State v. Olivas, 1041
| Decision Date | 15 March 1954 |
| Docket Number | No. 1041,1041 |
| Citation | 77 Ariz. 118,267 P.2d 893 |
| Parties | STATE v. OLIVAS. |
| Court | Arizona Supreme Court |
Ross F. Jones, Atty. Gen., and Earl E. Weeks, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.
Douglas H. Clark, Phoenix, for appellant.
A direct information was filed against Manuel Grijalva Olivas, appellant herein, charging him with the offense of driving an automobile under the influence of intoxicating liquor. Following trial and conviction, he was sentenced to imprisonment in the county jail of Maricopa County for a period of 90 days. Appellant brings the matter to the court claiming that the trial court erred in admitting the result of a Harger drunkometer test without first requiring prosecution to lay a proper foundation for its admission. The test was given by witness Roy Jones, a graduate chemist with subsequent technical training and 10 years' experience. In his work with the city, he had run approximately 1,000 tests of the nature here involved. His qualifications as an expert are not questioned in this appeal. He testified in detail as to how the machine should be operated to get the proper results and described the procedure he followed in this case which for all practical purposes conforms to his description of what the procedure should be. The witness testified the machine was accurate and when properly operated it would reflect the percentage of alcohol by weight in a person's blood, and the result of this particular test showed the appellant to have .214 per cent. The witness further testified that some scientists disagree with his views concerning the accuracy of the test.
Appellant contends that because there was scientific disagreement, the result of this test cannot be used as evidence in proving one to be intoxicated and relies upon the case of People v. Morse, 325 Mich. 270, 38 N.W.2d 322. We can hardly be expected to follow the Michigan decision since in our recent case of State v. Warren, 75 Ariz. 123, 252 P.2d 781, we approved the principles announced by the state of Illinois in its recent case of People v. Bobczyk, 343 Ill.App. 504, 99 N.E.2d 567. In this last mentioned case, Illinois refused to follow People v. Morse, supra, and held that where there is a lack of unanimity in the medical profession whether intoxication can be determined by breath, the scientific disagreement affects only the weight and not the admissibility of evidence. We think this is the correct rule in tests of this character.
Appellant...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
People v. Barbara
...only the weight and not the admissibility of evidence. See, e. g., how courts handled disputed status of Breathalyzer. State v. Olivas, 77 Ariz. 118, 267 P.2d 893 (1954); People v. Bobczyk, 343 Ill.App. 504, 99 N.E.2d 567 (1951).One federal district court recommended still another approach:......
-
State v. Bible
...644 P.2d 1266, 1281-88 (1982); State v. Valdez, 91 Ariz. 274, 277-80, 371 P.2d 894, 896-98 (1962). But see State v. Olivas, 77 Ariz. 118, 119, 267 P.2d 893, 894 (1954) ("scientific disagreement [as to certain blood alcohol tests] affects only the weight and not the admissibility of evidence......
-
Reed v. State
...The Supreme Court of Arizona considered the issue of the admissibility of evidence based on the Harger drunkometer in State v. Olivas, 77 Ariz. 118, 267 P.2d 893 (1954). The court noted that there was some disagreement among scientists as to the accuracy of the test. Referring to Bobczyk, t......
-
Eftenoff v. Ryan
...over the accuracy of a particular test "affects only the weight and not the admissibility of evidence." State v. Olivas, 77 Ariz. 118, 119; 267 P.2d 893, 894 (Ariz. 1954). Petitioner asserted that the evidence of the unreliability of the VOD formula was discovered after his trial. (Doc. 1-2......