Commonwealth v. Smith

904 A.2d 30, 2006 Pa. Super. 174, 2006 Pa. Super. LEXIS 1618
Superior Court of Pennsylvania·Decided July 14, 2006·Published·Cited by 27 cases

Opinion

OPINION BY

TAMILIA, J.:

¶ 1 Laurie Beth Smith appeals from the judgment of sentence of one to two years imprisonment, and payment of a $2,500 fine and costs of prosecution, imposed after a jury convicted her of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI). 1

¶ 2 Before trial, appellant filed a motion to suppress evidence, quash information, dismiss charges and discharge defendant, and for writ of habeas corpus. A hearing on the motion was held on November 4, 2004, at which Officer Matthew Rissmiller of the Central Berks Regional Police Department was the only witness to testify. Following the hearing, the court made the following findings of fact and denied the motion.

1. On May 22, 2004, at approximately 10:31 p.m. Officer Matthew Rissmil-ler of the Central Berks Regional Police Department received a call at police headquarters from Berks Radio that a red SUV was traveling in the wrong direction in the 600 block of Carsonia Avenue, Lower Alsace Township, Berks County.
2. Approximately two minutes later, as he drove from his office, Officer Rissmiller received a second call from Berks Radio that someone reported hearing a loud screeching noise, looked outside and saw a red SUV in front of 841 Carsonia Avenue.
3. Two minutes after leaving his office, Officer Rissmiller arrived at 841 Carsonia Avenue where he observed a red SUV parked with its right front tire against the curb at an angle and the back right tire situated at least two feet from the curb.
4. The SUV’s headlights and taillights were on, music was playing inside the vehicle, and a key in the ignition was in the on position.
5. Officer Rissmiller exited his vehicle and approached the SUV where he saw the defendant in the driver’s seat.
6. The officer tried to get the defendant’s attention by knocking on the driver’s window and tried to open the door. The door was locked and after 30 seconds the defendant turned, looked over her shoulder and said something the officer could not hear. She then turned away from the officer.
7. Officer Rissmiller again knocked on the window and 20 seconds later the defendant either rolled down the window or opened the door and the officer asked her to turn down the music so he could talk to her and she did so. He then asked if everything was okay and if he could see her driver’s license, registration and insurance cards.
8. She found her license but could not remove it from her wallet. She did not locate any other paperwork.
9. Officer Rissmiller then asked the defendant to turn off the car, step out and proceed to the rear of the SUV where he could talk to her.
10. The defendant had difficulty walking to the back of the vehicle and her speech was slurred. Officer Rissmiller could not understand most of what she said.
*34 11. The officer observed that the defendant’s clothing was disheveled.
12. Officer Rissmiller observed in the SUV’s front passenger area a bag with four cans of beer inside and two open cans of beer on the floor.
13. At the officer’s request, the defendant performed three field sobriety tests and failed all of them.
14. Officer Rissmiller then arrested the defendant for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and transported] her to the DUI Processing Center.
15. After the officer read an implied consent form to the defendant, she refused to submit to a blood-alcohol test.

Record No. 15, Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law Pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 581(1), 12/2/04, Eshelman, J., at 1-2.

¶ 3 Appellant also filed motions in li-mine to exclude evidence concerning the field sobriety tests and her refusal to submit to a blood test. The court likewise denied those motions. Appellant was convicted of DUI and sentenced as a fourth time DUI offender, as a pre-sentence investigation report revealed two prior sentences for DUI imposed on June 12, 1995, for two separate DUI convictions, and a third imposed on April 9, 2001. This timely appeal followed in which appellant raises the following issues for our review:

A.Does an illegal stop occur when the police approach defendant seated in the driver’s seat of a red Ford Explorer parked at 841 Carsonia Avenue minutes after receiving a call that a red SUV-type vehicle was traveling the wrong direction on Carsonia Avenue and after a second call that a red SUV was seen in front of 841 Carsonia Avenue after a loud screeching noise was heard from the street?
B. When police officers render opinions based on their specialized knowledge of the administration, performance and results of defendant’s performance and/or refusal to perform field sobriety tests, must Pa.R.E. 702 regarding expert testimony first be satisfied before admitting such evidence?
C. Where defendant is not advised by PennDot form DL-26 or otherwise of the penalties consequent to a fourth DUI conviction as required by Section 1547(b)(2)(ii) of the Vehicle Code if chemical testing is refused, is defendant’s refusal of a blood test improperly admitted at trial?
D. Is the evidence insufficient to sustain the verdict of guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol because the Commonwealth failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant was incapable of safely driving because of the consumption of alcohol?
E. Did the court improperly sentence defendant to mandatory one-year minimum term of imprisonment as a fourth DUI offender and for having refused a blood test where two (2) of defendant’s prior DUI convictions occurred more than seven (7) years but less than ten (10) years ago and defendant was neither advised of the penalties consequent to a fourth conviction for DUI as required by Section 1547(b)(2)(ii) of the Vehicle Code before refusing a blood test nor of her right to counsel, where the jury also did not find as a fact the prior convictions and/or that defendant had indeed refused a blood test?

*35 Appellant’s brief at 6. We address these issues seriatim.

¶ 4 The following principles are applicable to our review of appellant’s first issue on appeal:

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Commonwealth v. Smith, 904 A.2d 30, 2006 Pa. Super. 174, 2006 Pa. Super. LEXIS 1618 (Pa. Ct. App. 2006).

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