Buckles v. State
| Decision Date | 16 April 1992 |
| Docket Number | No. 90-270,90-270 |
| Citation | 830 P.2d 702 |
| Parties | Donald J. BUCKLES, Jr., Appellant (Defendant), v. The STATE of Wyoming, Appellee (Plaintiff). |
| Court | Wyoming Supreme Court |
Wyoming Public Defender Program: Leonard D. Munker, State Public Defender, David Gosar, Appellate Counsel, Gerald M. Gallivan, Director, Wyoming Defender Aid Program, Kenneth M. McLaughlin, Student Intern, for appellant.
Joseph B. Meyer, Atty. Gen., Sylvia Lee Hackl, Deputy Atty. Gen., Jennifer L. Gimbel, Sr. Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.
Before URBIGKIT, C.J., and THOMAS, CARDINE, MACY and GOLDEN, JJ.
The major issue to be resolved in this case is whether a defendant, charged with aggravated vehicular homicide and aggravated driving under the influence, is entitled to have the jury instructed that it may consider the conduct of a victim who was operating another vehicle in arriving at a determination as to whether the actions of the defendant constitute the cause of death of that victim. Other issues presented and argued relate to the sufficiency of probable cause to arrest Donald J. Buckles, Jr. (Buckles) for driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor in order to justify the lawfulness of a test of his blood for the presence of alcohol, the results of which were introduced into evidence; the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the determination by the jury that Buckles' conduct was the proximate cause of the death of David Stegena (Stegena) and the injuries to Maria Lisa Lucero (Lucero); exclusion of evidence of Stegena's use of controlled substances on the occasion in question; and the insufficiency of the record on appeal. We hold that the trial court erred when it instructed the jury with respect to the issue of causation and when it excluded the evidence of the use of a controlled substance by Stegena. We uphold the ruling of the trial court that admitted the result of Buckles' blood alcohol test into evidence. In light of the reversal of the case, we do not further consider the issues relating to the sufficiency of the evidence or the adequacy of the record for review. The judgment and sentence is reversed, and this case is remanded for a new trial in accordance with this opinion.
Buckles, in his Brief of Appellant asserts the following issues:
1. Did the trial court err by admitting evidence of the Appellant's blood alcohol test?
2. Was the evidence admitted in this trial sufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Appellant's violation of W.S. § 31-5-233 was the proximate cause of another person's death or serious bodily injury?
3. Did the trial court err by failing to instruct the jury that it could consider whether evidence of negligence by the deceased had any bearing on the alleged misconduct of the Appellant, and that it could further consider such evidence regarding the issue of whether Appellant's misconduct was the proximate cause of the accident?
4. Did the trial court err by refusing to admit evidence that the other driver had ingested cocaine prior to the accident?
5. Does this court's decision in Bearpaw v. State, No. 89-214 slip op. (Wyo., Dec. 7, 1990) [803 P.2d 70 (1990) ], require this case to be reversed and remanded for a new trial?
As Appellee, the State of Wyoming, rephrases those issues in this way:
1. Whether the trial court's evidentiary rulings were proper.
2. Whether the evidence was sufficient to sustain Appellant's convictions of aggravated vehicular homicide and aggravated driving under the influence.
3. Whether the trial court properly instructed the jury on the necessary elements of the offenses, including causation.
4. Whether the absence from the appellate record of certain portions of the trial deprives Appellant of the effective assistance of appellate counsel or necessitates reversal of Appellant's convictions.
At about 10:30 P.M., on the evening of September 1, 1989, Stegena and Lucero went to Food Bonanza, located in Cheyenne Plaza in the city of Cheyenne, to shop for groceries. They completed their shopping in about an hour, and they left the parking lot at Food Bonanza with Stegena driving Lucero's 1984 Subaru. Stegena drove along a frontage road that parallels Nationway, and he turned right to approach the intersection of Windmill and Nationway which is controlled by a stoplight. Stegena entered the controlled intersection with a yellow light in his favor, but that light turned red while the vehicle driven by Stegena was still in the intersection and before it had completed a left turn onto Nationway.
At that time, Buckles was traveling east on Nationway in his red Chevrolet blazer. At his trial, Buckles testified that he was traveling at approximately 40 miles per hour. He said he observed that the light was red as he approached the intersection of Nationway and Windmill, and he slowed down. Then, the light turned green in his favor, and he increased his speed. As he proceeded through the intersection, he slammed into the blue Subaru occupied by Stegena and Lucero.
