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State v. Trew11/17/2004
This is an appeal as of right pursuant to Rule 3 of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure. The Defendant, Michael Trew, was found guilty by jury verdict of driving under the influence of an intoxicant (DUI), a Class A misdemeanor, and violating the implied consent law. The Defendant was sentenced to eleven months and twenty-nine days, with seven days to be served in the county jail; fined $400; and had his driver's license suspended for one year. The Defendant now appeals, claiming that the evidence at trial was insufficient to support his DUI conviction beyond a reasonable doubt. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.
Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Criminal Court Affirmed
Direct Appeal from the Criminal Court for Meigs County No. 3024. E. Eugene Eben, Judge.
Joe H. Walker and Walter B. Johnson, Public Defenders, Harriman Tennessee, for the appellant, Michael Trew.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Jennifer Bledsoe, Assistant Attorney General; James Scott McCluen, District Attorney General; and Frank Harvey, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
The opinion of the court was delivered by: David H. Welles, Judge
Assigned on Briefs September 28, 2004
David H. Welles, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which Joseph M. Tipton and John Everett Williams, JJ., joined.
OPINION
FACTS
The record shows that on the night of June 8, 2000, Trooper Phillip Dunn of the Tennessee Highway Patrol clocked the Defendant driving his Ford Mustang 72 miles per hour on a portion of Highway 68 in Meigs County that was zoned for a maximum of 55 miles per hour. Trooper Dunn activated his blue lights, which automatically turned on a dashboard video camera, and stopped the Defendant. When Trooper Dunn approached the Defendant, he "noticed a strong odor of intoxicant" about the Defendant's person. Upon further inspection, Trooper Dunn observed that the Defendant had "bloodshot eyes," was "slurred in his speech," and "appeared to be intoxicated."
Trooper Dunn attempted to administer three different field sobriety tests. He first requested that the Defendant perform the "finger to nose" test, which the Defendant was able to complete but Trooper Dunn believed was done in an "unsteady" manner. Trooper Dunn also requested the Defendant perform the "one legged stand" test, but the Defendant refused, citing a back problem. Finally, Trooper Dunn had the Defendant perform the "walk and turn" test, noting that the Defendant was "unsteady" and "stumbled," attempted the test twice, and on one occasion did not touch his toe to his heel as requested.
Following the Defendant's poor performance on the field sobriety tests, Trooper Dunn placed the Defendant under arrest for DUI. A search incident to the arrest produced a pair of brass knuckles on the Defendant's person. Trooper Dunn advised the Defendant of his rights under the implied consent law. The Defendant acknowledged that he understood his rights as well as the ramifications of refusing to submit to a blood alcohol test, and declined to submit to the test.
The record also reflects that during Trooper Dunn's interaction with the Defendant the night of the incident, the Defendant stated that he had consumed "two or three" beers. Additionally, after the Defendant had already been arrested for DUI, he requested that Trooper Dunn charge him only with "PD," presumably referring to the less serious charge of public drunkenness.
Trooper Dunn further testified that as he sat in the patrol car with the Defendant after the arrest, it "was obvious" that the Defendant was into
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