Ashcraft v. State

1940 OK CR 1, 98 P.2d 60, 68 Okla. Crim. 308, 1940 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 113
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
DecidedJanuary 11, 1940
DocketNo. A-9543.
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 1940 OK CR 1 (Ashcraft v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ashcraft v. State, 1940 OK CR 1, 98 P.2d 60, 68 Okla. Crim. 308, 1940 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 113 (Okla. Ct. App. 1940).

Opinion

BABEFOOT, J.

The defendant was charged in the district court of Kay county with the crime of operating *310 a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor; was tried, convicted and sentenced to serve a term of six months in the penitentiary, and has appealed.

A brief statement of the facts is that defendant, on October 4, 1937, was seen by a traffic officer driving a truck from the baseball park of the Continental Oil Company, in Ponca. City, Kay County, Okla. That the officer, Floyd Story, who was directing traffic at this time, saw the truck run into a board gate and break the chains as it came into the street. He tried to stop it, but it did not stop. He was holding up his hand and also blowing his whistle. He jumped back out of the way. He at first did not see anyone under the steering wheel, but, as it passed him, he saw someone raise up. He then saw the driver run upon the curbing. He further testified as follows:

“A. About the time he was ready to go up on the driveway, he grabbed the steering wheel and righted his truck and run down over a- curbing and the sideboards of his truck fell off the back of them, but the front end held it and he was dragging the sideboards, and I didn’t understand what was wrong and I attempted to stop him and got on my motorcycle, and before I got to Mm he run over the curb at Pine and South avenue and then pulled back out in the street and started north on Pine street and I caught him and tried to stop him, but he seemed to be asleep or not paying any attention to me or anything and driving from one side of the street to the other. And in front of the Triple-A Barbecue stand I pulled up by the side of him and he pulled to the right and he hit the curb and his car jumped the curb and ran into and knocked down some signs and he crashed into a car parked there.”

He saw defendant when he got out of the truck. Defendant was staggering, and attempted to start an argument with the party who owned the automobile *311 which he ran into. He could smell alcohol and liquor on his breath, and he was under the influence of intoxicating liquor, and in his opinion was drunk. He took him to the city jail in Ponca City. This was a little after 12 noon. He was driving 40 to 45 miles per hour.

Mrs. Anna Lee Lobinsky owned the Triple-A Barbecue stand. She saw defendant after the wreck, and had a conversation with him'' She said he was staggering, and the officer was holding him up, and that in her opinion he was intoxicated.

Zack T. Miller, Jr., a 16 year old boy, whose car was standing at the barbecue stand, and was run into by defendant, testified as did the other witnesses. That he saw the officer holding him up and that he was intoxicated.

W. R. Withrow, a deputy sheriff, was present at the time defendant was brought to the police station, and was taken by him to Newkirk. He testified that defendant’s breath smelled like he had been drinking a cheap grade of whisky, and that he was intoxicated.

Defendant testified that he had first come to Ponca City four years ago, and had returned to Iowa, and come back to Ponca City; that he was married and had one child; that at the time of his trial he was working in Texas where he had a. job as a welder; that on the morning of the 4th of October, 1937, he met a Mr. Dye, whom he knew, and who was driving a truck. That he got in the truck and they went to Coffee Bill’s place and drank a mug of beer; that afterwards they drove around and he was trying to find a job. They then went to Blaclde’s place about 11:30 and each drank a bottle of beer. He danced with the girl who owned an interest in the place. They left there just before 12 o’clock, and Mr. Dye got *312 out of the truck and was talking to a Mr. Riggs whom they met. He drove off in the truck and left them there, saying, “I am going down the street.” He went out to the baseball park of the Continental Oil Company where he was afterwards seen by Officer Floyd Story, as heretofore related. His explanation of the accidents was that the brakes of the truck were in a defective condition. They “stuck” and he had to reach down and get them loose with his hands, and that for this reason he ran through the gates at the ball park, and into the curbing and into the sign and parked automobile at the Triple-A Barbecue stand. He testified that he had drunk no intoxicating liquor of any kind with the exception of the mug of beer and the bottle of 3.2% beer.

Several witnesses testified in behalf of defendant Two or three as to seeing him at the time of the accident, and that he was not staggering. That he did not have to be held up, and in their opinion he was not intoxicated or under the influence of intoxicating liquor.

Mr. Dye corroborated his statement with reference to the truck and the drinking of the beer. He said the truck was not in good repair, but he could drive it because he understood it. On cross-examination he stated he did not know defendant was going away with the truck when he drove off, and that he was trying to locate him at the time of the accident, and that he talked about having defendant arrested for stealing his track. He afterwards stated that this was for the purpose of being able to collect insurance which he had on the truck.

It is first contended by defendant that the court erred in refusing to instruct the jury that beverages containing not more than 3.2 per cent, of alcohol, measured by weight, are nonintoxicating under the provisions *313 of section 1, chapter 153, ¡Session Laws 1933, 37 Okla. St. Ann. § 151, which provides:

“Beverages containing more than three and two tenths ■ (3.2%) per cent, alcohol by weight are hereby declared to be intoxicating; all other beverages are declared to be non-intoxicating. The manufacture, distribution and sale of beverages containing more than one-half of one (Vz_ of 1%) per cent, alcohol by volume and not more than three and two-tenths (3.2%) per cent, alcohol by weight is hereby declared subject to the rules and regulations hereinafter provided.”

And that if defendant had been drinking beer or liquor containing not more than 3.2 per cent, alcohol, he could not be convicted of driving an automobile while under the influence of intoxicating liquor. A complete answer to this proposition would be that under the facts in this case the jury wrould have been justified in finding, as a matter of fact, that defendant was under the influence of intoxicating liquor, other than by the drinking of 3.2 beer. But it is our desire to decide this question upon the issue raised, for the reason that it will arise in many cases and should be settled upon its merits.

The statute upon which defendant was charged was Oklahoma Statutes 1931, § 10324, 47 Okla. St. Ann. § 93, which is as follows:

“It shall be unlawful for any person who is under the influence of intoxicating liquor, or who is a habitual user of narcotic drugs, and the having on or about one’s person or in said vehicle of said intoxicating liquor is prima facie evidence of a violation of this act, to operate or drive a.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1940 OK CR 1, 98 P.2d 60, 68 Okla. Crim. 308, 1940 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 113, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ashcraft-v-state-oklacrimapp-1940.