing was .10. Rafferty's expert testified that Rafferty's blood alcohol level at the time of the accident was impossible to determine because the blood samples may have been exposed to heat for an extended time before testing. Both experts agreed that exposure to heat over time could cause the blood sugars to convert to alcohol and raise the level of blood alcohol in the samples.
The jury found Rafferty guilty as charged, and the trial court entered a downward departure sentence of sixty months' incarceration on each count, to run concurrently. Rafferty raises three issues on appeal: (1) the denial of Rafferty's motion to suppress; (2) the admissibility of the blood alcohol test results and the propriety of the jury instructions regarding the presumption of impairment; and (3) the denial of Rafferty's motion to dismiss for speedy trial violation. The State filed a cross-appeal challenging the downward departure sentence. We affirm the denial of Rafferty's motion to dismiss without discussion. However, we fi
Page 1 2 3 4 Florida DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|