 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
State v. Schipman4/25/2000
APPEAL FROM: District Court of the Fifth Judicial District, In and for the County of Beaverhead, The Honorable Frank M. Davis, Judge presiding.
Submitted on Briefs: April 1, 1999
Following a trial by jury, Defendant Stacy J. Schipman (Schipman) was convicted of negligent homicide, a felony, pursuant to § 45-5-104, MCA (1995), and negligent endangerment, a misdemeanor, pursuant to § 45-5-208, MCA (1995). Schipman appeals from the Findings, Reasons, Judgment & Order Deferring Imposition of Sentence issued by the Fifth Judicial District Court, Beaverhead County. We reverse and vacate Schipman's conviction of negligent homicide.
The dispositive issue on appeal is whether the result of Schipman's conduct in leaving the scene after striking the horse was negligent homicide.
Factual and Procedural Background
At about 9:45 p.m. on July 21, 1995, Schipman left his two daughters with a babysitter at his trailer home near Dillon, Montana, and headed to a birthday party at the Glen Bar. Schipman first went to the Metlen Bar, arriving at approximately 10 p.m., where he consumed one beer. He then proceeded to the Glen Bar, arriving at about 10:45 p.m., only to find that the birthday party was over. Schipman nevertheless remained at the bar and played pool until about 12:30 p.m. While at the Glen Bar, Schipman stated that he thought he consumed about three more beers.
In the early morning hours of July 22, 1995, Andy Weakley (Weakley) was driving on Montana Highway 91 north of Dillon when he noticed that a horse was loose on the highway. Although it was a dark and rainy evening and the horse was a dark color, Weakley was able to spot the horse running on the highway and stopped his vehicle. Weakley then attempted to catch the horse, but was unable to restrain the animal. Unable to capture the horse, Weakley immediately returned to Dillon and called 911 at 1:41 a.m. to report the horse running on the highway.
It was a very dark night, according to Schipman, when he left the Glen Bar. Schipman was nearly home from the bar when a dark horse lunged out of the ditch alongside the highway and struck his vehicle, causing extensive damage to the passenger side of Schipman's truck. The horse lunged so suddenly that Schipman had no time to react and, thus, did not attempt to swerve or brake to avoid hitting the horse. Schipman recounted that only the front torso of the horse was on the highway upon impact. After hitting the horse, however, Schipman did not stop his vehicle; looking back Schipman did not see the horse on the highway and, assuming that it was dead, proceeded home. Upon arriving home, Schipman's neighbor asked him what had happened to his truck. Schipman described the collision to his neighbor, stating that he had hit the horse so hard that the impact had knocked the horse into the borrow pit alongside the highway, and that he was sure the horse was not still on the highway.
Meanwhile, Weakley returned to the location where he had first seen the dark horse. He discovered the horse in approximately the same location as before, but the horse was lying motionless across the southbound lane of the highway. Upon inspecting, Weakley determined that the horse appeared to have a broken neck. Weakley thought the horse was dead. Thus, he parked his vehicle in the northbound lane of Montana Highway 91 some distance ahead of the horse, and turned on his flashers in an attempt to warn oncoming traffic of the road hazard. Shortly thereafter, a second vehicle driven by Larry Mallon (Mallon) pulled in behind Weakley's vehicle.
At about this same time, two recent high school graduates, Jamie Keller (Keller) and
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 Montana DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|