 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
People v. McMillin9/1/2004
lf. He wondered whether he may have driven the truck and lost his memory of that fact due to an alcohol-induced blackout. According to the defendant, that is why he conceded to Deputy Halleman that it was possible that he had been the one who had driven the truck off the road.
*339 The defendant further testified that, upon reflection, he realized that his footprints did not prove that he, rather than Tim Wehrle, had driven Wehrle's truck from the VFW to its snowy resting place. Tim Wehrle could have driven the truck into the field and walked away from it at a time when a lot less snow had fallen. The snow could easily have covered his tracks by the time Deputy Halleman arrived at the scene. Moreover, the defendant was certain that he never had Tim Wehrle's truck keys.
Thus, the defense was simple. The defendant denied being the driver of the truck. The vehicle's owner (Tim Wehrle) or Allan Dothager must have driven the truck into the field and left the scene while the defendant remained passed out and unaware of the circumstances. The defendant did not drive on a revoked license, and he did not drive while being alcohol-impaired, because he did not drive any vehicle that night.
Several events transpired during the trial that are pertinent to our decision.
Tim Wehrle and Allan Dothager did not testify at the trial. Neither the State nor the defendant produced either one of them. However, the prosecutor decided to introduce a hearsay version of what Tim Wehrle would have said, had he been called to testify about driving the truck. Thus, Wehrle's refutation of the defendant's testimony, and the core defense, was established without confrontation or cross-examination. Defense counsel did not object.
The following is the factual foundation for the hearsay.
Tim Wehrle arrived at the arrest scene before his truck was extricated from the field. (We are not told how Wehrle knew where to find his truck.) He asked Deputy Halleman whether he could have the truck. Deputy Halleman, in an accusatory tone, asked Wehrle whether he had knowingly allowed the defendant to drive the truck without a license and in an inebriated condition.
After laying this foundation, the prosecutor asked Deputy Halleman to relate to the defendant's jury what Wehrle had told him in response to the question. Deputy Halleman described to the jury what Tim Wehrle had told him: " '[The defendant] took the truck without permission. He's not supposed to be driving it.' "
**14 ***503 Thus, the jury learned not only that Wehrle denied being the driver of the truck but also that Wehrle accused the defendant of having stolen the truck.
It was an excellent way for the State to have Wehrle counter the defendant's testimony. The State did not have to worry about a cross-examination that might have pointed out that it was Wehrle's truck, that Wehrle had been drinking heavily too, and that Wehrle would *340 have been a DUI offender had he, in fact, driven the truck that night. Had Wehrle been the one to drive his truck into the muddy field, he would have wanted to exit the scene as soon as possible. Wehrle did not have to manage an explanation about how he had gotten home from the VFW that night, how he knew where to find his truck, or how the defendant could have obtained his truck keys without his permission.
Tim Wehrle's hearsay evidence proved particularly powerful in light of the following improper closing argument tendered by the prosecutor:
"No other person--no evidence was presented from anybody else's mouth saying, ['][H]ey, I drove the truck and I left and went to get help['] or something. You didn't hear that evidence from anybody. There's his boss and his other buddy who he works with [;] they're around [;] they didn't come in here and verify his story becaus
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Illinois DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|