Stegena was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. A post-death drug test was performed on Stegena's urine, and it revealed the presence of cocaine metabolites in his urine at the time of his death. The owner and passenger, Lucero, was taken to a hospital emergency room where her diagnosis was a severe head laceration, four broken ribs, and a fractured pelvis.
Buckles struck the windshield of his vehicle in the collision, but he was not treated for any injuries. Since this was a fatal accident, however, a Cheyenne policeman took Buckles to the hospital where a blood sample was drawn. That sample was tested for the presence of alcohol, and that test disclosed that approximately one to one and one-half hours after the collision, Buckles' blood alcohol level was 0.24%. In Wyoming, the level at which a person is presumed to be intoxicated to a degree that renders him incapable of safely driving a motor vehicle is 0.10%. Wyo.Stat. § 31-5-233(b)(i) (1989). 1 As a result of the fatal crash, Buckles was tried by a jury, and he was convicted of one count of aggravated vehicular homicide as defined by Wyo.Stat. § 6-2-106(b)(i) (1991 Supp.) and one count of aggravated driving under the influence as defined by Wyo.Stat. § 31-5-233(h)(i) (1989). 2 Upon conviction, Buckles was sentenced to serve not less than six nor more than seven years in the Wyoming State Penitentiary on the aggravated vehicular homicide charge, and he was sentenced to a term of ten months in the county jail on the aggravated driving under the influence charge, with the latter sentence to be served consecutively to the penitentiary sentence. In addition, Buckles was ordered to pay the sum of $50 to the Victim's Compensation Fund. Buckles' appeal is taken from this judgment and sentence.
The issues in this case that lead to reversal are (1) whether a defendant who is charged with aggravated vehicular homicide or aggravated driving under the influence is entitled to have an instruction given to the jury that it may consider the actions of the driver victim when reaching its conclusion as to whether the conduct of the defendant is the cause of the death of or injury to the victims, and (2) whether the trial court erred when it excluded evidence of the use of a controlled substance by Stegena. Our answer to both of these questions is in the affirmative, and the product of that decision is that the trial court must be reversed. We will address these issues in the sequential order in which they arose during the proceedings and trial in the district court.
Buckles argues, with respect to the evidence of cocaine metabolites found in Stegena's urine, that this evidence was relevant on the issue of the actual cause of death. He contends vigorously that it well could have had an impact upon the jury's decision with respect to the proximate cause of the collision that resulted in Stegena's death and Lucero's injuries. We reiterate our rule that questions of admissibility of evidence generally are within the sound discretion of the trial court, and its decisions will not be overturned absent a clear abuse of discretion. Stamper v. State, 662 P.2d 82 (Wyo.1983); Weathers v. State, 652 P.2d 970 (Wyo.1982) (citing Taylor v. State, 642 P.2d 1294 (Wyo.1982)). In this instance, we conclude that the exclusion of this evidence was an abuse of the trial court's discretion. We agree with Buckles' arguments and reverse the decision of the trial court.
There is no question that the results of the drug screen performed upon Stegena's urine disclosed the presence of cocaine metabolites. At a pre-trial conference, the State submitted an oral motion in limine designed to prevent Buckles from introducing at the trial to the jury evidence of the cocaine metabolites that had been detected in Stegena's urine. Buckles resisted this motion and argued that this evidence was relevant not only to issues of witness credibility, but also to the questions of the proximate cause of the accident and the actual cause of Stegena's death.
At the pretrial hearing, the trial court provisionally granted the oral motion of the State, commenting that there would be no mention of the cocaine until there was some preliminary showing of materiality. At the trial, the county coroner was called as a witness. During the course of his testimony, a further discussion was held outside the presence of the jury with respect to the evidence of cocaine in Stegena's urine. The coroner testified, out of the presence of the jury, that the urine sample was sent to Clinical Labs and that Clinical Labs sent it to Analytitox in Denver. He stated that the drug screen was performed on the urine and revealed a positive conclusion with respect to cocaine metabolites. The test did not quantify the amount of cocaine in the urine, however. Following this testimony, the trial court excluded the evidence, ruling that no materiality had been demonstrated. There is nothing in the...
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