City of Springfield v. Waddell

904 S.W.2d 499, 1995 Mo. App. LEXIS 1284, 1995 WL 410722
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedJuly 13, 1995
DocketNo. 19414
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 904 S.W.2d 499 (City of Springfield v. Waddell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Springfield v. Waddell, 904 S.W.2d 499, 1995 Mo. App. LEXIS 1284, 1995 WL 410722 (Mo. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

A jury in Springfield Municipal Division 22 of the Circuit Court of Judicial Circuit 31 found Appellant guilty of speeding in violation of a Springfield municipal ordinance. The jury assessed punishment at a fine of one dollar. The trial court entered judgment in accordance with the verdict.

Appellant brings this appeal per § 479.150.2(2).1 His brief, submitted pro se, presents the following point relied on:

“1. Trial court erred in not entering a judgement of not guilty that Appellant was driving in excess of the posted speed limit because: the evidence does not support the verdict beyond a reasonable doubt.
A. There is no competent evidence to establish what speed the Appellant was driving.
B. Evidence was entirely circumstantial.
C. Facts and circumstances relied on by prosecution were inconsistant [sic] with each other and with the hypothesis of guilt.
2. Trial court erred in not entering a judgement of not guilty that Appellant was driving in excess of the posted speed limit because: court lacked jurisdiction and thus verdict had no validity.
3. Trial court erred in not entering a judgement of not guilty that Appellant was driving in excess of the posted speed limit because: denial of change of venue, denial of peremtory [sic] challenge.
4. Trial court erred in not entering a judgement of not guilty that Appellant was driving in excess of the posted speed limit because: complete corruption of the record to the point of non-viability.
5. Trial court erred in not entering a judgement of not guilty that Appellant was driving in excess of the posted speed limit because: denial of due process of law by court’s display of substantial bias and prejudice denying proper legal representation.
6. Trial court erred in not entering a judgement of not guilty that Appellant was driving in excess of the posted speed limit because: in permitting the prosecution to comment on Appellant’s failure to call the witness.
7. Trial court erred in not entering a judgement of not guilty that Appellant was driving in excess of the posted speed limit because: erroniously [sic] placing burden of proof of jury and witness misconduct on Appellant.
8. Trial court erred in not entering a judgement of not guilty that Appellant was driving in excess of the posted speed limit because: seating of improper jury.”

Rule 30.06(d)2 sets forth the requirements for a point relied on in this appeal. Rules 37.01, 37.61(e), and 30.33; §§ 479.150.2(l)-(2) and 643.220.1. Rule 30.06(d) reads, in pertinent part:

“The points relied on shall state briefly and concisely what actions or rulings of the court are sought to be reviewed and wherein and why they are claimed to be erroneous....”

Appellant’s point relied on fails to satisfy the “wherein and why” requirement of Rule 30.06(d). City of Springfield v. Rogers, 867 S.W.2d 692, 693-94 (Mo.App.S.D.1993); State v. Root, 820 S.W.2d 682, 685-86 (Mo.App.S.D.1991). An appellate court has no duty to resort to the argument portion of the brief to deduce wherein and why an appellant believes a trial court erred. Root, 820 S.W.2d at 686. Nonetheless, we have sifted the thirty pages of argument in Appellant’s brief in an attempt to extract the import of each paragraph of his point. We shall address the contentions as we understand them, mindful that Appellant has the burden of demonstrating error. State v. Harrison, 639 S.W.2d 119, 121[1] (Mo.App.1976).

Contention 1(A) maintains the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict of guilty returned by the jury in that there was no competent evidence to establish Appellant’s speed. In addressing that contention, we are aware that Respondent was required to prove Appellant guilty beyond a [503]*503reasonable doubt. City of Kansas City v. Oxley, 579 S.W.2d 113, 114[1] (Mo. banc 1979). The standard of review for determining whether the evidence met that requirement is set forth in State v. Grim, 854 S.W.2d 403, 411[5] (Mo. banc 1993), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 114 S.Ct. 562, 126 L.Ed.2d 462 (1993).

“[W]e are required to take the evidence in the light most favorable to the State and to grant the State all reasonable inferences from the evidence. We disregard contrary inferences, unless they are such a natural and logical extension of the evidence that a reasonable juror would be unable to disregard them. Taking the evidence in this light, we consider whether a reasonable juror could find each of the elements beyond a reasonable doubt.”

As explained in Oxley, 579 S.W.2d at 115, an appellate court neither weighs the evidence nor judges the credibility of the witnesses. Those are tasks for the jury. State v. Wright, 476 S.W.2d 581, 584[4] (Mo. 1972).

Viewed favorably to the verdict, the evidence establishes that on the morning of September 28,1993, Officer David Larry Tu-ter of the Springfield Police Department was operating a radar unit on Grand Street in Springfield. The power source for the unit was the battery on Tuter’s motorcycle. The motorcycle engine was “turned off.”

To “set up” the radar unit at that site, Tuter performed three procedures to ensure it was operating properly. First, he pushed a switch to determine whether all the tubes were working properly. He obtained a reading showing they were. Next, he did an “internal calibration” and again received a reading showing the unit was working properly. Finally, he struck a 50 mile-per-hour tuning fork in front of the unit and obtained a 50 mile-per-hour reading. He testified he followed these procedures “before and after each stop.”

Asked whether he did anything else before directing the radar unit toward vehicular traffic, Tuter explained he performed a “sweep [of] the area with the radar” to detect outside interference. He observed none.

Between 10:30 and 11:00, Tuter saw a westbound Pontiac on Grand approaching his position. Tuter estimated its speed at 35 miles per hour, which exceeded the posted speed limit of 20 miles per hour. Tuter “put the radar unit into operation” and achieved a “radar lock” on the Pontiac, obtaining a reading of 36 miles per hour.

Tuter pursued the Pontiac and stopped it. Appellant was the driver. Tuter issued Appellant a citation for speeding.

One of Appellant’s challenges to the sufficiency of the evidence is based on City of St. Louis v. Boecker, 370 S.W.2d 731 (Mo.App.1963), and State v. Weatherwax, 635 S.W.2d 34

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Bluebook (online)
904 S.W.2d 499, 1995 Mo. App. LEXIS 1284, 1995 WL 410722, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-springfield-v-waddell-moctapp-1995.