Commonwealth v. Barr

79 A.3d 668, 2013 Pa. Super. 281, 2013 WL 5729795, 2013 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3138
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedOctober 22, 2013
StatusPublished
Cited by35 cases

This text of 79 A.3d 668 (Commonwealth v. Barr) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Commonwealth v. Barr, 79 A.3d 668, 2013 Pa. Super. 281, 2013 WL 5729795, 2013 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3138 (Pa. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinions

OPINION BY

OLSON, J.:

Appellant, Jason C. Barr, appeals from the judgment of sentence entered on November 14, 2012. We vacate Appellant’s judgment of sentence in part and remand for a new trial, limited to the issue of whether Appellant “refused” to submit to a chemical blood test.

At approximately 8:30 p.m. on September 14, 2011, Appellant was involved in a single vehicle accident where both he and his passenger were injured. Later, while Appellant was being treated in a hospital, the Pennsylvania State Police arrested Appellant and charged him with driving under the influence of alcohol (“DUI”),1 and a variety of summary offenses.

Appellant proceeded to a trial by jury. On the morning of trial, Appellant’s counsel proffered an oral motion in limine and sought to preclude the admission of the “DL-26 form” that was signed by Appellant.2 As the trial court explained: “[s]ince the Commonwealth failed to make the DL-26 form available to [Appellant’s] counsel prior to the morning of trial, [the trial court] ruled in favor of [Appellant] and [held that] the DL-26 form was not admissible [at trial].” Trial Court Opinion, 1/31/13, at 1.

During trial, Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Patrick S. Berggren testified that he interviewed Appellant in the hospital approximately one hour and 45 minutes after the accident. N.T. Trial, 10/31/12, at 54-55 and 61. According to Trooper Berggren, after observing Appellant in the hospital, he “knew” that Appellant was “highly intoxicated” and incapable of safely operating his vehicle,, as Appellant “had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, a strong odor of alcohol coming off of him, and [Appellant exhibited] mood swings.” Id, at 55 and 57-58,

Trooper Berggren testified that he arrested Appellant for DUI, requested that Appellant “submit to a chemical test of his blood to determine blood alcohol,” and [670]*670orally provided Appellant with both the “implied consent” and “O’Connell” warnings.3, 4 Id, at 55-57. Specifically, Trooper Berggren testified:

I advised [Appellant] that ... it’s implied in Pennsylvania [that Appellant must] give blood, breath, or urine, and if [Appellant] did not, that his license would be suspended. He would have stricter penalties and, also that he ... could not talk to anyone or an attorney before answering me whether he would do that or not.

Id. at 56-57.

Trooper Berggren testified that Appellant appeared to understand both the implied consent and O’Connell warnings. Id. at 57. Nevertheless, as Trooper Berggren testified, Appellant responded to the chemical test request by “just answering] that he wanted his attorney.” Id, Trooper Berggren again informed Appellant that the demand for an attorney constituted a refusal of the chemical test. Id, Appellant, however, again simply “said he wanted his attorney.” Id,

During trial, Appellant neither stipulated nor admitted to receiving the implied consent warnings. Indeed, during the cross-examination of Trooper Berggren, Appellant’s counsel extensively questioned the trooper on whether the trooper ever provided Appellant with the requisite warnings. See id, at 62-64.

At the conclusion of the evidentiary presentation, Appellant’s counsel requested that the trial court instruct the jury on the implied consent warnings, pursuant to 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 1547(b). Id, at 125. While counsel did not necessarily articulate the relevancy of the particular request, the trial court understood that the proposed jury instruction was “part of the instruction concerning the refusal” of Appellant to submit to chemical testing. See id, at 127-128.

[671]*671The trial court denied Appellant’s requested jury instruction. Id, at 127-128. The trial court then instructed the jury on the elements of DUI and on whether Appellant “refused” to submit to chemical testing. With respect to the issue of “refusal,” the trial court instructed the jury as follows:

The Commonwealth contends that [Appellant] refused to give a sample of his blood for testing. A person can express refusal in words, or he can demonstrate refusal by uncooperative conduct. You should consider everything said and done by the police and [Appellant] and all the surrounding circumstances at the time of the alleged refusal when determining whether [Appellant] did, in fact, refuse to give the sample.
The Commonwealth argues that the testimony tending to show that [Appellant] refused to give a sample of his blood indicates that he was conscious that he was guilty of driving under the influence. [Appellant’s] attorney argues that he did not refuse to give the sample, or this evidence means no such thing.
If you believe that [Appellant] was asked for and refused to give a sample of his blood for testing, you may consider that fact along'with all the other relevant evidence when you are deciding whether [Appellant] was under the influence of alcohol. Give [Appellant’s] refusal whatever weight and meaning you think it deserves.
If and only if you find that the Commonwealth has proven the[ ] two elements of driving under the influence beyond a reasonable doubt, you must then decide whether the Commonwealth has proven the following by checking the appropriate line yes or no on the verdict form. The additional element is that [Appellant] refused to give a blood sample for testing. You must consider this additional element separately and indicate by checking the yes or the no line on the verdict slip whether the Commonwealth has proven that additional element beyond a reasonable doubt.

N.T. Trial, 10/31/12, at 138-139.5

The trial court then provided the jury with the following verdict slip:

VERDICT
AND NOW, to-wit: October 31, 2012, we the Jurors empanelled in the above case, find:
Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol— Incapable of Safe Driving
If you find the Defendant guilty, then answer the following Question by placing a mark next to your answer:
Did the Defendant refuse to give a blood sample for testing? Yes No

Verdict Slip at 1 (internal bolding and italicization omitted).

The jury rendered its verdict and concluded that Appellant was guilty of DUI and that Appellant refused to give a blood [672]*672sample for testing. N.T. Trial, 10/31/12, at 152-154.

Prior to sentencing, Appellant’s counsel filed a post-trial motion and claimed that the trial court erred in failing to submit, to the jury, the factual issue of whether Appellant was properly given his implied consent warnings. Appellant’s Post-Trial Motion, 11/1/12, at 1. Appellant argued:

Because a reading of the [implied consent] warnings are statutorily required in order for a defendant to be found to have made an informed refusal of a blood test, [see ] 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 1547(b)(ii), Commonwealth v. Xander, 14 A.3d 174

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
79 A.3d 668, 2013 Pa. Super. 281, 2013 WL 5729795, 2013 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3138, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-barr-pasuperct-2013.