Com. v. Dussault

• Decision Date: 10 April 2008
• Docket Number: No. 07-P-919.,07-P-919.
• Citation: 883 N.E.2d 1243,71 Mass. App. Ct. 542
• Parties: COMMONWEALTH v. Kevin M. DUSSAULT.
• Court: Appeals Court of Massachusetts

883 N.E.2d 1243

71 Mass. App. Ct. 542

COMMONWEALTH v. Kevin M. DUSSAULT.

No. 07-P-919.

Appeals Court of Massachusetts, Norfolk.

Argued February 13, 2008.

Decided April 10, 2008.

David D. Nielson for the defendant.

Alexei Tymoczko, Assistant District Attorney, for the Commonwealth.

Present: CYPHER, KANTROWITZ, & GRAHAM, JJ.

GRAHAM, J.

The defendant was tried in the District Court and convicted by a jury of negligently operating a motor vehicle in violation of G.L. c. 90, § 24; operating a vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor (OUI), third offense, in violation of G.L. c. 90, § 24; and two civil motor vehicle infractions: crossing marked lanes in violation of G.L. c. 89, § 4A; and exceeding the posted speed limit in violation of G.L. c. 90, § 17. While the jury was deliberating, defense counsel notified the judge that if the defendant was found guilty of the underlying OUI charge, he would waive a trial by jury on the third offense portion of the OUI charge. After a jury-waived trial, the defendant was found guilty of OUI, third offense.

On appeal, the defendant claims the following errors: the judge's failure to instruct the jury, as promised, not to draw any adverse inference from the defendant's decision not to testify was an error that created a substantial risk of a miscarriage of justice; the Commonwealth's evidence of prior OUI offenses was insufficient to convict the defendant of OUI, third offense; and the judge failed to engage in a jury waiver colloquy and failed to obtain a signed jury waiver form from the defendant prior to conducting the jury-waived portion of the case.

Facts. On January 29, 2006, at approximately 10:30 P.M., Medway police Officer Robert O'Neill was patrolling in his marked cruiser on Route 109 when he observed the defendant speeding past him in the opposite direction. O'Neill reversed the direction of his vehicle and followed the defendant. He determined through his radar equipment that the defendant exceeded the posted speed limit (thirty and then thirty-five miles per hour) by twenty-eight miles per hour, and then by eighteen miles per hour. He also observed the defendant weave across the double yellow lines several times.

O'Neill activated his emergency lights and pulled over the defendant's vehicle. When he approached, he smelled a strong odor of alcohol emanating from the vehicle and the defendant's person. He also noted that the defendant's eyes were bloodshot and glassy, and that his speech was slurred. When O'Neill inquired of the defendant and his passenger whether they had been drinking, the defendant first denied that he had consumed alcohol, but after the passenger contradicted him, the defendant admitted that he had drunk "a few" alcoholic beverages. When requested, the defendant produced his operator's license, though the listed address did not correspond to his current address. The defendant also produced the vehicle's registration, which indicated ownership by a third party who was not present in the vehicle. O'Neill returned to his cruiser and called for backup officers.

When backup Officers McRoberts and McLaughlin arrived, O'Neill asked the defendant to exit his vehicle. As the defendant walked to the rear of the vehicle, he was unsteady on his feet and had to use the car to balance himself. O'Neill determined that the defendant was intoxicated and placed him under arrest. McRoberts then conducted an inventory search of the vehicle and discovered several empty beer cans and a "nip bottle" of liquor.

Discussion. 1. Jury instruction. The defendant claims that the judge erred in failing to give the requested instruction regarding adverse inferences and a nontestifying defendant. Where, as here, the defendant failed to object to the judge's failure to provide the requested jury instruction, we review to determine whether the alleged error created a substantial risk of a miscarriage of justice. Mass. R.Crim.P. 24(b), 378 Mass. 895 (1979) ("No party may assign as error the giving or the failure to give an instruction unless he objects thereto before the jury retires to consider its verdict, specifying the matter to which he objects and the grounds of his objection"). See Commonwealth v. McDuffee, 379 Mass. 353, 357, 398 N.E.2d 463 (1979); Commonwealth v. Alphas, 430 Mass. 8, 13, 712 N.E.2d 575 (1999). In determining whether the failure to give an instruction created such a risk, we apply the test enunciated in Commonwealth v. Freeman, 352 Mass. 556, 563-564, 227 N.E.2d 3 (1967), that is, (1) whether the Commonwealth presented a strong case against the defendant; (2) whether the error is "sufficiently significant in the context of the trial to make plausible an inference that the [jury's] result might have been otherwise but for the error"; and (3) whether it can be inferred "from the record that counsel's failure to object was not simply a reasonable tactical decision." Commonwealth v. Alphas, supra, quoting from Commonwealth v. Miranda, 22 Mass. App.Ct. 10, 21, 490 N.E.2d 1195 (1986).

