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Commonwealth v. James12/8/2004
In this appeal, we have been asked by Appellant, the Commonwealth, to determine whether the trial court abused its discretion in granting the motion of Appellee, Evan James, for a writ of habeas corpus. Specifically, we must decide whether the Commonwealth presented adequate evidence to hold Appellee for trial for a violation of 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 3731(a)(1) and (4)(i), commonly known as "driving under the influence." Under the circumstances of this case, we hold that the Commonwealth did, in fact, proffer evidence sufficient to defeat Appellee's motion. Accordingly, we reverse and remand for trial.
2 The record reveals the following facts*fn1 and procedural history. On August 8, 2002, Appellee parked his vehicle in a lot near a bar. Apparently he did not pay the required fee, because the manager called for tow trucks to remove both his vehicle and another one from the lot. Two tow trucks responded, and Appellee's vehicle was hoisted by one of them. Because the vehicle had front-wheel drive, the two front wheels of Appellee's vehicle were placed on a raised platform, where they were then secured with bars and straps. While the tow truck driver was waiting for the other tow truck to leave the parking lot, Appellee approached in a belligerent state. As described by the tow truck operator:
Mr. James come running up cussing and cursing, telling me to let his vehicle down. ... At that time, he reached in my truck, grabbed my hat, threw it half way across the lot. Then he went back, jumped in his car, started the vehicle up. ... Starts revving up his engine saying he's not going anywhere. ... We call the police to come. He gets out of the vehicle, goes to my wheel lift, starts undoing my strap, takes my pin out, throws it across the lot. At that time the other driver stops him. I went over and grabbed my pin, put it back in my lift, redid the strap. He got back in, started revving his engine up some more, threw it in reverse, hit his gas, and hopped his car half way off my lift.
(N.T. at 8-9). Appellee's actions, in fact, damaged the tow truck. The police arrived while Appellee was still sitting in the car, and the tow truck operator described Appellee's actions to the police. Because Appellee appeared intoxicated to the police, they gave him two field sobriety tests, both of which he failed. He later registered a 0.165% on a breath analysis test.
3 As a result of Appellee's actions in the parking lot, he was charged with two counts of driving under the influence of alcohol ("DUI").*fn2 Following his preliminary hearing, Appellant filed a Motion for a Writ of Habeas Corpus, seeking dismissal of the charges. After a hearing on October 2 and 9, 2002, the trial court granted the motion and dismissed the charges. The Commonwealth has appealed, and raises the following issue for our review:
WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT MISAPPLIED THE LAW TO THE FACTS PRESENTED AS TO WHETHER APPELLEE WAS IN "ACTUAL PHYSICAL CONTROL" OF THE MOVEMENT OF HIS VEHICLE WITHIN THE MEANING OF 75 PA.C.S.A. § 3731(a), AND THUS MANIFESTLY ABUSED ITS DISCRETION IN GRANTING APPELLEE'S REQUEST FOR HABEAS CORPUS RELIEF AND DISMISSING HIS DUI CHARGES?
(Appellant's Brief at 4).
4 Our standard of review for a grant of a habeas corpus petition is as follows:
The decision to grant or deny a petition for writ of [habeas corpus ] will be reversed on appeal only for a manifest abuse of discretion.... Our scope of review is limited to deciding whether a prima facie case was established.... [T]he Commonwealth must show sufficient probable cause that the defendant committed the offense, and the evidence should be such that if presented at trial, and accepted as true, the judge would be warrant
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