City of Fargo v. Komulainen
| Decision Date | 05 March 1991 |
| Docket Number | Cr. N |
| Citation | 466 N.W.2d 610 |
| Parties | CITY OF FARGO, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Debora J. KOMULAINEN, Defendant and Appellant. o. 900224. |
| Court | North Dakota Supreme Court |
Erik R. Johnson, Asst. City Atty., Fargo, for plaintiff and appellee; submitted on brief.
Leslie Johnson-Soetebier, Fargo, for defendant and appellant; submitted on brief.
Debora Komulainen appeals from a judgment of conviction finding her guilty of being in actual physical control of a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor with a blood alcohol content of .10% or greater. We affirm.
On February 16, 1990, a radio dispatch directed Officers David Boe and Alwood Schalesky to 1419 4th Avenue North in Fargo to check out a person allegedly slumped over the steering wheel of a motor vehicle blocking a driveway to an apartment complex parking lot. The police officers found Debora Komulainen sleeping in her locked vehicle, stretched out on the front seat with her head on the passenger side. She was using her coat for a pillow and was covered with a blanket. The keys were in the ignition. The radio was playing and the heater fan was blowing but the engine was not running. Conflicting testimony was given concerning whether the ignition key was turned to the "on" position or the "auxiliary" position.
The police officers unsuccessfully tried to awaken Komulainen by tapping on the window. They then entered the vehicle through the use of a slim jim. Komulainen sat up and attempted to start the vehicle, but she was stopped by the police officers.
The police officers testified that Komulainen had an odor of alcohol and was unsteady on her feet. At the scene, she failed field sobriety tests and an A.L.E.R.T. test. Komulainen requested a blood test for which she was taken to Dakota Hospital. The blood test result was introduced into evidence, showing that Komulainen had a blood alcohol content of .18%.
Komulainen argues on appeal that the motor vehicle was "inoperable" and that therefore she could not be in "actual physical control" and further that the blood test was inadmissible because the city failed to show that the test was "fairly administered".
Komulainen testified that she had been having problems with her car that day and more specifically that the car was idling too rapidly. Komulainen further testified that she told a friend, James Parraut, a certified auto mechanic, that she would bring her car to his house at approximately 10:00 p.m. that evening so he could check it out. Parraut was not at home when Komulainen arrived at approximately 9:00 p.m., so she left the car in the driveway and walked to the 4-10 Lounge.
Parraut testified that he came home at approximately 10:30 p.m., saw Komulainen's car in the driveway and decided to take a look at the acceleration linkage. He testified that he removed the distributor cap to check the timing advance and, leaving it disassembled, went looking for Komulainen. Komulainen testified that she had a beer and 3 or 4 mixed drinks before returning to Parraut's house at about 11:00 p.m. She found that Parraut was not there, so she got into her car, locked all of the doors and went to sleep.
After Komulainen's arrest, her vehicle was impounded. The next day Komulainen and Greg Eskelson picked up her car and she testified that when she started it, it did the same thing that prompted her to ask Parraut to check it out. She further testified that Eskelson did "something underneath the hood". The testimony was unclear as to what exactly Eskelson did.
The jury was instructed that: "A person is 'in actual physical control' of a vehicle within the meaning of these instructions when the vehicle is operable and he is in position to manipulate one or more of the controls of the...
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State v. Haverluk
...(APC is appropriate when a person is arrested outside of vehicle while attempting to free a stuck vehicle); City of Fargo v. Komulainen, 466 N.W.2d 610 (N.D.1991) (a defendant who was asleep in vehicle with keys in ignition may be convicted of APC despite allegation the car was inoperable);......
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...simply found that Purdy and Uchtman had not established their defense by a preponderance of the evidence. See City of Fargo v. Komulainen, 466 N.W.2d 610, 612 (N.D.1991). We will not second-guess the jury on that matter. We have considered the other arguments of the defendants and they do n......
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Wagner v. Backes, 900439
...fair administration by establishing first that the approved method was followed. Pladson, 368 N.W.2d at 513. See also Fargo v. Komulainen, 466 N.W.2d 610, 612 (N.D.1991). In this case, the director did not make a prima facie showing that the approved method was followed. Therefore, Wagner w......
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