Here, the evidence against the defendant was overwhelming. O'Neill observed the defendant driving in an erratic manner, weaving through lanes of traffic and traveling at nearly twice the posted speed limit. The defendant's eyes were bloodshot, his speech was slurred, his breath smelled of alcohol, and his gait was unsteady. The defendant also admitted that he had been drinking on the evening in question. An inventory search revealed several empty beer cans and a "nip bottle" of liquor strewn about the vehicle.

Additionally, the defendant failed to demonstrate how the error made an impact on the jury's deliberations. The defendant correctly pointed out that a defendant's right not to testify, and his related right to a jury charge to that effect, are profound. See Commonwealth v. Sneed, 376 Mass. 867, 871-872, 383 N.E.2d 843 (1978). However, the Supreme Judicial Court specifically has noted that the instruction often functions as a double-edged sword, and that the effect of the instruction on the jury's deliberations is equivocal. See Commonwealth v. Buiel, 391 Mass. 744, 746-747, 463 N.E.2d 1172 (1984) ("It is difficult to determine whether such an instruction is beneficial to a particular defendant or to defendants as a group. On the one hand, it warns the jury against drawing inferences adverse to the defendant from his not testifying. On the other hand, such an instruction may focus the jury's attention on the question why the defendant decided not to assist the jury in their fact-finding function"), abrogated in part by Commonwealth v. Rivera, 441 Mass. 358, 368-371, 805 N.E.2d 942 (2004). Furthermore, there is no allegation that the judge or the prosecutor improperly referred to the defendant's silence. Contrast Commonwealth v. Goulet, 374 Mass. 404, 412-413, 372 N.E.2d 1288 (1978); Commonwealth v. Sneed, supra at 872, 383 N.E.2d 843. Based on the overwhelming evidence of the defendant's guilt, and the absence of any showing of prejudice, we are confident that the failure to give the requested instruction was an error that did not create a substantial risk of a miscarriage of justice.

2. Proof of prior offenses. The defendant claims that the Commonwealth's evidence regarding the two prior convictions was insufficient because the certified conviction records contained limited biographical information that failed to demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was the same person who committed those crimes.

When a defendant claims that the evidence was insufficient to prove his guilt, we review to determine whether, upon "viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt." Commonwealth v. Andrews, 427 Mass. 434, 440, 694 N.E.2d 329 (1998), quoting from Commonwealth v. Latimore, 378 Mass. 671, 677, 393 N.E.2d 370 (1979). "We may consider circumstantial evidence of guilt together with inferences drawn therefrom that appear reasonable and not overly remote." Commonwealth v. Andrews, supra.

General Laws c. 90, § 24(4), as appearing in St.2005, c. 122, § 6A, provides that "certified attested cop[ies] of original court papers" shall be "prima facie evidence" that a defendant previously was convicted.¹ Commonwealth v. Maloney, 447 Mass. 577, 581, 855 N.E.2d 765 (2006). "In criminal cases, when evidence `A' is prima facie evidence of fact `B,' then, in the absence of competing evidence, the fact finder is permitted but not required to find `B' beyond a reasonable doubt." Ibid. "[P]rima facie provisions . . . represent the Legislature's considered judgment that certain evidence (usually administratively easier to produce) is so probative of an aspect of a crime that it is sufficient to meet the Commonwealth's burden of production on that issue." Id. at 590, 855 N.E.2d 765.

Read into § 24(4) is the additional requirement that the documentation reflecting a conviction be linked to the defendant before such documentation can be prima facie evidence of a conviction. Id. at 582, 855 N.E.2d 765. While "identity of name" alone is insufficient, when the conviction records "include more identifying information than merely the offender's name, . . . this requirement will be met." Id. at 588, 855 N.E.2d 765 (footnote omitted). See Commonwealth v. Bowden, 447 Mass. 593, 602, 855 N.E.2d 758 (2006).

The conviction records here satisfied the Commonwealth's burden. The records matched the defendant's full name, including his middle initial, and the judge also took into account the fact that the defendant's last name was an unusual one. The court records provided additional biographical information that correlated with the defendant's identity, including date of birth and town of residence. The addresses on both convictions also were associated with the defendant: the address for one conviction correlated with the address listed...