Cutchens v. State

310 So. 2d 273
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 17, 1975
Docket48077
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 310 So. 2d 273 (Cutchens v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cutchens v. State, 310 So. 2d 273 (Mich. 1975).

Opinion

310 So.2d 273 (1975)

David Lee CUTCHENS
v.
STATE of Mississippi.

No. 48077.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

March 17, 1975.
Rehearing Denied April 14, 1975.

*274 Walker & Sullivan, J. Ronald Parrish, Laurel, for appellant.

A.F. Summer, Atty. Gen., by Ben H. Walley, Asst. Atty. Gen., Jackson, for appellee.

SUGG, Justice:

David Lee Cutchens was convicted in the Circuit Court of the Second Judicial District of Jones County for the crime of manslaughter by culpable negligence and sentenced to serve fifteen years in the penitentiary.

Cutchens' first assignment of error is:

The search of appellant's body was not made incident to a lawful arrest or with a warrant nor did appellant freely and intelligently give his consent to the warrantless search of his body in which the blood was seized.

Dewey Lee, a Laurel Police Officer, investigated the automobile accident that occurred about 9:00 p.m. on October 7, 1973 in which Eric Gunn lost his life. Gunn was a passenger in a Chevrolet Camaro which was struck by a green Pontiac driven by Cutchens. Officer Lee began his investigation at the scene of the accident and continued it at the hospital where the injured were taken after the accident. He had not determined who was driving the Pontiac at this time. When he entered the hospital he observed Cutchens, an acquaintance, attempting to light a cigarette in the emergency room of the hospital. He stated that when he approached Cutchens to request him to observe the no smoking sign in the emergency room, Cutchens told him he was driving the Pontiac and asked, "Why did the guy pull out in front of him?" As Cutchens spoke, Lee smelled alcohol on his breath and asked Cutchens how much he had consumed. Cutchens at first denied he had been drinking but then admitted that he had a couple of beers that afternoon. Officer Lee then requested Mrs. Deborah Shows, a medical technologist at the hospital, to draw blood from Cutchens for a blood alcohol test. Mrs. Shows told Officer Lee that, since Cutchens *275 was conscious, she would prefer Cutchens sign the request form before she withdrew a blood sample, and that they should explain the purpose of the test to Cutchens before obtaining his signature. She testified that Cutchens was aware of the purpose for which the blood was being taken when he signed the consent and did not object to her taking a sample of his blood. She further testified that Cutchens had blood on his face, but stated she was not aware of the type or extent of injury he had suffered and that, before taking the blood sample, she did not consult the doctor who saw Cutchens later.

Dr. Jerry Welch was called to examine Cutchens at the hospital after the accident and said Cutchens had a fractured nose and a small laceration over one of his eyebrows. When asked if Cutchens had a concussion the doctor replied: "Anyone who gets a lick hard enough to break his nose is suffering from a mild concussion." The doctor was of the opinion that Cutchens was not rational at the time he examined him and was incapable of intelligently understanding or giving his consent to anything. He stated, on cross examination that those who secured Cutchens' consent for the blood test were in a much better position to determine whether or not he was rational and capable of giving his consent at that time.

Cutchens concedes that a search made incident to a lawful arrest or a search made after consent is reasonable. However, Cutchens contends that the extraction of blood from his body violated his Fourth Amendment rights because the consent executed by him was not, "An intentional relinquishment or abandonment of a known right." Johnson v. Zerbst, 304 U.S. 458, 58 S.Ct. 1019, 82 L.Ed. 1461, 146 A.L.R. 357 (1938). Cutchens contends that he was not advised of his Fourth Amendment rights and therefore his consent was invalid because it was not an intentional relinquishment or abandonment of a known right.

In Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218, 93 S.Ct. 2041, 36 L.Ed.2d 854 (1973) the U.S. Supreme Court discussed in detail the waiver of one's rights under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. It distinguished Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights and observed that the standards set forth in Johnson were enunciated in the context of the safeguards of a fair criminal trial. The Court held:

Almost without exception, the requirement of a knowing and intelligent waiver has been applied only to those rights which the Constitution guarantees to a criminal defendant in order to preserve a fair trial. (412 U.S. at 237, 93 S.Ct. at 2052, 36 L.Ed.2d at 868.)

The opinion then enumerated situations in which the tests set forth in Johnson had been applied. The Court rejected the contention that the State must affirmatively prove that the subject of the search knew that he had a right to refuse consent, and concluded the opinion as follows:

Our decision today is a narrow one. We hold only that when the subject of a search is not in custody and the State attempts to justify a search on the basis of his consent, the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments require that it demonstrate that the consent was in fact voluntarily given, and not the result of duress or coercion, express or implied. Voluntariness is a question of fact to be determined from all the circumstances, and while the subject's knowledge of a right to refuse is a factor to be taken into account, the prosecution is not required to demonstrate such knowledge as a prerequisite to establishing a voluntary consent. (412 U.S. at 248-249, 93 S.Ct. at 2059, 36 L.Ed.2d at 875).

The question of voluntariness of a consent to search was the subject of Luton v. State, 287 So.2d 269 (Miss. 1973) where we held that accused's lack of knowledge of his right to refuse a search was not the sole controlling factor to be considered in *276 determining whether the consent was voluntary, but the totality of the circumstances surrounding the consent should be considered. In Luton we stated:

We follow the better rule that by analyzing the totality of circumstances pertaining to an individual's consent, a trier of fact can ascertain whether a particular consent was coerced or voluntary... . Voluntariness does not require proof that the accused had specific knowledge of a right to refuse as the sine qua non of a valid and effective consent to the search. (287 So.2d at 273).

Under the totality of circumstances shown by the record in this case, we conclude that the State was not required to demonstrate that Cutchens knew that he had a right to refuse a blood test.

Cutchens next contends under his first assignment of error that he did not intelligently give his consent for blood to be removed from his body because he was suffering from a concussion, was not conscious and was irrational when the consent was given.

The evidence for the State on this question shows that before Cutchens signed the consent he asked two people why the Camaro pulled out in front of him; he denied he had been drinking until he was confronted with the fact that alcohol could be smelled on his breath and then admitted drinking a couple of beers. Those present when Cutchens signed the consent were of the opinion that Cutchens was conscious and aware of the reason the blood sample was being taken.

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Bluebook (online)
310 So. 2d 273, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cutchens-v-state-miss-1975.