State v. Knuckles
| Decision Date | 17 May 1996 |
| Docket Number | No. 23084,23084 |
| Citation | 473 S.E.2d 131,196 W.Va. 416 |
| Court | West Virginia Supreme Court |
| Parties | STATE of West Virginia, Plaintiff Below, Appellee, v. Roger Dale KNUCKLES, Defendant Below, Appellant. |
2. Syllabus Point 3, State v. Smith, 178 W.Va. 104, 358 S.E.2d 188 (1987).
3. Syllabus Point 2. State v. Davis, 164 W.Va. 783, 266 S.E.2d 909 (1980).
4. "In order to determine if there is evidentiary insufficiency that will bar a retrial under double jeopardy principles, such determination is made upon the entire record submitted to the jury and not upon the residual evidence remaining after the appellate court reviews the record for evidentiary error." Syllabus Point 5, State v. Frazier, 162 W.Va. 602, 252 S.E.2d 39 (1979).
Jacquelyn I. Custer, Special Assistant Attorney General, Charleston, for Appellee.
Barry L. Bruce, Barry L. Bruce & Associates, Lewisburg, for Appellant.
This is an appeal from convictions arising out of the DUI related deaths of three women. The defendant, Roger Dale Knuckles, prosecutes this appeal of his convictions by a jury on three counts of violating W.Va.Code, 17C-5-2(a) (1986). 1 The trial court sentenced the defendant to three consecutive terms of one-to-ten years imprisonment, and imposed a fine of $3,000 on each count. On appeal, the defendant has raised five assignments of error: (1) it was error for the court to question a state's witness during trial deposition testimony; (2) it was error to admit the defendant's blood alcohol test results into evidence; (3) it was error to exclude from evidence defendant's Exhibit No. 8; (4) it was error to deny defendant's motion for acquittal; and (5) the cumulative effect of the court's errors denied the defendant a fair trial. We affirm the conviction in all respects.
The facts of this case begin at approximately 10:30 a.m. on November 14, 1993. At that time, the defendant and two companions, his brother Melvin Knuckles and their friend Joey Pitts ("Pitts"), began drinking, and consumed a twelve-can pack of beer as they drove around Monroe County in the defendant's truck. Shortly after 1:00 p.m., Melvin Knuckles parted with the defendant and Pitts and went home. The defendant and Pitts then drove to the home of Eugene Knights ("Knights"). The defendant parked his truck at Knights' home. The three men then got into Knights' car and drove to a jail in the town of Union to visit a friend of Knights. Pitts testified that on the way to the jail the three men each drank about "two or three" cans of beer they had obtained. During the trial there was testimony by the jail attendant which indicated that the defendant "had a very strong odor of alcohol on his breath," was "extremely loud and used a lot of profanity," and "[a]ppeared to me to be drunk." The three men left the jail and returned to Knights' home. Pitts testified that the defendant drank two more cans of beer before they left Knights' home, and drove to the home of Linda Bowling. According to Linda Bowling, the defendant appeared to be drinking, had trouble getting into his truck, and almost ran into another vehicle when they left her home. 2 Pitts testified that he and the defendant drove next to the home of Bessie Morris. The two men consumed "one or two" cans of beer each while en route to Bessie Morris' home. While at her home the two men once again consumed "one or two" cans of beer. They left Bessie Morris' home after about a half hour.
The two men next headed to the home of Junior Lee Morris ("Morris"). Pitts testified that he and the defendant drank two cans of beer while driving to the home of Morris. It was approximately 4:30 p.m. when the two men picked up Morris at his home and drove over to Princeton. The evidence indicated that at various times Pitts and Morris drove the defendant's truck because of erratic driving by the defendant. While the three men were in Princeton they purchased and consumed an unspecified quantity of beer. The evidence revealed that the defendant insisted upon driving once the three men decided to leave Princeton, and drive over to Peterstown. Morris testified that the defendant "was driving real fast," and "he was weaving across the lines, and I would reach over and jerk him back in the road and keep him from hitting guard rails and everything." Before reaching Peterstown, the three men purchased and consumed a twelve-can pack of beer. Pitts testified regarding defendant's driving at this time, that "he was driving recklessly," that he "was speeding and weaving on and off the road and passing a few cars at a time," and that "he almost hit a car." At approximately 8:00 p.m. the defendant and Pitts dropped Morris off at his home. The defendant then drove to the home of Kenneth Cecil to obtain more beer. Pitts testified that he wanted to go home, but that the defendant would not take him home. Therefore, when they arrived at Kenneth Cecil's home, Pitts parted with the defendant and walked approximately six miles to his home. The defendant left the home of Kenneth Cecil at about 9:00 p.m.
Shortly after the defendant left the home of Kenneth Cecil, while on U.S. Route 219, near Hines Place Road, he lost control of his truck, crossed the center line and struck an on-coming car containing three women who had been returning from evening church services. Two of the women, Cordelia Styles and Betty Bales, died at the scene of the accident. The third woman, Mary "Goldie" Jones died several hours later at Roanoke Memorial Hospital. Physical evidence at the accident scene indicated that defendant's truck entered a curve too fast, dropped off the right shoulder of the road, began a "yaw" and crossed over the center line into the victims' car. There was no indication that defendant had applied his brakes. The paramedic and emergency medical technicians who ministered to the defendant at the scene noted an odor of alcohol on his breath. After receiving first aid at the scene, defendant was taken by helicopter to Roanoke Memorial Hospital. Upon his admission to the emergency room, blood samples were taken from the defendant as part of the hospital's routine procedure in trauma cases.
On January 11, 1994, a Monroe County grand jury issued a three-count indictment against the defendant charging him with violating W.Va.Code, 17C-5-2(a). The case was set for trial on June 28, 1994, however, during the course of jury selection, it became apparent that it would be difficult to select a fair and impartial jury in Monroe County. Therefore, on a motion by the defendant, venue for the trial was changed to Summers County. 3 Two out-of-state medical witnesses, phlebotomist Mary Lee Bohm and lab technician David Murray, were present at the June 28 mistrial. In order to take advantage of their presence, the trial court conducted a hearing on a suppression motion by the defendant, regarding blood alcohol testing done by Ms. Bohm and Mr. Murray. The parties agreed that if the trial court saw "fit to let the testimony of these witnesses in, we will treat this as a trial deposition, and the testimony can be transcribed, read to the jury, and these witnesses will not have to appear [at trial]." The second trial started in Summers County on February 14, 1995. On February 17, 1995, the jury returned a verdict of guilty on all three counts of the indictment. On March 13, 1995, the trial court sentenced the defendant to three consecutive terms of one-to-ten years in prison and imposed a fine of $3,000 on each count. Execution of the sentence was stayed and the defendant released on bond pending the outcome of this appeal.
1.
The first argument raised by the defendant is that the trial court improperly questioned Ms. Bohm during the trial deposition on June 28, 1994. The defendant contends that the state did not establish a proper foundation to admit the blood alcohol test results of the defendant taken at Roanoke Memorial Hospital, and that the trial court improperly conducted an extended examination of Ms. Bohm in an attempt to rehabilitate her and establish the foundation that the state had failed to lay. 4 The defendant takes the position that, if the trial court had not intervened and began questioning Ms. Bohm to lay a proper foundation, the blood alcohol test results would not have been allowed into evidence. In support of this contention, the defendant cites Nash v. Fidelity-Phenix Insurance Company, 106 W.Va. 672, 146 S.E. 726 (1929), for the proposition that a trial court may question a witness to clear up an obscure point, but not engage in an extended examination of a witness, as is alleged here. 5 The defendant also cites State v. Bennett, 172 W.Va. 131, 304 S.E.2d 35 (1983), as prohibiting a trial court from rehabilitating a witness, as is contended here. 6 We need not be detained by Nash and Bennett because they cannot be harmoniously juxtaposed to the facts under review here.
We find no merit to the defendant's argument. First, the foundation for the blood alcohol test evidence was established by the testimony of Mr. Murray who identified the...
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Frank A. v. Ames
...mere allegations of error cannot form the basis for application of the cumulative error doctrine. See State v. Knuckles , 196 W.Va. 416, 426, 473 S.E.2d 131, 141 (1996) (per curiam) ("because we find that there is no error in this case, the cumulative error doctrine has no application. Cumu......
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State ex. rel. Roger L. Bowers v. McBride
...Demonstrate that there was Cumulative Error. The cumulative error doctrine does not apply where no error is shown. State v. Knuckles, 196 W.Va. 416, 473 S.E.2d 131 (1996). The record is plain that the Petitioner is not entitled to any relief on this allegation of cumulative error. W. Va. Co......
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Morris v. Painter, 29758.
...from relying on the plain error doctrine to address issues involving Mr. Morris' convictions. It was noted in State v. Knuckles, 196 W.Va. 416, 421, 473 S.E.2d 131, 136 (1996), that "waiver necessarily precludes salvage by plain error review." It has also been said that "[w]hen there has be......
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State v. Trail
...cumulative error. Because we have found no errors, this assignment need not be addressed. See, e.g., State v. Knuckles,196 W.Va. 416, 426, 473 S.E.2d 131, 141 (1996)(per curiam) (“[B]ecause we find that there is no error in this case, the cumulative error doctrine has no application. Cumula......